Television and radio stations require more than on-the-air talent to stay in business. There are a variety of exciting career choices in over-the-air broadcasting! Learn more about the many opportunities in the broadcasting industry by clicking the links below for printer-friendly descriptions of careers in both radio and television.
On-Air
Announcer: An announcer delivers, by varying degrees, the news, traffic, weather, voices commercials and public service announcements, and hosts all programming and music.
Play-by-Play Announcer: A play-by-play announcer provides colorful narrative of sports and reports the play-by-play action of live sporting activities.
News Director: The news director oversees the news department, assigns stories to reporters and staff, monitors the wire service, and is involved in identifying important local and national news. Often times a news director carries an on-air shift as well.
Music Director: The music director manages the playlist. In addition, he/she coordinates the new music the station will air and helps keep the station in line with its format (i.e. jazz, classical, adult contemporary, country, oldies, rock, etc.)
Production Director: The production director assigns announcers, schedules studio time and commercial recordings, and produces commercials and station promos.
Program Director: The program director is responsible for the entire on-air presentation overseeing production, talent, scheduling, music, promotions, and features. He/she supports and executes the overall product goals of the station.
Engineering
Chief Engineer: The chief engineer is responsible for the technology that supports broadcasting the station within the Federal Communications Commission approved coverage area. He/she maintains the
transmitter, tower, digital platform, and all internal/external equipment. The chief engineer also performs preventative maintenance on the station’s consoles, recording equipment, processors, phones, and any additional station equipment and systems.
Sales
General Sales Manager: The general sales manager oversees the sales department and handles all sales staff hiring, develops sales plans and revenue budgets, oversees billing, studies the station’s market, and develops all sales promotions.
National Sales Manager: A national sales manager works for the station on a national level, in conjunction with national reps, and performs/shares similar duties as the general sales manager for clients outside of the local
area.
Local Sales Manager: A local sales manager works for the station on a local level and performs/shares similar duties as the general and national sales managers.
Account Executive: An account executive sells airtime to businesses in the form of on-air commercials and promotional tie-ins. Once a business agrees to advertise with a radio station, the account executive is the key contact between the business and the station for all future advertising, marketing, and promotional efforts.
Promotions/Marketing Director: The promotions/marketing director coordinates and executes station promotional activities for the programming and sales departments. He/she often creates listener promotions and fulfills many added value commitments to clients.
Promotions/Marketing Assistant: A promotions/marketing assistant works alongside the promotions/marketing director to assist in executing station promotional activities.
Non-Traditional Revenue Manager: A nontraditional revenue manager is responsible for determining additional ways to add revenue, often via publications and web site marketing.
Traffic Director: The traffic director is responsible for “trafficking” all commercials. As the link between sales and programming, the traffic manager assures that commercials required to be on the air occur at the correct time. He/she is also responsible for producing affidavits, or proof of airtime, for internal and external records.
Management
Owner/President: The owner/president owns the station, holds a station license from the Federal Communications Commission, and oversees all station personnel, and in particular works with the general manager to ensure that the station is following through with its sales and product goals.
General Manager: The general manager works for the owner/president and oversees all station operations. He/she must possess general business knowledge, leadership ability, sales and programming skills, and a technical understanding of how the station operates.
Station Manager: The station manager works for the general manager and helps to execute overall station operations. Management duties vary from station to station due to station size and ownership.
Administrative
Receptionist: The receptionist handles incoming calls, greeting guests, and a number of key administrative duties necessary to keep up with the day-to-day operations of the station.
Business Manager: The business manager is responsible for the financial management of the station. Skilled in accounts payable and accounts receivable, it’s the business manager’s responsibility to keep station accounts up-to-date by paying the bills, executing employee payroll, and receiving, recording, and depositing advertising payments. He/she often doubles as the human resources director responsible for maintaining employee benefits, reinforcing company policy, and hiring procedures.
On-Air
News Anchor: An anchor is the most visible member of the news staff. Bringing “up-front” reports to the viewers, the anchor is a complete journalist; familiar with reporting, on-scene live coverage, interviewing,
as well as writing and producing news packages.
Field Reporter: A field reporter’s job is to be on the scene, gathering and verifying the most up-to-date facts through interview, observation, and research. Field reporters may specialize in one type of reporting such as local, federal, sports or entertainment.
Meteorologist: A meteorologist is skilled in meteorology and the tools necessary to retrieve weather information. He/she is required to write and edit his/her own segment, be comfortable in front of the camera, and be focused on delivering accurate regional weather reports.
Features Reporter: A features reporter often works independently on special projects involving multiple sources. These projects vary in length and may appear on either a daily or weekly program.
News & Programming
Assignment Editor: The assignment editor is responsible for gathering, filtering, and presenting the daily news and story ideas. He/she is also responsible for organizing the logistics of the camera crew and reporters, and arranging satellite feed and live coverage.
News Director: The news director supervises the news department, integrating both technical and human resources to their fullest potential. Knowledge of legal and ethical aspects of news reporting is important in scheduling, making editorial decisions, and coordinating news coverage.
News Writer: A writer’s responsibilities include monitoring news feeds, researching, and writing news stories. He/she also may also book guests, coordinate video editing, and assist in producing assigned
segments for newscasts.
