Be a Success in Radio Broadcasting

Do you have a natural talent? Does humor come to you naturally? Are you a people person? Do you love music? If you answered yes to these questions you could have an exciting future in the field of radio broadcasting. There are schools that will teach you all the basics of radio broadcasting, but if you have a limited income, there are easier and cost free methods of obtaining your dream job.

I knew at an early age that I wanted to be a disc jockey. I never had the funds to attend any schools but, being the determined sort, I found a way of educating myself. Simple, I was a "haunt." I hung around as many radio stations as I could, got to know the on air staff, and picked up pointers along the way. I observed each on air personality, paid extreme attention to their on air style, and fashioned my own future based on what I had observed from each one of them.

In my earlier years, an intern position at a radio station was not an option, although some stations have that program available to prospective announcers today. You may want to consider such a program if you are able to accept such a position without a salary. It is an excellent way to learn as well as make contacts not only at the station you may intern at, but it will look good on a resume.

Stringing, which is doing freelance work for the news department at any radio station, is another way of getting your foot in the door. Being at the scene of a breaking news story, and offering a first hand account of a news breaking event to a local station is a great way to gain recognition. I once won an award from United Press International for covering a murder scene before any of the major stations were able to dispatch their news crews to cover it.
Being persistent and never giving up is another asset to gaining full time employment. NEVER GIVE UP! Let that be your key motto. Persistence does pay off.

When sending resume' s off to any station, try and remain as flexible as possible. In other words, do not limit yourself to accepting a full time position only. Part time is better than no time. You may also want to keep an open mind about accepting a position in a radio station that may not include an on air position. A foot in the door is better than no foot in the door. Consider this. I once worked at a television station as an operations clerk, maintaining all the on air commercials for the station. I really wanted to be on the air, but it was the next best thing.

Never let your ego get the best of you. Egos are great, if you keep them at bay. You may think you're the greatest thing to hit the air waves, and you may be right, but the other on air people you're working with don't want to hear you brag about it. Blow your own horn and you'll lose friends with whomever you're working with. Trust me on this. I worked at a station where one of the disc jockey's had a full blown out of control ego an everyone hated him. Get along with your fellow workers, praise them as well and you'll be respected and receive that praise and respect in return.

Finally, and most importantly, DO NOT let your personal life interfere with your on air life as I did. Read my book and learn. Remember this, you can have a bad day but your audience does not want to hear about it unless it's funny and you can laugh at it too. Your audience turns to you to entertain them, not to bring them down in the dumps because you're having a bad day. If you're down, sad, hurting, getting a divorce or just in a plain ugly mood, save it for off the air.