RADIO ADMINISTRATION

All radio stations should have a administrative procedures manual which states the rules and guidelines for your radio station. It provides instructions for the administrative functioning of the radio station. these guidelines should be strictly followed at all times, for a consistent and transparent flow of the station. Functions which can be included in the manual are: the Station's Mission Statement, Station Policies, Business Operations, Correspondences, Rules and Regulations, Music Policy, Directors.

MISSION STATEMENT - this states what the station's mission is.

STATION POLICIES - this states what the stations policies are.

DIRECTORS - this states who the board of directors of the station are.

BUSINESS OPERATIONS - this states all accounting procedures of the station - sales contracts, invoices, revenue; salary; tracking of all monies for the station; employee/volunteer records; programme records; programme schedules, business records.

CORRESPONDENCES - this will state how correspondences are prepared, handled and sent out of the station.RULES and REGULATIONS tis will state the rules and regulations which all employees /volunteers should live by while at the station.

MUSIC POLICY - this is the policy of the different kinds of music which can be played on the station. This music policy should be in accordance with the rules and regulations of your countries licensing organisation.

PROGRAMMES - this states programmes which are on the station and how those programmes are done.

Administration (Management structure example)

Executive Board / Radio Staff / Responsibilities
Chairman / General Manager / See below
General Manager / Producer
Secretary / Programs Manager
Chief Executive Officer / Sales Manager
Regular Members / News Editor
Regular Members / At least 2 community rep / Reporter/s
Regular Members / Presenter/s
Regular Members / Engineer/s

As in all radio stations, there should be detailed job descriptions of all employees/volunteers. Here are a few job titles with their descriptions:

GENERAL MANAGER -

The person responsible for the overall operation of a station. This position requires business knowledge, leadership ability and a technical understanding of how a station operates.

PROGRAMME DIRECTOR -

Responsible for the entire on-air product, the PD governs the sound of the station. With control over production, talent, work schedules, and programme schedule's. The PD's programming objectives support the goals of the General Manager and the Sales Manager.

SALES MANAGER -

The person who sells advertising time and works closely with businesses to help them market themselves to the station's listeners. The Sale Manager is often required to assist in outside broadcast production in the areas of branding, giveaways and other promotional inputs.

BROADCASTER -

Broadcasters are the voice of the radio station and are the people with whom the public identifies. This person introduces programmes and music, reads commercials and public service announcements, and is involved in the overall public presentation of the station. The effective broadcaster is a good conversationalist with knowledge in a number of broadcast styles such as hosting talk-back programmes, interviews and outside broadcasts.

BROADCAST TECHNICIAN -

Broadcast and Sound Engineer technicians install, test, repair, set-up and operate the electronic equipment used to record and transmit radio programmes. The best way to prepare for a broadcast technical job is to obtain technical school college training in technology, engineering or electronics.

CHIEF ENGINEER -

The chief engineer is responsible for the technology necessary to put the station's broadcast on the air. The engineer works to maintain broadcasting capabilities and provide quick solutions to problems that may arise with the transmitter, tower, satellite and receiver and other related equipment.

NEWS DIRECTOR -

The news director supervises the news staff, must understand budgeting, personnel management and the technical aspects of radio. In addition to having a firm understanding of the community service role of broadcast journalism, he or she must have solid news judgments - the ability to determine which stories are most informative of the greatest value to listener.

NEW REPORTER

The key front-line people in the news department; they are on the scene at every kind of event. News reporters must be excellent writers, capable of working quickly and accurately to sum up the key elements of a news story and make it it understandable and relevant to the audience.

NEWS ANCHOR -

The most visible members of the news staff. These are the people that appear as the upfront personalities on local newscasts. Ideally, the news anchor is a complete journalist, familiar with reporting, on-scene live coverage and skilled at writing and in some cases producing news packages.

PRODUCER-

This person develops and organizes programs and is responsible for scripting, story development and program content. The producer is also responsible for identifying and booking guests and overseeing field production and editing.Producers will be required to present sections of a program, such as news items, interviews with listeners as well as reviews. The work can be varied and also includes detailed administrative working including budgets and event planning.

PRODUCTION ASSISTANT/BROADCAST ASSISTANT-

This person's duties very according to the size of the station. These may include; receptionist; organizing on-air quiz shows; coordinating giveaways; locating guests; filing; conducting interviews; sourcing promotional items; event planning. this position is ideal for understanding all aspects of how a station operates.

TRAFFIC COORDINATOR

Collects data from other departments in order to prepare a minute-to-minute schedule for the broadcast day. The traffic person is the daily link between the sales department and programming department, keeping up to date commercial time availability.

MUSIC LIBRARIAN/MUSIC DIRECTOR -

This person manages the station's music library and works with the programme director in selecting new recordings to be played as they are submitted by record companies. The Music/Librarian Director constantly keeps the station catalogue updated with recordings within the station's format. This person also programmes music for individual shows and provides music information for Presenters.