Rookie Looking for advice...

Hello,

Essentially I am a rookie broadcaster who lucked into getting his own radio show. It's a long story but I have no real training or formal education in the world of radio and/or broadcasting. I am currently a part time host of a 2 hour a day talk radio show on an AM News talk station. Despite what some will say about AM being dead, we are actually doing really well and just built a brand new studio for our 5 station cluster.

Here is the advice I am looking for; I am wanting to make myself as marketable and valuable to the station I am currently working for. They are actually a pretty great company and take pretty good care of me. So I have been looking around online for degree programs or even just some courses that would teach me the basics of being a program director. Not that I want to take anyones job or anything like that, I just want to make sure that I can be a good team player for a good team and be able to step in when and/or where necessary, instead of having to say, "sorry, I don't know how to do that.

The problem is that I can't find anything that aren't prohibitively expensive general broadcasting degrees or just totally unrelated to the real world or the radio industry. I am hoping some of you may have ideas on where to find such information.

You already have one of the qualities I always looked for in an employee when I was hands-on programming ... you are doing everything you can to be a team player and valuable to your employer.

It certainly sounds like your current station has plenty of opportunities for you to prove your worth. My advice is to volunteer for anything you can ... is the station participating in a community fair? Tell them you'll be happy to show up for a few hours to meet the listeners. (General Managers love that.) An on-air host calls in sick at practically the last minute and the Program Director is in a panic? Offer to pull a "second shift" on short notice, and sell it to the PD as a way to generate more interest in the morning show.

If something comes up at one of the four other stations in your cluster, see if they'll let you do something. Offer to do the occasional fill-in newscast.

And observe how your PD handles things. You'll benefit from his experience ... and perhaps he'll even share his philosophies and the like with you if you show an interest. You may even find that he is flattered that you want to learn from him. But make it clear you want to learn everything you can so that you can use that knowledge "sometime in the future" so he knows you're not angling for his job.

Best of luck to you.

Thanks for the advice - I do truly appreciate it.

Attitude and desire beat education any day. You likely have a wealth of information in your coworkers who likely will share with you. Experience is always best. The attitude you have and desire to know more trumps anything else.

I've been in radio for 38 years and I started by getting that first break. I bugged people to learn more. I can relate. I agree with David's earlier post. When I hire, it is attitude and desire more than experience and education. Attitude and desire make a quick learner and I'm less concerned with what you don't know but more concerned with your desire to know.

The magic words you said are you want to be a team player and indicate you want to add value to what you offer. That says all I would need to know.

I tried to develop a group of people who had been in the business longer than me who would give me tips and information. Most are more than willing to share (especially war stories). Add a bit of passion and you'll have just what you need. I am always willing to pay forward and while I know many more know so much more than I do, I have seen and experienced a bunch.

My last point, a guy that started in radio when they recorded things on acetate told me something I never forgot: the day you quit learning is the day you quit radio for good. I asked when he was going to quit radio (he was our news director at a small market station then), he said his last day would be when he read his own obituary on the air.

Classes would be a waste of money. Learn as much as you can about everything in the cluster. That will make you more useful.

Ravens said:

Classes would be a waste of money. Learn as much as you can about everything in the cluster. That will make you more useful.

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You are entering into a field that has fewer and fewer jobs. However, if you can gain and maintain skills in this field you might actually bypass others.

1. Learn about radio. The history, the current condition, and the future.

2. Learn about multi-tasking, that being able to understand ALL aspects of running a radio station...not just the music, but the promotions, the sales goals, and the the social media skills that have now become a part of what we do.

3. Learn about how to stand out, make your product unique and better than the competition. Believe me, it isn't hard to find the weakness of your competitors especially today.

4. Be open to new ideas, and understand radio isn't just putting out a signal from an antenna, but putting out a message on multi-platforms. So many today don't have a clue, the next stars of radio will be able to do this. And, most importantly, if you can't accomplish all this, hire those who can.

Look into the health care profession

bossbill said:

Look into the health care profession

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Well, it doesn't have to be the health care profession, but when you have an interest in an iffy vocation like broadcasting, music, or anything where the job seekers exceeds the jobs available, you need to have a Plan B vocational choice.

In the health care field, I personally like radiology tech. It's got "radio" in it and it doesn't involve sticking needles into people as far as I know.

bossbill said:

Look into the health care profession

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Bill's a bit sarcastic, but right in a way. Unless you have a sizable bank account that can carry you for 5-7 years, get a full-time job outside of broadcasting and work on your radio career in your off hours.