Month: September 2017

Intro to Production

Production is anything from the recorded liners to advertising spots. Liners are the short audio clips that get played in between songs and talking that say things like events, what radio station you are listening to, to promotions. Advertising spots are recorded commercials, in the non profit world they are called underwriting.

All you need to produce these things are:

Once you have all these pieces of equipment set up, you can start recording!

When I record things for my station, I always start with opening Audition. It looks like this:

sdfgsdfg

This is a blank starting canvas in Audition

ewraewrewer

I first record the vocal track using my mic and equipment

sdfadfdsffd

Then I put a music bed behind it

wEERWQWERWERQ

Add some sound effects, fades and effects and the recorded liner is good to go!

This is just a very basic liner, but trust me when I say it can get really complex. Let me know if you have any production questions and don’t forget to like, share and follow my Twitter!

What makes radio entertaining?

Something that is heard frequently in the radio world is “I thought radio was dying” and “Who listens to the radio anymore?”. They did a study in the 70s about media consumption among Americans over 11 and the results were that 93% listened to the radio weekly. This number is the exact same today, in 2017 93% of Americans listen to the radio weekly. If you are a huge nerd and want to see a more in depth breakdown of radio listening stats, here is the Radio Advertising Bureau Fact Sheet.

What draws people to the radio? Is it a lack of Spotify and Aux cord connections or is it something a little more? From what I have gathered, people like listening to their local DJs. They enjoy the conversation that is had on air and they like a friendly voice to connect with their favorite station. As an on-air DJ you have to realize this, people are coming to you as a friend and they want to be talked to like a friend.

I have a late-night hip hop show (The Night Show) with my friend DJ Stunner. In this show we realize that we are friends of the people and only talk about what they want to hear about. A good DJ knows their audience and how to speak to them as such. During this show we talk about what is going on in the hip hop world as well as talking about things that interest a hip hop listener. Any one can go on a mic and read out some written lines but it takes a talented DJ to really connect with the audience.

Let me know if you have any area of radio that you would like to find about more about and smash that follow button on Twitter.

You can listen online at tmn.truman.edu

Picture: Me and DJ Stunner at The Night ShowIMG_20170907_231334

Being a DJ

College radio encompasses so many cool things about being an on-air radio DJ. The most fun part, in my opinion, is being able to relate and connect to the community. As an influencer, you decide what is important for the listener to know. This can be anything from neat events in the community to breaking news. As a DJ, you are in control of what information is distributed, it’s an important job! I love reading about the weather, community events and talking about the music that I play. Over everything, the music is still what drives a radio station. This blog’s purpose is to educate on what I do as a DJ and what my friends at the station do to maintain and improve our station. If you have any questions about radio or what it’s like working at a college station feel free to get in contact with me! Like/Share to help my audience grow.IMG_20170912_113535

Welcome!

I walked around the station and took pictures of some prominent aspects of the station. This is a compilation of photos that show what a college radio station looks like on the inside, there are many parts of radio that are not seen (heard) from the public Take a look at some familiar and unfamiliar parts of broadcasting!

The lobby area
Our second studio
Filing cabinet full of old cds
Our main booth
CD closet
Production studio