How to Keep a Listener…Listening.
Being a Radio Broadcaster/Advertiser

Megan Thomas

What do you think it takes to be a radio dj? How about a sales representative/advertiser and a radio dj? Wearing multiple hats is definitely a big part of having a career in radio. You can’t just have one job to do all day. Needless to say though, you will never wake up in the morning dreading going to work. I would know I interned at a radio station in my hometown this summer and loved every minute of it. Being a part of the Kickin’ Country staff was definitely a once in a lifetime experience. Even though I was an intern, I wasn’t held back one minute. Wearing multiple hats helped me in learning what it really takes to make a 24/7 radio broadcast go smoothly. All of the behind the scenes stuff you wouldn’t even think about -- the small amount of people that make it all possible, the organization and timing that is absolutely everything. When wanting to be a radio dj, you have to sit back and think do you really have what it takes? For example, knowing how to use your voice, pronunciation is key. You have to know the basics of what to say, when to say it and how to say it. There also has to be a set structure. You should know how to start your on-air set, where to go and how to end it while still keeping it brief because listeners don’t want to listen to talking if your radio show is obviously not a talk show. Along with all of that, you also have to learn the differences between talking over music and talking with no music. What kind of edits and how many rewinds does it take to make it sound better when you put it on the radio? Knowing the proper energy for your format – like the differences between Rock, Rap, Jazz, Country, etc. is also very key. You don’t need to confuse the listeners and publicize what you think is a Country radio station, but is actually Rock. Continuing on pronouncing your voice; you need to sound warm and inviting but still stay in command and authoritative, especially when you’re producing a commercial. The amount of people showing up to an event that you’re publicizing or a restaurant you’re trying to promote all depends on how your tone is. You don’t want to be monotone because that’s just boring! You want to be fun, upbeat and excited to tell them about it. The more excited you sound, the more likely they will listen. Like a college kid being graded on the quality of their work, DJ’s have their own form of a transcript which are called Arbitron Ratings. These measure the number of listeners your show has and how much time the audience listens to it. Basically, those numbers are how a DJ and their show are being judged. Your job literally depends on what your views are, how scary is that? But as long as you enjoy what you do, attracting new listeners and putting the right stuff on air, you will be fine. When asked if the radio business is what I really see myself doing after I graduated college, I couldn’t have said yes any faster. I was then asked what do I think it takes to be a good DJ. Well, what does one say to say? The average, just somebody that plays good music, sounds cool and does a lot of giveaways? No. There’s a lot more than that.
How about someone that would be willing to share personal things because listeners like to hear about DJ’s experiences, have contests that will make listeners want to listen to win free stuff, have a website with a photo so the listeners have an idea of what you look like and who they are listening to. Also put callers on the air, listeners get tickled pink when they hear themselves on the radio. It’s the little things that matter to the listeners and keeping them happy is all that matters. It’s such an easy and fun job, why wouldn’t you want to be a radio DJ?
As I talked about earlier, you can’t just have one job at a radio station. Yes, you would think that you would stay busy all day with just being a DJ. But you’re wrong. Many hats need to be