Radio as a Vocation.

 

There is always considerable glamour attached to radio, and this fact largely explains the interest that so many people have in it as a possible vocation. Furthermore, broadcasting offers a career that is not seasonal, for the station operates upon a nearly full schedule, summer and winter. The field of radio is becoming more and more expanded and specialized, with the result that the demand for a variety of talent continues to grow. Whereas in its early days radio broadcasting was poorly organized and talent was scarce, today each of the 881 broadcasting stations has its announcers, actors, musicians, writers, technicians, and sales and office staff, each with a specific latitude in which to work but all cooperating. 

In launching into a discussion of radio as a vocation, the logical place to start is in the studio, with the employees who come into more direct contact with the listening public. Of these persons probably the best known is the announcer. As is the case with practically all branches of radio today, the supply of announcing talent far exceeds the demand. The mistake that is made by most persons who desire to enter the radio profession is that they attempt to start in the more important stations. The networks require an announcer to have had experience with an outlet station. The larger outlets suggest that the radio speaker gain training in the small local station. The ideal way to break into broadcasting is to start with a local station, where the work of all departments of the station may be studied. Here there is also opportunity for trying out types of programs, writing dramatic skits and continuity, and selling advertising time. If the neophyte is successful, he may be called to an outlet station; at least he will have a background of experience when he applies for a position. A few of the more fortunate beginners may find employment in the network outlets, but such cases are rare. The place to start is at the bottom and learn the task thoroughly, so that you may be able to do not only the job for which you have been employed but someone else's too-for that is the way advancement is obtained. Too many beginners

take a job with a small station feeling that in such a job they will hear of other jobs that they can try out for. This is the wrong attitude. Make a business of getting a job, and after securing one make a business of keeping it. Do not make a business out of employment seeking. Appreciate your affiliation with the small station; it has all the ramifications of a large network, only on a smaller scale and with fewer people to engage in them. 

Applications for an audition may be made in person, by telephone, or by mail (Figs. 57 and 58). The applicant must be persistent and not easily discouraged. Althouth he may take an audition and although his name may be placed upon record, the applicant who happens to be in the studio when a position is open usually gets the job. Some stations, in order to discourage the applicant, will give him a pronunciation test to read such as is sent out free by the G. and C. Merriam Company, publishers of Webster's New International Dictionary. In every instance the applicant will be given sight reading and may read copy he has himself prepared. In the outlet and local station an applicant who can double as a singer or an actor as well as an announcer has an advantage. Some stations, overwhelmed by applicants, refuse personal interviews or auditions and merely listen to the voice over a telephone. If the voice is pleasant, the applicant is invited to the studio for an audition. Many applications are received by mail, and the writer is judged by his letter; however, he is not employed until he has passed a studio audition. 

The following is an outline of the Announcer's Test used by N.B.C.: 

1. Knowledge of foreign languages. Frequently used names of foreign operas, arias, and composers. Italian, French, German titles of songs and arias. Some Spanish. 

2. a. Verbal ad lib. To test presence of mind. Description as in special event. Patrick Kelly, chief announcer, assigns subject at time of test. b. Mr. Kelly at time of test frequently gives list of musical numbers to aspirant and asks him to ad lib as though program were on the air. 

3. Candidate is given sample of commercial announcement to read in order to demonstrate both sales ability and diction as announcer. 

Those who are intent upon becoming radio announcers should not neglect backdoor methods. Any job in a radio station is a steppingstone to the microphone. Many announcers who began in technical work have become radio personages. Important sponsors are frequently able to place capable friends in a station, and, if these friends prove their worth, they are on the job when a permanent position is open. The ability to get along with other people is first among the qualifications sought in an announcer. 

When one realizes how, in a radio studio, everyone is thrust into close and informal contact with others on the staff, this becomes immediately apparent. An announcer must also have that quality commonly known as "horse sense." He must be able to think quickly and clearly upon occasions, for, while things usually flow pretty smoothly, one can never tell when some split-second decision will have to be made, and he must be prepared to make it. The announcer must be able to work the switches that control the microphone. He must be calm in a pinch and able to vary the tempo of his speech in order to end a program on time. 

