Jobs in Broadcasting
Brief descriptions of common positions available at Nebraska radio and TV stations
In Nebraska alone, an estimated 1,500 jobs exist directly in radio and television. Nebraska broadcasters are committed to hiring a diverse group of individuals to work at their stations. Broadcasting is a fast-paced and dynamic industry that is continually changing. Careers in broadcasting can be exciting, unique and rewarding.
Digital and mobile technology are quickly changing radio and television to the benefit of all audiences. Stations have adopted new technology to enhance the viewing and listening experience, making outstanding local content available through all kinds of social media applications for use on the latest mobile and other electronic devices. Stations hire people to generate content specifically for online and mobile applications - some of which is never broadcast "over the air" - offering even more great choices for consumers.
Broadcasting encompasses all aspects of the job market today including social media, marketing, public relations, engineering, sales, news, programming and management. These are the jobs that the next broadcasting millennium holds for the future.
Remember that each station is unique in its staff structure, and no two stations are organized in the same fashion. The size of a station and the market it serves often dictates the number and types of jobs available. The following descriptions provide an overview of just some of the positions and responsibilities.
Radio Jobs
Account Executive - Sells advertising and works closely with marketing businesses to the station listeners.
Announcers - The radio station's voice who introduces programs and music, reads commercial copy and public service announcements and is involved in the overall public presentation of the station.
Chief Engineer - Responsible for the technology necessary to put the station's broadcast "on-the-air" within the station's licensed range. They work to maintain existing broadcasting capabilities and provide quick solutions to problems that may arise with the transmitter, tower, satellite receiver and other related equipment.
Copywriter - Writes commercial and promotional copy in support of the station's sales, marketing and promotional efforts.
General Manager - Responsible for the overall operation of a station.
General Sales Manager - Hires and supervises the sales staff, reviews programming for the best sales opportunities, develops sales plans and goals, oversees billing, studies and understands the station's market and approves all sales promotion campaigns.
Maintenance Engineer - Installs and performs preventive maintenance on the station's control consoles, boards, recording equipment, microphones and a wide variety of other station equipment and electronic systems.
Music Director - Manages the station's music library and works with the program director in selecting new recordings to be played as they are submitted by record companies.
News Director - Assigns stories to reporters on staff, monitors the wire service and is involved with identifying the important news issues within the community.
Owner - A person or group of persons that possess the station. Every owner must hold a license from the Federal Communications Commission.
Production Director - Assigns announcers, schedules studios, arranges recording sessions, produces commercials, and directs programs.
Promotions Director - Works closely with the program director in creating on-air promotions and also with the sales department in securing new clients and maintaining current advertisers.
Program Director - Responsible for the entire on-air product, the PD governs the sound of the stations.
Receptionist - Duties vary according to the size of the station. This position is ideal for understanding all the aspects of how a station operates.
Sales Assistant - Offers support to the sales staff and managers by handling much of the office work, including drafting proposals, which allows the sales staff to focus on meeting with clients and developing business.
Sports Director - Handle the play-by-play coverage of local sporting events.
Traffic Director - Collects data from other departments in order to prepare a minute-by-minute schedule for the broadcast day.
Television Jobs
Account Executive - Develop working relationships with local business leaders and with local advertising agencies and client representatives.
Assignment Editor - Responsible for the gathering of the news that goes into a program. Usually a team effort, they set news coverage priorities, organize the logistics of camera crews and reporters and arrange for the various satellite feeds and live on-scene coverage.
Business Manager - Responsible for all financial transactions.
Chief Engineer - Heads the technical staff.
Community Relations Director - Plans, coordinates and executes a station's services and programs developed to respond to the needs of the community.
Continuity Writer - Writes some of the local commercial and promotional copy.
Director - Responsible for the actual on-line execution of a program and serves as producer for entire programs or for the production of portions of larger programs.
Electronic News Gathering (ENG) - Work alongside reporters to capture events on tape and to produce live, on-scene coverage of breaking news stories. In addition to operating the video camera and sound, ENG crews must also operate the sophisticated microwave and satellite transmission equipment.
ENG Editor - Edits tape taken by the ENG crew. ENG editors work with producers, reporters and writers to build news packages from the raw tape sent in from the field or gathered on feeds from networks or other sources.
Executive Producer - Coordinates the content and presentation of broadcasts under the direction of the executive producer, managing editor and news director.
General Manager - Responsible for every aspect of a station's operation.
General Sales Manager - Responsible for producing all advertising revenues for a station.
Graphic Artist - Supports all production activities. Computer skills are particularly valuable, as is a background in art and design and radio-television production.
Maintenance Engineers - Responsible for the repair, maintenance, installation and modification of all of the electronic equipment in the station.
Master Control/Videotape Engineer - Responsible for operating the videotape recording and playback equipment for live programs and during commercial breaks in network and taped shows.
News Anchor - Complete journalist, familiar with reporting, on-scene live coverage and skilled at writing, and in some cases, producing news packages.
News Director - Supervises the news department with solid news judgement.
News Reporters - On-the-scene at every kind of event, local news reporters must be excellent writers, capable of working quickly and accurately.
News Writer - Monitoring news feeds, preparing news packages for voicing by anchors or reporters, researching story information, booking guests for live interviews on news shows and producing segments of news programs.
Owner - A person or group of persons that possess the station. Every owner must hold a license from the Federal Communications Commission.
Producer - Develops and organizes local programs and is responsible for scripting, story development, booking of guests and overseeing field production and editing.
Production Assistant - Works with all production personnel helping where necessary.
Production Manager - Responsible for all of the details required in the actual production of local programming.
Program Director - Works closely with the general manager and sales manager to determine and direct the station's policies and to plan the most effective program schedule for the station.
Promotions Director - Promotes the station's image, programs and activities.
Receptionist - Duties vary according to the size of the station. This position is ideal for understanding all the aspects of how a station operates.
Stage Manager - The director's representative on the studio floor and at the site of any live broadcast.
Station Manager - Chief operating officer of the station.
Studio Engineers - Responsible for operating all of the equipment necessary for the production of a program. This includes the studio cameras, the audio console, studio lighting, the video switcher, and in some stations, the character generator and the electronic still-storage graphics display equipment.