A program director is the behind-the-scenes boss at a radio station. In the broadcast business, the program director is the boss. He or she oversees every facet of daily broadcasts and handles details that no other staff member handles.
First and foremost, the program director is responsible for the entire on-air experience of the station. This means, that the PD sets the tone for the station. The overall sound or theme of any station is created by the PD. A successful program director gains ratings and accolades; a program director who fails to grab enough audience share is often replaced by someone with new ideas and better vision.
The program director oversees all production at the radio station. Under the PD’s careful guidance, commercials copy is taken from written scripts into 30 or 60 seconds spots that sell product and entertain. It’s the program director’s job to work closely with the advertising copywriter and on-air talent to create commercials that are timely, that market the product or service in a memorable way and to make sure all commercials are produced in time to air. News production – or the creation of scheduled newscasts – is another of the PD’s many responsibilities. For this, he or she works with the news director and reporters to come up with newscasts that contain the up to the minute news and weather. The PD is also responsible for the product of live sportscasts including the broadcast of local teams. And, whether or not to run paid programming – programs that the parent company or producer pays to run on the air – is another decision that falls to the program director. Paid programming runs the gamut from religious broadcasts to commentators.
For radio stations that have not opted for a satellite delivery music system, the program director also has the primary say in what music will be played on the airwaves. At many radio stations, the program director listens to and rates music before it gets any airplay at all. A program director can boost a tune to the top of the charts or prevent a song from gaining airplay. Most program directors receive many daily requests from musicians and agents who hope to persuade them to include their music in the play lists for that station.
Another responsibility that falls to the program director is talent. Talent is the on-air voices that chatter and play the music. Talent is the voice behind the commercials and talent makes live appearances. Disc jockeys, on air personalities, newscasters, and sportscasters are all “talent” at a radio station and it’s up to the program director to direct the often diverse group of individuals into a common goal – producing broadcasts that the public will tune in on the radio. Creating work schedules for the available pool of on-air voices is yet another task that falls to the program director. Scheduling each week’s schedule allowing for time off, vacations, and sick days is far from simple at medium to large stations. At small stations, most on-air talent have to wear many hats and perform multiple roles.
Program schedules are another area where the program director rules. Program schedules dictate what programs air at what time. This can include when the news is heard, when weather forecasts are given and when talk radio programs with either local or network talent air. It’s the program director’s call when to air a call in swap shop program or when the news director takes to the airwaves with a local commentary call in program.
In addition to these myriad tasks, the program director also must work with both the general manager and the sales manager at the radio station for common goals. The PD’s work must support those goals that the other managers are striving to accomplish. In short, the general manager is seeking to gain a large slice of the local broadcast pie by gaining as many listeners as possible. Times of particular important in the broadcast business are morning drive time (between about 6 and 9 am) and afternoon drive time (from about 3 to 7pm). Gaining the lion’s share of listeners during these and other peak times can raise ratings and directly affect revenues.
Revenue is where the sales manager comes into play. Commercials and paid programming pay the bills at any radio station operation. The higher the ratings, the greater the market share especially during peak periods, the higher the rates that can be charged for commercials on a radio station. The more listeners that a station can get to tune into their programming, the larger the response to a commercial message. Repeat advertisers are happy advertisers that see response to their advertising and an increase in business.
Balancing all this is just part of a day’s work for the average program director. The PD acts from behind the scenes to control the sound, the content, and the style of the station while maintaining the talent staff, working with the sales department to insure that advertising is appealing and effective, and that the station is claiming a fair share of the broadcast market.
The next time you tune into a radio broadcast, ponder for a moment just how the music, news, programming, and music came together and thank the often nameless, always faceless program director.