An applicant with a university degree is given preference, and a degree is nearly a prerequisite when you consider how many college graduates are applying for radio positions. The university training gives to them the broad background required, for the radio announcer should "know a little about a lot of things and a lot about many things." He has to be versatile enough to shift from poetry to pugilism. He must know sport and musical terminology. He must have personality that makes him a master of ceremonies one hour and enable him to introduce a religious program the next. He must be able to pronounce the names in the news, music, and art. To prepare himself for this he should have covered as much ground as is possible during his four years upon the campus. He should not have overlooked physical development, because he needs a healthy body for the fatiguing grind of a life composed of split seconds and his body must be healthy to make his voice sound that way. The N.B.C. expects its announcers to have a speaking knowledge of several languages as well as a good background in music. With the development of the radio receiver to its present status, where it can reproduce the sounds almost exactly as they leave the studio, the importance of a particular type of voice is not so great as it once was. Sponsors, however, demand announcers with "commercial voices," that is, voices that command attention in a friendly and unassuming manner. It should be said, however, that a pleasing voice, a "voice with a smile," is a decided asset to any radio announcer, and the lack of it is a decided handicap. In addition, the announcer must be capable of reading fluently at sight. He must speak clearly and without affectation. He must have a pleasing personality and be able to project it through his voice, as well as conform to all the requirements set forth in previous chapters for the radio speaker. Additional qualifications for the announcer include the command of a good English vocabulary; confidence, initiative, and quick thinking to describe a program; the ability to give an impromptu talk if the emergency occurs; a good sense of news values and the ability to describe news, sports, and other special events. The ability to use a typewriter is a decided asset. The announcer may be called upon to perform his announcing duties at any time of the day or night, and he must be willing to subordinate other interests to his job. The quality of punctuality is essential. Radio is not looking for men who make excuses. There is a certain amount of routine in the announcer's work, but, on the whole, with its irregular hours and variety of programs and artists, it is far from a routine job. Among his many qualifications are the ability to write continuity and take complete charge of a program, acting as producer or dramatic director when necessary. Announcers start at $25 a week, with salary changes depending on their value to the studio. Announcers' salaries reach a maximum at from $75 to $90 a week. The average pay for network announcers is $65.54 a week and for those in independent stations $32.52. The greatest advantage is that an announcer is on the permanent staff of the station. Of course, some announcers get much larger pay for their work, but in these cases the checks come from certain advertisers who have happened to take a fancy to a particular voice or manner of speaking and specify the individual announcer, who thereupon becomes an artist. Even on the national chains, salaries seldom run much higher than on the larger local stations. Of course, if a man is good, there are opportunities offered to him for making money on the side. He will be employed to make announcements for electrical transcriptions and also for commercial talking pictures. During athletic contests and public events a man is often needed to announce the events and the results over a public-address system, a "pickup" that will usually net him a little extra cash. Sometimes a sponsor will ask an announcer to step into a dramatic part, for which he receives extra pay. The present and wise tendency is to do away with titles in the broadcasting staff. Individuals will be given specific duties to perform, but they are not encouraged to assume the attitude of importance that a title seems to create. While various individuals will have definite tasks, every member of the staff is responsible not only for his own performance but also for the smooth operation of the station. Among the various tasks that may bring additional income to the announcer is that of preparing the daily schedule for the announcers, showing what programs and what standbys they are to take. It is his duty to see that the requests of sponsors for particular announcers are satisfied, that voices are varied upon successive programs, and that the announcers are on the job at the required times. In some stations he is given the title of "studio manager." Next comes the announcer who is in charge of traffic, sometimes called "program director," whose duty it is to oversee the work of everyone in the studio and to see that everything runs smoothly. In many radio stations he also assumes the function of planning what will be broadcast during the intervals between commercial programs. In this capacity he receives daily -program announcements in advance from the network with which his station is affiliated, and, combining these offerings with the facilities at his immediate command, he must so arrange and organize each day's broadcast that a variety of entertainment will be provided, taking into account the types of programs that are to be presented by the network through his outlet as well as commercial programs and those sponsored by his local advertising clientele. He will be the connecting link between the artistic side of broadcasting and the business department. He will keep his finger on the public pulse and induce artists and those who are in the day's news to give personal appearances over his station. His greatest task is to put originality into his day's entertainment. The announcer may obtain his position with a local station as the result of an audition for the dramatic, vocal, or announcing field; or as the result of some connection with a sponsor or advertising agency. His first advancement in the local station is either to become assistant production manager or into sports; if he is good he steps into the chain gang. If he goes into production he advances to become local production manager, where he hesitates long and uncertainly, hoping to become manager of the station. His chances are slim. If he goes into local sports he can advance to network sports, where he finds himself stymied unless he pays the forfeit of going back into announcing for the network. The network announcer may work up to be program manager. Seldom does the announcer rise higher than production manager for the local station or program manager for the network.

