In an ever shrinking and more and more specialized industry such as on air radio broadcasting, it’s tough to even get a second look most times if you have any interest in being a DJ. But, as a former DJ myself and as one who grew up in and around radio as it began to see it’s fleeting from popular culture in lieu of other medium (the Internet, Napster, the iPod) there may be a couple of insights that I can offer to the person who’s looking for a way in but just doesn’t know where to begin.
1)Know your market: Unfortunately many FM Markets and an increasing number of AM markets are flooded with satellite radio programs from the likes of Sirius, Westwood One, and Clear Channel. While Westwood One and Clear Channel were always around on the AM side of the dial after local programming had gone to bed (except for the all news channels of larger cities) FM radio used to be manned 24 hours of the day. Now it’s flipped around where FM radio is more often run more or completely by satellite feeds while AM still has around the same level of programming that it used to.
However, you should know your market: are there jocks on the FM dial all hours of the day? One way you can find this out is by calling (!) in the middle of the night. It’s best to do it around a station break or when the DJ gets on the radio. However some overnight DJ’s are like the crypt keeper so you need to be persistent. Another thing to do is to access the radio station web page: more and more radio stations have these and this is where you can find all the pertinent information about all the on air talent.
2)Know your skills: Are you much more inclined to read information off a paper? Or are you great talking with people? Do you like doing trivia? Reading sports? Or do you have an interesting programming angle you’d like to see covered on your station?
If your skills lie in your ability to read text, you may be more of a news/weather type person. If you feel comfortable talking with people you may be more suited to the FM dial where you can take requests and dedications. If you’re more interested in talking about sports, you maybe should consider being a sportscaster. If you feel your programming ideas can fill a void in the station clock (think “Mr. 70’s Saturday Night;” “Hip Hop from the Hometown” or “Alternative Up & Comers”) then this is something you can pose to the station manager or programming director. If you feel you’d be good doing a wide variety of things, this is best and you should be prepared to offer yourself up to intern on a limited amount of time before they offer you a job.
But before you get there, you need to introduce yourself. Email is good but radio is all about personality and even the most colorful writing is still black and white. So you need to call the radio station office, speak in a clear composed voice (practice what you’d like to say; write it down even), and if they’re willing to meet with you, don’t lose your cool; remember this is a job interview like anything else so just because you want to run through the Hippie Meltdown doesn’t give you permission to come in to their place of business wearing a burning bra and smoking a joint. You’ve got to sell yourself and make your product; in this case, yourself, look like something that they need.
3)Know where you fit between your skills and in your market: If you’re in a big city get prepared to stand at the back of the line. Your best bet to start would probably be in a smaller market (unless you’ve got some kind of an IN) this is where all the talented small market DJ’s graduate to.
Radio is a great thing and anyone with something to say or something to play can have a great time doing it. Hoping to keep radio alive is one of the first steps in the program; so you’ve got to listen to your local radio stations, go out to their live events, call in to their programs, and pretty soon you could be on the air playing Duncan Sheik and staring at the tiny, slow second hand at 3:24 in the morning wondering why you’d waited your whole life to do this in the first place!
