THE RADIO CENTER FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
TRAINEE POSITION: PRODUCTION/OPERATIONS
PROGRAM LENGTH: 6 Months
WEEKLY SCHEDULE: 20 - 30 hours per week
4-5 days per week, including one
weekend day
QUALIFICATIONS:
Good attention to detail. Strong organizational skills. General comfort with technical equipment and computers. Ability to use telephone and computer without assistance from other personnel. Ability to respond quickly and accurately. Good reflexes. Solid writing skills.
Excellent hearing and vision. Proper diction and command of the English language necessary. Must be able to articulate and enunciate clearly.
Radio environments are often fast paced, high stress and high performance. The noise level in the work can be very loud with a great deal of physical activity and movement in the room. Candidates must be comfortable in a busy and noisy environment.
TRAINING
PHASE #1: Introduction to Radio
Week #1: All trainees will spend their first week of training gaining basic familiarity with radio. Emphasis will be put on the overall structure, goals, staffing, and duties found in most stations.
Trainees will be assigned to listen and report on several Chicago area stations, including information available on their web sites. A general Introduction to Programming will be included in this week.
Weeks #2 - 3: In Station
The trainee will visit several active radio stations in the area during his or her first month in training.
In order to maximize the learning experience, RCPD trainers will provide an introduction to each station. This introduction will also help the trainee understand what lessons should be learned from each visit.
RCPD will provide trainees with a list of suggested questions to ask and areas of information to be covered by the station employees involved with the trainees. RCPD will also supply the station with a suggested list of information to be covered and goals achieved.
Besides gaining an overall sense of each station, the trainee will also participate in the following areas:
Introduction to Programming
Emphasis will be on understanding the role production plays in the on-air product.
The visits will include:
n sitting in on an on-air shift
n one half day with a production or programming assistant or producer
Introduction to Promotions
n A meeting with the Promotions Manager or promotions assistant
Introduction to Commercial Production
n One half day with the Production Director
n A meeting with a technician (engineer or board op) during which the trainee will be introduced to the basic of board operations, preferably during an actual broadcast, followed by one hour of hands-on training
Introduction to On-Air Production/Board Operation
n Observation of one live show with special emphasis on the technical activities taking place
n One shift with a production or programming assistant or producer
Introduction to Traffic and Continuity
Goals: To learn how commercials end up on the air in the proper place and at the proper time
· The process from arrival to air
· Acceptance policies
· Introduction to FCC Rules and Regulations
· Logging
· Traffic Computer Systems
· Reconciliation
· Billing
· Make-goods, bumps and other problems
PHASE #1 EVALUATION: The trainee will be given a written test to determine whether he or she has adequately learned basic FCC Rules and Regulations and understands the basic mechanisms and processes of Traffic and Continuity. If the trainee receives a grade of 50% or lower, the supervisor may choose to terminate the program at this time. If the trainee receives a score of 75% or lower, the supervisor will require the trainee to review and study all aspects of the training program to date Two weeks later the trainee will be tested again. Failure to score over 80% will result in termination of the program.
PHASE #2: Developing Basic Production Skills
Week #4 - 5 Basic Analog Editing and Carting
The trainee will learn how to run reel to reel
and cart machines, how to edit tape manually,
how to record on reel, how to record from reel
to cart, how to put cue tones on carts.
Week #6 - 7 Using a Digital Editor
The trainee will learn how to do digital editing on a
computer screen and how to manipulate and
transfer audio from one computer source to
another. He or she will also learn how to
record directly to the computer.
Weeks #8 - 9 Running the board
The trainee will learn how to operate a broadcast
board, including turning microphones on and off,
adjusting audio levels, playing carts, cassettes, CDs,
taking outside audio sources such as network feeds, traffic reports, and syndicated material, and how to troubleshoot, deal with crises and unpredictable events.
PHASE #2 Evaluation: At the end of ninth week, the trainee will be evaluated for ability in each of the three above skill sets. If, at the end of Week #9, the trainee has demonstrated difficulty in grasping and learning two or more of these skills, the program will be discontinued. If the trainee is having problems in one area, but doing well in the other two, up to three more weeks will be spent in the basic training of these skills. A determination of his or her ability to continue with the program will be made at the end of Week #12.
PHASE #3: Introduction to Professional Production
Weeks #10 -12 Writing commercial copy
· Fundamentals of broadcast writing
· “Selling” a client or product
· Rules of thumb
· Writing for oral presentation
Week #13 Intermediate Technology
· Digital commercial systems
· Touchscreens
· ISDN and broadcast lines/remotes
· Genters, phone lines and the phone
company
Weeks #14 - 16 Specs: Putting it all together
The trainee will be assigned 5 “spec” spots to write
and produce, taking a commercial from inception through completion.
PHASE #3 Evaluation: During the last period of Phase #3, Weeks 14-16, the trainee’s ability in commercial production and complex board operation will be tested and evaluated. The “spec” spots will be evaluated for both writing quality (will it sell the product?) and technical quality (does it sound good? meet the time requirements?). All five “specs” should be usable at a professional level. The trainee should also be able to run the board, without aid or problems, for the live and syndicated programming at the RCPD. It is possible that the RCPD supervisors may determine that the trainee has stronger ability in only one of these areas rather than both. If he or she is strong in only one area, only that area will be used in Phase #4. If the trainee is unable to perform at a satisfactory level in either skill set, no further training will be done.
PHASE #4: Testing Skills in the Real World
The trainee will test his newly learned skills by working with the
RCPD Production Director and Account Executives. He or she
may also spend one to three weeks in a participating Chicago
area radio station, acting as an assistant to the Production Director
and/ or running a board for live, taped , network or syndicated programming.
PHASE #4 Evaluation: The station employees with whom the trainee worked will be interviewed for their evaluation and input. If the trainee appeared weak in any specific areas, several weeks may be added on to the program in order to rectify the problem.