Program director duties in radio broadcasting

Radio Program Director Duties and Responsibilities

General Description of Vocational Responsibilities and Duties:

In general, the principal responsibility of a broadcast radio program director is to maximize the profitability of the radio station. Doing so competitively requires a varied set of professional skills and the ability to communicate effectively with a wide range of advertising clientele, on-air talent, production staff, and the general public (Paro, 2009;

Stern, 1993; Stern, 1995). Today, program directors have the additional responsibility of maintaining functional familiarity with a continually and rapidly-evolving field of mass-

communications media, technological developments in data storage and transmission equipment, as well as more general social trends both within the music and entertainment industry and also with respect to popular culture more generally.

One of the crucial decisions the program director is required to make is the overall format of radio programming in terms of focusing on music (and if so, on what kind or kinds), talk radio (and again, what kind or kinds) based on an accurate understanding of the corresponding needs of advertisers and the listening public within the station's primary market (Paro, 2009). The program director must be able to coordinate the sales pitches and marketing strategy of the advertising sales department with the character, sentiments, political orientation, cultural focus, and the prevailing social circumstances in the marketplace. In that regard, a fully integrated conceptual approach to client negotiations is much more likely to be effective than isolated unit functions in which

there is little connection between the program content and the specific marketing concept

(Hall & Hall, 2000).

Operational Responsibilities:

At the operational level, broadcast radio program directors are responsible for scheduling talent, deciding how to allocate available air time among many competitive professionals, and for continually monitoring the response of the listening audience to the station's programming. That particular element of the job never ends; even in relatively

stable markets, failure to spot emerging trends or changes in consumer demand promptly can adversely affect ratings and advertising revenue and undermine the station's success, especially in very competitive markets (Hall & Hall, 2000).

The ability to remain objective is also important for program managers, because the most successful direction in terms of content may very often conflict with the personal tastes of the program director. Therefore, the successful program director recruits individuals who reflect a wide range of musical tastes (and social or political perspectives, in the case of talk radio stations or dual programming stations). As is the situation in other forms of broadcast media, the radio station program director must coordinate the available talent with the specific demands of the listening audience at different times of the day (Hall & Hall, 2000).

It is difficult to overstate the importance of this responsibility, because it is distinctly possible for a radio station to succeed or fail even with identical on-air talent and performances to the extent poor programming decisions fail to coordinate specific programs and performances with corresponding segments of the listening audience. The same show might be a success in one time slot but an complete failure in another and it is the programming director who is responsible for those decisions (Paro, 2009; Stern,

1995). Even more particularly, the program director is actually responsible for the play list and, especially, for making the necessary changes to maintain (or increase)

listenership to the extent that is a function of public appetite for the station's product.

The program director also typically fulfills duties in the realm of direct negotiations with recording labels and other professional management and representation in connection with establishing product or talent exposure goals that are mutually agreeable to all parties. This often requires polished negotiating and communications skills, particularly because the interests of the station and those of artists and their representation may not necessarily coincide (Hall & Hall, 2000).

Finally, the broadcast radio program director must also supervise technical elements of radio broadcast operations, including the production, recording, and airing of programs, (Paro, 2009) and for ensuring that engineering personnel follow strict FCC and other regulatory compliance requirements (Stern, 1993; Stern, 1995). The compliance element of radio operations can be extremely challenging because a radio station program

director must master the terminology and many of the complex legal concepts and standards that govern broadcast media (Paro, 2009).

While the actual legal work is handled by competent legal counsel, law professionals are not necessarily knowledgeable about the nuances of successful radio

(Stern, 1995). Therefore, it is the program director who must bridge the proverbial gap to enable the decisions and concerns of legal representatives to comport as closely as possible with strictly programming-oriented issues within the area of the program director's professional expertise.

Education and Qualifications:

Program directors come from all different walks of life with varied types of prior professional experience and training. Nevertheless, there are various specific types of professional experience and educational backgrounds that are particularly helpful to success in radio programming. Consequently, candidates who can offer the most appropriate and directly related experience will naturally have a distinct advantage over other candidates (Hall & Hall, 2000).