The bible for beginning radio professionals. A complete guide to the internal workings of radio stations and the radio industry. Readers new to radio understand how each job is best performed, and they will know how it meshes with those of the rest of the radio station staff. For readers uncertain of career goals, this book provides a solid foundation in who does what, when, and why. The Radio Station details all departments within a radio station. Topics explained include satellite radio, Web radio, AM stereo, cable and podcasting. Also, mergers and consolidation, future prospects, new digital technologies. This edition is loaded with new illustrations, feature boxes and quotes from industry pros. Going strong after 20 years, The Radio Station is now in its seventh edition and long considered the standard work on this audio medium. It remains a concise and candid guide to the internal workings of radio stations and the radio industry, explaining the functions performed successfully within every well-run station. *Classic and candid guide to the internal workings of radio stations *Updated to include a discussion of the podcasting boom *New analysis of satellite radio and its role in radio broadcasting today
Author(s): Michael C Keith
Edition: 7
Publisher: Focal Press
Year: 2006
Language: English
Commentary: 60313
Pages: 394
The Radio Station......Page 4
Copyright page......Page 5
Contents......Page 6
Preface......Page 10
Foreword to the Seventh Edition......Page 14
What’s New to This Edition of The Radio Station......Page 16
In the Air — Everywhere......Page 18
A Household Utility......Page 20
A Toll on Radio......Page 22
Birth of the Networks......Page 23
Radio Prospers during the Depression......Page 24
Radio during World War II......Page 25
Television Appears......Page 26
Radio Rocks and Roars......Page 27
FM’s Ascent......Page 28
Noncommercial/Public Radio......Page 30
Proliferation and Frag-Out......Page 33
Profits in the Air......Page 34
Economics and Survival......Page 36
Consolidations, Downsizings, and Clusters......Page 38
Buying and Selling......Page 43
Digital and HD Radio Revolution......Page 45
Satellite and Cable Radio......Page 47
Internet Radio......Page 49
LPFM (Low-Power FM)......Page 50
Radio and Government Regulations......Page 51
Jobs and Equality in Radio......Page 57
CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS......Page 60
SUGGESTED FURTHER READING......Page 65
Nature of the Business......Page 70
The Manager as Chief Collaborator......Page 72
What Makes a Manager?......Page 74
The Manager’s Duties and Responsibilities......Page 77
Managing the Cluster......Page 82
Organizational Structure......Page 83
Human Resources......Page 87
Whom Do Managers Hire?......Page 88
The Manager and the Profit Motive......Page 89
The Manager and the Community......Page 91
The Manager and the Government......Page 92
The Manager and Unions......Page 94
The Manager and Industry Associations......Page 97
Buying or Building a Radio Station......Page 98
CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS......Page 100
SUGGESTED FURTHER READING......Page 102
APPENDIX: Code of Federal Regulations Index......Page 104
Program Formats......Page 109
The Programmer......Page 123
The Program Director’s Duties and Responsibilities......Page 125
Programming a Cluster Operation......Page 129
Elements of Programming......Page 130
Station Web Sites, Podcasts, and Blogs......Page 135
The Program Director and the Audience......Page 136
The Program Director and the Music......Page 138
The Program Director and the FCC......Page 143
The Program Director and Upper Management......Page 145
CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS......Page 146
SUGGESTED FURTHER READING......Page 156
APPENDIX: A Station Owner Airchecks His Programming......Page 158
Commercialization: A Retrospective......Page 159
Selling Airtime......Page 160
Becoming an Account Executive......Page 161
The Sales Manager......Page 165
Radio Sales Tools......Page 167
Points of the Pitch......Page 171
Levels of Sales......Page 173
Spec Spots......Page 176
Objectives of the Buy......Page 177
Prospecting and List Building......Page 178
Planning the Sales Day......Page 180
Selling with and without Numbers......Page 181
Advertising Agencies......Page 182
Rep Companies......Page 184
Web Site and Podcast Selling......Page 185
Nontraditional Revenue......Page 186
Trade-Outs......Page 188
CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS......Page 189
SUGGESTED FURTHER READING......Page 192
APPENDIX: A Station Owner Conveys His Sales Philosophy to His Manager......Page 194
News from the Start......Page 195
News and Today’s Radio......Page 197
The Newsroom......Page 198
The All-News Station......Page 199
The Electronic Newsroom......Page 200
The News Director......Page 201
What Makes a Newsperson?......Page 203
Preparing the News Story......Page 206
Organizing the Newscast......Page 207
Radio Network News......Page 209
Radio Sportscasts......Page 210
News Ethics......Page 213
News in Music Radio......Page 214
CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS......Page 217
SUGGESTED FURTHER READING......Page 218
Who Is Listening?......Page 220
The Ratings and Survey Services......Page 221
Qualitative and Quantitative Data......Page 228
Portable People Meter (PPM)......Page 229
In-House Research Techniques......Page 232
Research Deficits......Page 234
Careers in Research......Page 237
The Future of Research in Radio......Page 238
CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS......Page 242
SUGGESTED FURTHER READING......Page 246
APPENDIX 6A: RAB’s Radio Research Glossary......Page 248
APPENDIX 6B: Arbitron’s Glossary of Terms......Page 252
APPENDIX 6C: Direct Marketing Results Rely on Research Data to Present Its Marketing Goals. Courtesy DMR......Page 256
Past and Purpose......Page 260
Promotions — Practical and Bizarre......Page 261
The Promotion Director’s/Manager’s Job......Page 264
Types of Promotions......Page 266
Research and Planning......Page 272
Budgeting Promotions......Page 275
Promotions and the FCC......Page 278
CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS......Page 280
SUGGESTED FURTHER READING......Page 282
The Traffic Manager......Page 283
Directing Traffic......Page 285
Traffic in Clusters......Page 287
Billing......Page 289
The FCC and Traffic......Page 290
CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS......Page 296
SUGGESTED FURTHER READING......Page 297
APPENDIX: A Traffic Manager’s Account......Page 298
A Spot Retrospective......Page 299
Formatted Spots......Page 300
The Production Room......Page 301
The Studios......Page 302
Copywriting......Page 314
Announcing Tips......Page 317
The Sound Library......Page 319
CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS......Page 322
SUGGESTED FURTHER READING......Page 324
Pioneer Engineers......Page 326
AM/FM......Page 327
Satellite and Internet Radio......Page 331
Digital Audio Broadcasting (HD Radio)......Page 332
Smart Receivers......Page 334
Becoming an Engineer......Page 335
The Engineer’s Duties......Page 336
Station Log......Page 338
The Emergency Alert System......Page 341
Automation......Page 344
Posting Licenses and Permits......Page 347
CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS......Page 348
SUGGESTED FURTHER READING......Page 351
APPENDIX: Federal Communications Commission......Page 352
Radio Aid......Page 356
Consultant Services......Page 359
Consultant Qualifications......Page 362
Consultants: Pros and Cons......Page 363
Program Suppliers......Page 365
Syndicator Services......Page 367
Hardware Requirements and Quality......Page 370
CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS......Page 372
SUGGESTED FURTHER READING......Page 373
APPENDIX 11A: Station Critique......Page 374
APPENDIX 11B: Network Radio/Syndication......Page 377
APPENDIX 11C: Syndication......Page 379
APPENDIX 11D: Syndication......Page 380
Glossary......Page 381
Index......Page 387