The copy that the announcer reads on the air is prepared by another member of the staff, the continuity writer. For the local station usually one or two continuity writers are sufficient to handle all the work to be done, especially if that station is affiliated with a network from which it can draw programs. The continuity writer must be one who is able to imagine just how the announcer assigned to a particular program will read the copy, so that he or she can prepare copy best adapted to that person's manner of speaking. This author prepares commercial copy as well as announcements for sustaining programs. The continuity writer has frequently worked into radio writing from a newspaper or an advertising agency and has a knowledge of writing principles. There is a decided shortage of good dramatic scripts written for the radio. Many try their hands at it, but in most cases they lack the natural ability to write good plays. When once a playwright's reputation is established through his products for the legitimate stage, he will not risk it on radio plays. As was pointed out by Eugene O'Neill when he was asked to prepare a play for radio presentation, most authors spend many months in developing a good product for the stage and cannot hope to produce as good work at the rate of one play a week or more. Writers for radio are placed in three classes, those on the staff, those under contract, and free-lance writers. Staff writers do not make so much as contract writers but they have a definite salary and work during definite hours. Staff writers prepare commercial continuity, talks, announcements, interviews, special -occasion scripts, original plays, adaptations, and often station publicity. In the local station they are paid from $15 to $75 a week; if connected with a network they get from $40 to $150; and in the advertising agency the range is from $25 to $250. The national average for staff writers is $56.74 for the networks and $32.46 for independent stations. Program agencies and syndicates also have staff writers preparing serials, news releases, and drama series; for these the prices vary. 

Writers under contract earn up to $100 in preparing serials for local stations and up to $1250 for the networks, depending upon the number of serial scripts and their popularity. You have to be funny for $10 when dealing with a local program but a name comedian upon a network show pays as high as $1500 a week to his gag writers and continuity staff. A single play will bring from $5 to $100 from a station and from $75 to $750 from the network. The free-lance writer gets what the sponsor will pay, if he satisfies the sponsor's demands and the agencies and the program has pull. The free-lance writer is a gambler with his wits and time, usually being paid about $25 for a program, in exceptional cases as high as $100. The freelance writer who has material accepted, for even a sustaining program, has established an "in." Dramatic writers also sell their plays to electrical -transcription houses. A single script can be sold to a number of different local stations in widely separated parts of the country. There does not seem to be any line of advancement for the continuity writer except that he may become a better continuity writer. He is in a blind alley. The best paid continuity writer is represented by those who write for the radio comedians. Frequently they are employed by the comic for whom their gags or situations are created, while in some cases their scripts are syndicated by concerns which furnish continuity to widely separated local stations. Humorous writing is divided into situation writing and gag writing. The former consists of connected comedy, the latter of jokes. The situation writer builds skits that run for months, even years; the gag writer lives from program to program or supplies only a small portion of a single program. The gag writer has a difficult task, for constant broadcasting has nearly exhausted the joke book, despite the fact that the gag writer usually has a huge file of jokes that have been used for centuries. Celebrated comics require as many as 50 gags for a single program. Consequently there is a demand for good writers who can be relied upon to supply both quality and quantity. Few can maintain the pace. The neophyte must establish a name for himself, submit to the comedian gags styled especially for him, and continue to write regardless of discouragements. Gags may be sold to the comedians, to advertising agencies, to syndicates, or to broadcasting stations. They must be original. If they are not merely adopted without the writer's consent, they will bring from 50 cents a gag to $1000 a program. The gag writer must have boundless energy, talent, persistence, and material in addition to experience and contacts before he can anticipate steady employment or a living wage. Those who can write fresh material which creates laughter and  which is acceptable in both Pine Center and Boston have "names" in radio that result in excellent incomes but in little publicity. 

There is, of course, always the possibility of working into radio as a vocalist or musician. The musician must be versatile and capable of playing everything from symphony to jazz music. Studio orchestras are usually very carefully chosen and contain excellent musicians. They frequently make special arrangements of selections and write musical bridges and theme music, as well as background music. At one large station, the pay of the studio orchestra is $5 an hour for 12 hours of work, rehearsals included, and $7 an hour for ate time over 12 hours. The musicians are paid on a weekly basis and are highly unionized. The musical director in a regional station gets from $75 to $200 a week.

