6 myths about radio presenters

There is an opinion that working on the radio is rather something between a hobby and a part-time job, as well as an easy way to fame and big money. Today we will debunk the myths about the work of a radio host (our other materials about how a modern radio station lives, read here: 1 and 2 ).

Photo by Ron Kroetz CC-BY

Myth 1: Radio hosts read from paper

It is believed that, for example, the news presenter is brought a piece of paper once an hour with a ready release, he can only read it for three to five minutes while the broadcast is on, and then calmly drink coffee for the next hour, sit on social networks and chat with colleagues in the smoking room.
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It would be a work-tale, but it is not. The news presenter is his own editor and copywriter.

In an hour (and at information stations and in half an hour) he should look through all the news feeds at an insanely fast pace, select the most important of them and independently assemble the issue.

And of course, this is not the action “ctrl c - ctrl v”. All the news neatly correspond to the conversational format so that the listener perceives them easier.

As a rule, a good and high-quality news release is ready for a couple of minutes before the air, and after the “readings” everything begins anew. Therefore, the leader does not stop working his entire shift.

Although, of course, the masters-newsmen have time to sometimes eat or just sit and relax for a couple of minutes before assembling the next issue. But no, no one reads paper.

Myth 2: Radio hosts do little work.

The presenter of the morning show comes at three o'clock, jokes merrily on the air, plays a couple of prizes and is happy to go home, after which he has a free day.

This is also not the case.

First, the presenter of the morning show (which, as a rule, starts at seven in the morning), arrives at the station in advance at about six, which means it gets up at about five (and the girls who need to clean up themselves even earlier).

When the morning show passes, the presenter does not go home, he sits down to analyze the broadcast, analyze mistakes and mistakes, and then begins to prepare for tomorrow's program.

Yes, the morning show is not built on complete improvisation, the program always has a “Klok” - a per-minute schedule of what will be on the air, which guest will come, which group will play, which competition is held and which topic is being discussed.

All this is painstakingly prepared by the presenters along with the producers and editors. If you are lucky, this work begins immediately after the end of the program, and if not, then towards the evening. The time spent at the station off the air, as a rule, is not paid.

The same applies to any leading programs. In addition to the time spent on the air, there is a preparation that takes much more hours than the air itself.

Myth 3: Radio presenters earn a lot

Of course, the work of well-known radio presenters is highly paid. However, an employee of the radio does not automatically become a “superstar”, just getting on the air, - work on the radio in this case differs little from other professions.

Payment shifts, as a rule, hourly, and at the initial stage will bring very little money. At the same time, the work schedule of the majority of radio broadcasters allows searching for part-time work, and almost none of the DJs work exclusively on radio.

Moreover, it is sometimes very difficult to live on a salary only from a radio station - even the path of the “star” presenters began with long work on themselves and not the highest salary. For example, in 2008, work at a regional repeater station could be assessed at only 1,200 rubles per month.

Now the work, for example, of a newsman on a metropolitan radio station is estimated at 40,000–60,000 rubles, depending on the workload level and the financial capacity of the station. For the capital, this is also not the highest salary. But at the same time it is necessary to remember about unstable graphics and work until late at night, because many of the leaders practically “live” at their stations.

Photo of Cristian Borquez CC-BY

Myth 4: Speaking into the microphone is easy.

But such words may even offend, so do not tell them to your fellow radio workers. First, regardless of the length of service, live broadcasting is always stressful.

The presenter should keep in mind not only the main idea, but also the general plan, “shred”, reception of calls, time of release of sponsorship information, fit into timing, and if he sits at the console (yes, the sound producer is not always responsible for this), then taking care of sound, running songs, etc.

In most cases, the DJ is his own sound engineer.

Apart from the fact that the presenter’s speech must be flawless (accents, pronunciation, correctness of facts), there are many nuances: what cannot be said on the air (this is not about obscene vocabulary, but about things regulated by the law on the media and other laws - these are brands, talk about alcohol and drugs, names of organizations banned in Russia).

In addition to this list, the topics prohibited by the internal order of the radio station (references to unfriendly organizations or words prohibited by the general director ) should not “leak out”. Now add to this guest, the speech of which also needs to be monitored - as a result, hard work of several hours is obtained.

Even if a person professionally conducts weddings, corporate parties, concerts and holidays - this does not mean that you can easily “start on the air.” Work on the air you need to learn, it is a long and painstaking process and hard work.

Myth 5: You can only get on the radio "to blat"

You can really get on the radio if you have talent. The process is very simple - a summary is written and a “demo” is recorded - a test broadcast on the air, so that the station management can evaluate the voice of the future presenter.

Yes, as a rule, the rotation of personnel in the field of radio is almost zero, and air vacancies are released very rarely, but anyone can apply for these vacancies.

If you really want to get on the radio, the best way is to regularly remind you of yourself by sending “demos” to various stations. Of course, first of all, the leadership is looking for a person with on-the-air experience, because he does not need to be taught, but there are cases when talented people come to the radio "from the street."

If you are called for an interview, it is likely that they will take you. Most likely, you will have to record a test broadcast on the equipment of the radio station itself and agree to the salary offered by the management (see myth 3).

Myth 6: The hooligans on the air

But this is not a myth at all. Radio presenters sometimes tickle each other, click on the nose with pieces of paper, make faces, draw a mustache into the microphone, insert pencils into their ears, sometimes even drink a little feverish, pull the pigtails and knock down the news readers (as in the production of Radio Day). But you will never hear it, because the magic of the radio works.

Which means ...

... that people work on radio stations whom their own colleagues compare with adrenaline addicts: this is not work for money, prestige, fame or free passes to concerts.

This is a job for the sake of an idea that absolute fans of their work are doing.

They may complain about bags under their eyes, turning to a psychotherapist, taking antidepressants, but radio presenters, if they take root in the profession, will never choose another job. Especially when there are so many myths about her that you don’t really want to debunk.

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