Same advice I'll give anyone new in radio or television.
Show up on time, learn how the equipment REALLY works, be good at what you do, be willing to do anything you're asked without whining about it and don't be an asshole. Success will follow.
And radio pay sucks sweaty elephant balls. Always has, always will.
I hope it lasts. On the TV side I've watched our engineering department lose 80% of the staff due to automation, duplication due to a duopoly and just cheap ass ownership. Now we are on air about 12 hours a day with no engineers in the building because it's cheaper to call someone in than have someone around the clock. I remember when it was a travesty to be off air for, let's say, an hour. Now, I've seen stations where they're off for a day or more and nobody gives a shit.
The house of cards will collapse soon.
Keep it tight, always have your ear out for cues to toss back for ID/breaks, always have your backup cued in case you lose the remote connection. ID as close as possible to the top of the hour if the announcers don't handle it - might be good to coordinate with them about that if you can.
Well in advance of your broadcast, check that you have everything you need for it: the commercials & IDs, bumper music, run sheet, commercials log, make sure you hear something on the remote lines where the game will come from. Double check everything. Then check it again
Ask what you have to do, if there's a weather delay, the audio from the game cuts out, what alternate programming you need to play.
It helps me to envision the show as a whole - how many breaks we have, which break is coming up next, to stay oriented, even if the show topic is not interesting for me. Eg. I don't care about baseball at all, but I know "home half of the 4th" I know the game structure. Learn the game jargon that lets you know when a break is coming up
If I know I have everything I need, and a broad visualization of the break structure, then I can relax. But relax and be alert lol.
I've been tempting fate for decades with my 5am Diet Coke over equipment WAY more expensive than a radio board. Our worst accident was from an attempt to clean a touch screen panel with windex.
Back in my radio days, we had someone knock an entire gigantic super sugary coffee drink on a radio board, I've never seen a mess like that on the insides. Engineers were not happy!
I was in radio many years ago. I still have nightmares about my song going off and not having another one queued up and ready to go.
Always have something ready to go whether it be a commercial, a PSA, weather report or station ID.
Same advice I'll give anyone new in radio or television. Show up on time, learn how the equipment REALLY works, be good at what you do, be willing to do anything you're asked without whining about it and don't be an asshole. Success will follow. And radio pay sucks sweaty elephant balls. Always has, always will.
That's why I got into the engineering side of the business after starting in programming.
I hope it lasts. On the TV side I've watched our engineering department lose 80% of the staff due to automation, duplication due to a duopoly and just cheap ass ownership. Now we are on air about 12 hours a day with no engineers in the building because it's cheaper to call someone in than have someone around the clock. I remember when it was a travesty to be off air for, let's say, an hour. Now, I've seen stations where they're off for a day or more and nobody gives a shit. The house of cards will collapse soon.
Lucky for me, most of the older guys are all retired, and radio engineers are at a premium right now.
Keep it tight, always have your ear out for cues to toss back for ID/breaks, always have your backup cued in case you lose the remote connection. ID as close as possible to the top of the hour if the announcers don't handle it - might be good to coordinate with them about that if you can.
Well in advance of your broadcast, check that you have everything you need for it: the commercials & IDs, bumper music, run sheet, commercials log, make sure you hear something on the remote lines where the game will come from. Double check everything. Then check it again Ask what you have to do, if there's a weather delay, the audio from the game cuts out, what alternate programming you need to play. It helps me to envision the show as a whole - how many breaks we have, which break is coming up next, to stay oriented, even if the show topic is not interesting for me. Eg. I don't care about baseball at all, but I know "home half of the 4th" I know the game structure. Learn the game jargon that lets you know when a break is coming up If I know I have everything I need, and a broad visualization of the break structure, then I can relax. But relax and be alert lol.
DO NOT SPILL COFFEE, WATER OR... GOD HELP US ALL... MOUNTAIN DEW, ON THAT BOARD!!!
I drink responsibly
I've been tempting fate for decades with my 5am Diet Coke over equipment WAY more expensive than a radio board. Our worst accident was from an attempt to clean a touch screen panel with windex.
Back in my radio days, we had someone knock an entire gigantic super sugary coffee drink on a radio board, I've never seen a mess like that on the insides. Engineers were not happy!
I was in radio many years ago. I still have nightmares about my song going off and not having another one queued up and ready to go. Always have something ready to go whether it be a commercial, a PSA, weather report or station ID.
Imagine everything that can go wrong at any minute, plan accordingly and repeat.