How to become Broadcast Announcers and Radio Disc Jockey in 2024

Broadcast Announcers and Radio Disc Jockey Speak or read from scripted materials, such as news reports or commercial messages, on radio, television, or other communications media. May play and queue music, announce artist or title of performance, identify station, or interview guests.

Broadcast Announcers and Radio Disc Jockey is Also Know as

In different settings, Broadcast Announcers and Radio Disc Jockey is titled as

  • Anchor
  • Announcer
  • DJ (Disc Jockey)
  • Host
  • Morning Show Host
  • News Anchor
  • Radio Announcer
  • Television News Anchor (TV News Anchor)

Education and Training of Broadcast Announcers and Radio Disc Jockey

Broadcast Announcers and Radio Disc Jockey is categorized in Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed

Experience Required for Broadcast Announcers and Radio Disc Jockey

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Education Required for Broadcast Announcers and Radio Disc Jockey

Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

Degrees Related to Broadcast Announcers and Radio Disc Jockey

Training Required for Broadcast Announcers and Radio Disc Jockey

Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Related Ocuupations

Some Ocuupations related to Broadcast Announcers and Radio Disc Jockey in different industries are

What Do Broadcast Announcers and Radio Disc Jockey do?

  • Prepare and deliver news, sports, or weather reports, gathering and rewriting material so that it will convey required information and fit specific time slots.
  • Read news flashes to inform audiences of important events.
  • Select program content, in conjunction with producers and assistants, based on factors such as program specialties, audience tastes, or requests from the public.
  • Study background information to prepare for programs or interviews.
  • Comment on music and other matters, such as weather or traffic conditions.
  • Interview show guests about their lives, their work, or topics of current interest.
  • Discuss various topics over the telephone with viewers or listeners.
  • Host civic, charitable, or promotional events broadcast over television or radio.
  • Make promotional appearances at public or private events to represent their employers.
  • Operate control consoles.
  • Announce musical selections, station breaks, commercials, or public service information, and accept requests from listening audience.
  • Keep daily program logs to provide information on all elements aired during broadcast, such as musical selections and station promotions.
  • Record commercials for later broadcast.
  • Locate guests to appear on talk or interview shows.
  • Describe or demonstrate products that viewers may purchase through specific shows or in stores.
  • Coordinate games, contests, or other on-air competitions, performing such duties as asking questions and awarding prizes.
  • Attend press conferences to gather information for broadcast.
  • Provide commentary and conduct interviews during sporting events, parades, conventions, or other events.
  • Give network cues permitting selected stations to receive programs.
  • Moderate panels or discussion shows on topics such as current affairs, art, or education.
  • Identify stations, and introduce or close shows, ad-libbing or using memorized or read scripts.
  • Develop story lines for broadcasts.
  • Write and edit video and scripts for broadcasts.
  • Maintain organization of the music library.

Qualities of Good Broadcast Announcers and Radio Disc Jockey

  • Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Speech Clarity: The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
  • Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Written Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
  • Speech Recognition: The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
  • Originality: The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
  • Fluency of Ideas: The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
  • Inductive Reasoning: The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
  • Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Near Vision: The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Selective Attention: The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
  • Information Ordering: The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
  • Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
  • Speed of Closure: The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.
  • Category Flexibility: The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
  • Memorization: The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.
  • Time Sharing: The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
  • Auditory Attention: The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.
  • Far Vision: The ability to see details at a distance.
  • Control Precision: The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
  • Flexibility of Closure: The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
  • Visual Color Discrimination: The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
  • Manual Dexterity: The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
  • Finger Dexterity: The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
  • Arm-Hand Steadiness: The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
  • Perceptual Speed: The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
  • Trunk Strength: The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without "giving out" or fatiguing.
  • Reaction Time: The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.
  • Rate Control: The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene.
  • Visualization: The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
  • Hearing Sensitivity: The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.
  • Number Facility: The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
  • Mathematical Reasoning: The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
  • Response Orientation: The ability to choose quickly between two or more movements in response to two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures). It includes the speed with which the correct response is started with the hand, foot, or other body part.
  • Multilimb Coordination: The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
  • Sound Localization: The ability to tell the direction from which a sound originated.
  • Spatial Orientation: The ability to know your location in relation to the environment or to know where other objects are in relation to you.
  • Extent Flexibility: The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.
  • Night Vision: The ability to see under low-light conditions.
  • Peripheral Vision: The ability to see objects or movement of objects to one's side when the eyes are looking ahead.
  • Depth Perception: The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object.
  • Glare Sensitivity: The ability to see objects in the presence of a glare or bright lighting.
  • Dynamic Strength: The ability to exert muscle force repeatedly or continuously over time. This involves muscular endurance and resistance to muscle fatigue.
  • Explosive Strength: The ability to use short bursts of muscle force to propel oneself (as in jumping or sprinting), or to throw an object.
  • Static Strength: The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.
  • Wrist-Finger Speed: The ability to make fast, simple, repeated movements of the fingers, hands, and wrists.
  • Gross Body Coordination: The ability to coordinate the movement of your arms, legs, and torso together when the whole body is in motion.
  • Gross Body Equilibrium: The ability to keep or regain your body balance or stay upright when in an unstable position.
  • Dynamic Flexibility: The ability to quickly and repeatedly bend, stretch, twist, or reach out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
  • Stamina: The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath.
  • Speed of Limb Movement: The ability to quickly move the arms and legs.

Tools Used by Broadcast Announcers and Radio Disc Jockey

  • Audio control consoles
  • Audio playback equipment
  • Compact disk CD players
  • Desktop computers
  • Digital audio recorders
  • Earpieces
  • Headset microphones
  • Headsets
  • Laptop computers
  • Microphone stands
  • Mixing desks
  • Multi-line telephone systems
  • Personal computers
  • Record turntables
  • Smart phones
  • Tablet computers
  • Teleprompters
  • Touch screen computer monitors

Technology Skills required for Broadcast Announcers and Radio Disc Jockey

  • Adobe Audition
  • Audion Laboratories VoxPro
  • Avid Technology Pro Tools
  • Burli Software Burli Newsroom System
  • Dalet Digital Media Systems Dalet Media Life
  • Database software
  • Enterprise application integration EAI software
  • Microsoft Access
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Office software
  • Microsoft Outlook
  • Microsoft PowerPoint
  • Microsoft Word
  • Program logging software
  • Project management software
  • Statistical processing software
  • Web browser software