The production director is sometimes called the "dramatic" director; however, production is a more inclusive term, for the producer puts together the musical program, the variety show, the dramatic performance, and in fact all productions. He generally has had dramatic training as well as experience in all the radio departments. His qualifications have been enlarged upon in a previous chapter. In local stations he may be an announcer as well as director and frequently does a bit of dramatic writing. He receives an average of $100 a week, and advancement consists of moving into a network position. The national average weekly pay is $55.87 for the network station and $39 for the independent station. With additional features, such as commercial dramatic announcements, he has opportunities for outside income and frequently serves both a station and a transcription service. Program manager of a chain is about tops in advancement. He may be employed by an advertising agency with a production department or by one of the many agencies that specializes in production to put on a show. 

The station may have a nucleus of a dramatic staff on its regular pay roll but the majority are on call. The radio actors' training and re- quirements have been discussed in a chapter devoted to them. They come from dramatic schools, from stock companies and vaudeville, from motion pictures, and even from the opera. Unknowns do leap to fame after auditions. Recently a network production chief noticed a lack of available talent and developed a training department; candidates were selected from six colleges and were instructed in radio techniques and twice each week required to attend the theater, opera, concerts, motion pictures. 

Few radio actors belong to Equity but the number is growing. Many advertising agencies employ their own actors, and name characters are under contract. In a local station actors receive from $3 to $5 for a program, which includes rehearsals. The announcer who is "a voice" in a play becomes an artist and is entitled to additional pay. In the larger network stations the actor receives from $10 to $25. Pay always includes a stipulated rehearsal period. 

The sound -effects operator has been discussed in the chapter on sound effects. Frequently he is drafted from the technical staff. There is no logical advancement from his position. Many stations operate Artists' Service Bureaus to secure employment for artists upon sustaining programs and for personal appearances. The management of such a bureau collects a commission upon the remuneration received by the artist. The music library is a very important part of the broadcasting station's equipment and must be in charge of a capable librarian. He must have various types of indexes; the selections must be timed and classified for different kinds of programs. He will also be in charge of transcriptions and sound -effect recordings. 

Each station has a staff of about six or seven licensed technicians working in shifts in the control room in connection with the studio; where the transmitting station is located away from the studio, as is becoming more and more the case, a staff of at least four men is required at the transmitter. Many radio technicians are former "salt -water operators," who have left their ship radio cabins. A licensed radio operator must be in charge of the transmitter at all times that it is in operation. Licenses for operators are granted by the F.C.C. upon the successful completion of a written examination, which must be taken at any one of several of the commission offices. This examination is highly technical and is designed to test the applicant's knowledge of the care and operation of the transmitter with broadcasting transmission laws. Such licenses are granted for a period of three years but under certain conditions may be revoked by the commission. The qualifications for such positions have been set up by R.C.A. Communications as follows: 1. Foresight, judgment, resourcefulness, industry, and cooperation. 2. Knowledge of radio engineering and associated branches of electrical engineering and detailed knowledge of plant he supervises. 3. Knowledge of radio laws and regulations and possession of a radiotelegraph and/or a radiotelephone operator's license. With the development of highly technical phases of radio, especially television, the demand for college and technical -school men is rapidly increasing. The F.C.C. restrictions are becoming more rigid, thereby further increasing the need for highly trained personnel. A college education in engineering is not essential to the radio oper- ator. A high-school background of mathematics and physics, coupled with a flair for radio and four to six months in a training school, is usually enough to enable him to get a license. The designing of radio apparatus is a different field entirely, and for it a college degree in electrical engineer- ing is important. Salaries range from $45 to $80 a week for operators, and chief engineers in key stations may receive upward of $6000 annually. Smaller stations pay considerably less for engineers with salaries ranging from $25 to $40 a week for operators and about $35 to $60 for chief engineers. In the local station the technician usually comes from a trade school to become an apprentice. He works up to chief engineer and has a better chance of becoming the station manager than anyone outside of those upon the business staff. In the network setup there are monitors, field engineers, control -room head, and operations chief. Here again the engineer can rise to an executive position in the chain. 

