A program director is a behind-the-scenes boss at a radio station. In business casually, the program director is the boss. He handles every day-to-day aspect of the radio and every loop that no other staff member handles.
First of all, the program director is responsible for the station’s entire on-air experience. This means that the PD sets the tone for the station. The overall tone or theme of each station is created by the PD. A successful program director earns accolades; A program director who doesn’t capture enough audience participation is often replaced by someone with new ideas and better vision.
A program director oversees all production at a radio station. Under the careful guidance of the PD, the commercial copy was taken from the writers writing 30 or 60 second spots that sell the product and entertain. The director’s job is to work closely with the advertising writer and on-air talent to create appropriate commercials, market that product or service in a memorable way and ensure that all commercials are generated on-air. New production – or the creation of news stories – is another of the PD’s many responsibilities. Because of this, he works with the news director and reporters to come up with messages that contain up to the minute news and weather. The PD is also responsible for the product of the live gym during the mission of the local teams. And, whether or not the software is paid to run — software that the parent company or producer pays to run on the air — is another decision that falls to the program director. The free programming is created by religious commentators and is run by commentators.
For a radio station that has not opted for a satellite music delivery system, the program director also has the primary role in which music is played on air. At many radio stations, the program director listens and rates the music before he gets on any plane at all. A program director can move a song to the top of the charts or a song that doesn’t get on the plane. Most program directors receive many requests every day from musicians and agents hoping to convince them to include their music in playdates.
Another responsibility that falls to the program director is talent. The voices of genius chatter and sing in the air. Talent is the voice behind commercials and talent makes live appearances. Disc drivers, on-air personalities, announcers, and sportspeople are all “genius” at a radio station, and it’s up to the program director to direct an often diverse group of people toward a common goal — producing broadcasts that the public will tune into. radio Creating operating schedules for a pool of available airtime is yet another task that falls to the program director. Schedule each week’s schedules, allowing time for holidays and sick days from simple to medium to large stations. In small stations, especially in the air, the characters wear many hats and perform many 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 radio interviews are conducted with local or network air talent. This is the purpose of the call director when he receives a call on the air in the bag shop program or when the director receives a message on the airwaves with a local comment on the call in the program.
In addition to these myriad tasks, the program director must also work with the general manager and sales manager of the radio station for common goals. The PD’s work is to support those goals that other managers are trying to achieve. In short, the general manager seeks to win a large piece of the local pie by winning as many listeners as possible. The most important times in business are mostly the morning times (between around 6 and 9 pm) and the afternoon time to drive (from about 3 to 7pm). Leo’s audience shares, these and other peak times, can raise ratings and directly affect revenues.
Revenue is where the sales manager joins. Commercials and programmers paid bills to be paid in any radio operation. The higher the ratings, the bigger the market share especially in the peak periods, the higher the rates that can be charged to the traffic in the radio station. The more listeners can tune into the program, the greater the response to the commercial message. Repeat advertisers are happy advertisers who see a response to their advertising and an increase in business.
All of this equates to part of a day’s work for the average software director. The PD works behind the scenes to maintain the tone, content, and style of the station’s talent staff, working with the sales department to ensure that advertising is appealing and effective, and that the station claims fair market value.
The next time you’re singing on the radio, just think for a moment about how music, news, programming and music have come together and thank the often nameless, always shapeless program director.