Sports Director: Similar to the news director, the sports director handles the play-by-play coverage of local sporting events.
Program Director: The program director manages the program department and works closely with the general manager and the sales manager to determine that station policies are followed and that the station
is delivering a quality product.
Administrative
Receptionist/Switchboard-operator: A receptionist/switchboard operator handles incoming calls, greets guests, and performs a number of key administrative duties necessary to keep up with the day-to-day operation of the station.
Administrative Director/Assistant: The administrative director works closely with station management to ensure the efficient day-to-day operation of the station. This person handles daily communications, monthly reports, and coordinates meetings, travel arrangements, and other duties as assigned.
Business Manager: The business manager is responsible for the financial management of the stations. Skilled in accounts payable and accounts receivable, it’s the business manager’s responsibility to keep station accounts up-to-date by paying the bills, executing employee payroll, and receiving, recording, and depositing advertising payments.
Human Resources: The human resources director is responsible for maintaining employee benefits and hiring procedures. He/she works with the station management team and other personnel to actively recruit, train, develop and retain employees.
Engineering
Chief Engineer: Head of the technical staff, the chief engineer oversees all technical operations at the station, maintaining physical facilities and equipment. Typical responsibilities include hiring, training and maintaining a technical staff; recommending and purchasing new and upgraded equipment; maintaining and overseeing the budget for parts, supplies, contract services, capital equipment, engineering personnel, and operational costs.
Studio Engineer: Responsible for operating all of the equipment required for the production of a program, the studio engineer is skilled in cameras, audio consoles, lighting, video switching, and in some cases, character generation and graphics.
Master Control/Videotape Engineer: The master control operator is responsible for operating the videotape recording and playback equipment for live programs, during commercial breaks, and pre-recorded shows.
Maintenance Engineer: The maintenance engineer is on-hand to repair, install, and perform any required maintenance or modification of the station’s electronic equipment.
Production
Electronic News Gathering (ENG): Individuals in ENG work alongside reporters to capture events on tape and produce live, on-scene coverage of breaking news stories. ENG crewmembers are also responsible for the operation of microwave and satellite transmission equipment.
ENG Editor: An ENG editor edits tape taken by the crew. He/she works with producers, reporters, and writers to build news programs from raw footage and feeds from network sources.
Executive Producer: The executive producer coordinates all program content and the presentation of broadcasts alongside the managing editor and news director.
Producer: The producer organizes and develops local programs and is responsible for scripting, story development, booking guests, and overseeing field production and editing.
Production Manager: The production manager is responsible for handling all details associated with the actual production of local programming. Responsible for all technical and operational aspects of the department’s projects, he/she supervises and schedules technical, freelance and temporary production staff in addition to directors, floor directors, and stage managers.
Production Assistant: A production assistant assists all production personnel in the following areas: audio, camera and TelePrompTer operation, live playback, and videotape editing.
Stage Manager: The stage manager represents the director on the floor/set to ensure everything is carried out smoothly and in accordance with the producer’s plan. He/she coordinates and manages positions,
tasks, props, microphones, and cameras.
Graphic Artist: A graphic artist is responsible for organizing and producing on-air still and automated graphics for live newscasts, promotions, marketing, and special projects.
Continuity Writer: A continuity writer is responsible for writing local commercials and promotional copy.
Sales
General Sales Manager: The general sales manager oversees the sales department and handles all sales staff hiring, reviews programming, develops sales plans to meet station short and long-range goals, oversees billing, studies the station’s market, and approves all promotion campaigns.
National Sales Manager: The national sales manager is responsible for enhancing national revenue by establishing and maintaining strong client relationships on both the local and national levels.
Local Sales Manager: The local sales manager works for the station on the local level and performs/shares similar duties as the general and national sales managers.
Account Executive: An account executive sells airtime to businesses in the form of on-air commercials. Once a business agrees to advertise with a television station, the account executive is the key contact between the business and the station for all future advertising, marketing, and promotional efforts.
Marketing Director: The marketing director is very similar to an account executive. He/she also uses creative approaches to develop sales and marketing strategies designed to meet station revenue objectives.
Non-Traditional Revenue Director: A non-traditional revenue manager is responsible for determining additional ways to add revenue to the station’s bottom-line other than selling airtime.
Promotions Director: The promotions director is responsible for promoting the station and its programs and activities relative to both the station and the advertising client. He/she works closely with the program director and sales department to create public service events.
Traffic Manager: The traffic manager is responsible for “trafficking” all commercials and programming. He/she creates a minute-by-minute schedule for each broadcast day. As the link between sales and programming, the traffic manager assures that everything required to be on the air occurs at the correct time. He/she is also responsible for producing affidavits, or proof of airtime, for internal and external records.
Management
Owner/President: The owner/president owns the station, holds a station license from the Federal Communications Commission, and oversees all station personnel, and in particular works with the general manager to ensure that the station is following through with its sales and product goals.
General Manager: The general manager works for the owner/president and oversees all station operations. Responsibilities include ensuring station compliance with company policies, administrative procedures and government regulations, as well as maintaining ongoing satisfactory relationships with network affiliates and cable systems carrying the station signal.
Station Manager: The station manager works for the general manager and helps to execute overall station operations.