The business of the advertising sales department of the broadcasting station is to sell the radio medium to buyers of advertising media in coordination with other media. All forms of advertising are worked into a unified campaign to sell a product. Broadcasting stations are going back into the business of selling direct to advertisers, adapting the radio medium to the advertising program of the sponsor. Frequently the radio merely focuses attention upon the product while visual media are used actually to sell it. The radio station cooperates with the advertising agency, and often it is unnecessary for the sales department of the station to make the original contact with the advertiser. Practically every large broadcasting station has its central sales representatives in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Detroit. The ideal salesman for the station is one who has had a university education or at least a high-school training. He should also have had actual experience in selling advertising, and the training received in an advertising agency is of great value. The salesman's personality is important. The turnover in the sales department is very low. The salesman's salary generally starts at about $60 a week. The national average weekly pay for the salesman connected with the network is $121.23, while he gets approximately $48.50 with an independent station. A promotion manager creates the trade for the salesman by advertising the station in trade periodicals. A few years' service upon the staff of a small newspaper is excellent preparation for radio sales work. Native ability and deftness in the turning of phrases are steppingstones. The radio salesman must have business ability, selling ability, and showmanship. He must be familiar with all advertising media. He must have originality and imagination to create commercial programs that will attract purchasers. He should be honest with a prospective client and refuse business or programs that will be unproductive; this will result in fewer cancellations and more good friends. The salesman is generally paid on a commission basis, receiving 15 per cent on time charges. In this department, also, commercial programs are planned. For example, when an advertiser has been contacted and has agreed that radio advertising would be valuable to him, he informs the sales department that he has a specific amount of money to spend and asks what he can get for that amount. What seems to be a good program is outlined, and if the client likes it the details are completed and the deal is consummated. If you want to get to the top either in local stations or in the networks join the sales staff. The salesman is very likely to advance to sales manager, business manager, and then to station manager. The accountant and the financial secretary are also in this line of march according to surveys made of different stations.

The business of the advertising sales department of the broadcasting station is to sell the radio medium to buyers of advertising media in coordination with other media. All forms of advertising are worked into a unified campaign to sell a product. Broadcasting stations are going back into the business of selling direct to advertisers, adapting the radio  medium to the advertising program of the sponsor. Frequently the radio merely focuses attention upon the product while visual media are used actually to sell it. The radio station cooperates with the advertising agency, and often it is unnecessary for the sales department of the station to make the original contact with the advertiser. Practically every large broadcasting station has its central sales representatives in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Detroit. The ideal salesman for the station is one who has had a university education or at least a high-school training. He should also have had actual experience in selling advertising, and the training received in an advertising agency is of great value. The salesman's personality is important. The turnover in the sales department is very low. The salesman's salary generally starts at about $60 a week. The national average weekly pay for the salesman connected with the network is $121.23, while he gets approximately $48.50 with an independent station. A promotion manager creates the trade for the salesman by advertising the station in trade periodicals. A few years' service upon the staff of a small newspaper is excellent preparation for radio sales work. Native ability and deftness in the turning of phrases are steppingstones. The radio salesman must have business ability, selling ability, and showmanship. He must be familiar with all advertising media. He must have originality and imagination to create commercial programs that will attract purchasers. He should be honest with a prospective client and refuse business or programs that will be unproductive; this will result in fewer cancellations and more good friends. The salesman is generally paid on a commission basis, receiving 15 per cent on time charges. In this department, also, commercial programs are planned. For example, when an advertiser has been contacted and has agreed that radio advertising would be valuable to him, he informs the sales department that he has a specific amount of money to spend and asks what he can get for that amount. What seems to be a good program is outlined, and if the client likes it the details are completed and the deal is consummated. If you want to get to the top either in local stations or in the networks join the sales staff. The salesman is very likely to advance to sales manager, business manager, and then to station manager. The accountant and the financial secretary are also in this line of march according to surveys made of different stations. 

The function of the publicity department is to call the public's attention through other advertising media, such as the newspaper and the billboard, to the value of the station and its contributions to the community. Its duty is to put the station "on the map" from the listeners' viewpoint, while the advertising and sales department deals with advertisers. 

Since the studio routine in each station is somewhat different from that in any other, an effort is made to keep the staff, which has been trained in the routine, intact. However, as must be the case in a profession closely allied with the entertainment business, where an effort must be made to satisfy the ever-changing tastes of both the public and the advertiser, there is likely to be a moderately rapid turnover, especially among those persons directly connected with actual broadcasting. This is particularly true in the case of the smaller stations in the larger chains. The high turnover on the smaller stations arises from the fact that their talent is continually looking for something a little better, so that these stations become practical training schools. If a person wishes to become connected with an industry which, without doubt, is still in its infancy and is rapidly growing, and one which will not soon be outdated, he can make no better choice, I think, than radiothat is, if he is willing to sacrifice the glory of the public eye and take a place behind the scenes for permanence and stability of employment. If, however, he is interested in the actual broadcasting of radio programs, he must risk the danger of a shorter period of employment and prepare himself for some other profession to keep him alive after he has outlived his period of usefulness to radio. Radio has not yet discovered what to do with the weathered old voice. The considerate station owner is perplexed by his loyal old employee.