Announcer 9781422228869, 142222886X, 9781422228876, 1422228878

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NHMC13_HBK_Earning50-100K_NHMC13_Earning50-100K 5/3/13 4:38 PM Page 5

For many high school graduates, college is a way to get ahead, but going to college is not the only way for young adults to succeed. Many people choose to enter the workforce after high school to start earning money and gaining experience right away. These motivated young workers can have rewarding jobs without ever having to earn a 4-year college degree. If you’re interested in radio or television and don’t know that you want to— or can—go to college, a career as an announcer might be right for you. Young people need only a high school diploma or equivalent to start working as an announcer—and they can eventually earn more than $50,000 a year. In Announcer, you’ll learn how to start a career in this field and what you need to succeed. Find out about the prospects for announcers in the future, how much announcers can make each year, and whether your path to success includes a career as an announcer.

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ISBN 978-1-4222-2887-6 Cover Photo: Shutterstock.com

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Earning $50,000–$100,000 with a High School Diploma or Less Announcer Car Mechanic Chef Cosmetologist DJ Dog Groomer Energizing Energy Markets: Clean Coal, Shale, Oil, Wind, and Solar Farming, Ranching, and Agriculture Masseur & Massage Therapist Personal Assistant Presenting Yourself: Business Manners, Personality, and Etiquette Referee The Arts: Dance, Music, Theater, and Fine Art Truck Driver

Earning $50,000–$100,000 with a High School Diploma or Less

Announcer Christie Marlowe

Mason Crest

Mason Crest 450 Parkway Drive, Suite D Broomall, PA 19008 www.masoncrest.com Copyright © 2014 by Mason Crest, an imprint of National Highlights, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the publisher. Printed in the United States of America. First printing 987654321 Series ISBN: 978-1-4222-2886-9 ISBN: 978-1-4222-2887-6 ebook ISBN: 978-1-4222-8923-5 The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcopy format(s) as follows: Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Marlowe, Christie. Announcer / Christie Marlowe. pages cm. – (Earning $50,000 - $100,000 with a high school diploma or less) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4222-2887-6 (hardcover) – ISBN 978-1-4222-2886-9 (series) – ISBN 978-1-4222-8923-5 (ebook) 1. Sportscasters–Vocational guidance–Juvenile literature. I. Title. GV742.3.M39 2014 070.4’49796–dc23 2013011181

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Contents 1. Careers Without College 7 2. What Do Announcers Do? 19 3. How Can I Become an Announcer? 33 4. How Much Can I Make? 45 5. Looking to the Future 53 Find Out More 61 Bibliography 62 Index 63 About the Author & Picture Credits 64 Introduction 7 1. Careers Without College 7 2. What Do Umps and Referees Do? 7 3. How Can I Become a Sports Official? 7 4. How Much Can I Make? 7 5. What’s the Future of Sports Officials? 7 Find Out More 7 Bibliography 7 Index 7 About the Author and the Consultant 7

C ha p t e r 1

Careers Without College

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ou hear them all the time: the smooth voice in between songs on the radio, the booming voice at your favorite sports event, the powerful words behind a movie trailer, the captivating narrator of a television commercial. They provide commentary or interview guests about important events. They are the men and women who tell you what you need to know when you need to know it. They are announcers, a group of people who have turned talking, telling, and speaking into a career. Announcers either record their announcements beforehand or perform live and present information in industries as diverse as music, news, and sports. An announcer’s most important tool is his or her voice.

Looking at the Words A narrator is someone who tells the story that goes along with a film, commercial, or other production. Commentary is made up of ongoing comments about action that’s going on, such as at a game.

Voices come in different sizes and personalities. Powerful voices, sad voices, small voices, voices with authority, or foreign accents; there is a certain kind of voice for just about every kind of commercial, program, or event you can think of. Imagine a news program without an introduction, a wedding reception without a DJ, a sports game with no one to get you excited, a wrestling

Good sports announcers can add a lot to the audience’s enjoyment of their favorite sports, adding tension and drama to the game.

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match without colorful commentary, a radio program without a single voice to entertain you or let you know the name of that amazing song you just heard. Whether they’re sitting in a recording studio or are live at an event, announcers serve a vital role in many different kinds of media. These men and women who are so eager to inform us about our favorite news, music, and sports have many things in common—but one thing that most of them do not have is a college education.

The College Question

Jim Hallowell, a sports announcer who has been working at live sports events and on the radio for over twenty years, didn’t start out knowing he didn’t want to go to college. But when Jim sums up his past twenty years he says, “Getting paid to talk about sports? I couldn’t be happier! This is the career that I always wanted, even before I knew that I wanted it.” According to Jim, sports have always been a huge part of his life. “I always enjoyed playing sports but knew that I couldn’t compete with some of the other kids. There were kids that were stronger, faster, more aware or practiced—but none of that discouraged me. When someone wanted an answer about a player or a game, it was me that they would come to. Sports became the way that I interacted with friends and the knowledge that I was proud of. I loved all sports but when it came down to it, I focused most of my attention on hockey. People used to tell me that I talked about hockey so much that I could talk a puck into a net.” Jim began announcing when he was in high school. His high school’s hockey team was nationally ranked, and much of his community revolved around this fast-paced sport. “I was a pretty shy kid,” Jim says when thinking of himself before he began announcing, “but when it came to sports, I could talk my way out of a paper bag. If you asked

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Going to college right after high school graduation will work well for many young people, but it’s not the only way to reach your goals.

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me a question, I wouldn’t just give you an answer—I would give you a lecture.” A teacher and fellow hockey fan suggested that Jim announce for his high school’s hockey games. This became Jim’s way of breaking out of his shy personality. “I felt out of place at the time, like I didn’t belong with all of the people that I had grown up with. Announcing for the local hockey games was like re-introducing myself to everyone I knew. I was a different person up there behind the microphone. I wasn’t the shy kid; I was the person who knew what was going on, who was watching the game when you were in the bathroom, who got the crowd excited at the start of the game or after an amazing play. I was having a conversation with my whole community. It made me less afraid of them and more comfortable with myself. Announcing made me feel close to people, like I was a part of something.” Jim’s experiences during his high school years were very influential on the choices he made for the future. That’s true for a lot of young adults. Both in and out of high school, young people are given more opportunities to explore their interests. Many students, by this time, are old enough and curious enough to begin to explore old hobbies or take on new ones. Both in and out of high school, young people are given the opportunity to learn about themselves and the world. Even though no two young people learn and grow alike, as students prepare to graduate high school, they are all asked the same question: “Is college the best choice for you?” For many high school graduates today, the answer to this question is “yes.” In 2011, nearly seven out of every ten students who graduated from high school went on attend college. But even though this may be the most popular choice, it may not always be the best choice. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics lists over forty highpaying jobs that do not require a college education. When you consider

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For young people who dream of working in radio announcing, getting an internship at a radio station is a great first step toward a career in radio.

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that according to CNN, half of all college graduates are either unLooking at the Words able find a job or ended up finding a job for which they didn’t even If you have a passion for need a college degree to be qualisomething, you get very fied for, a college education begins excited about it. to seem like a choice some young adult might want to reconsider. CNN also reported that the average student, in 2012, graduated college nearly $27,000 in debt—and these debts usually take about ten years after graduation to pay off! So the question is: “Should you go to college?” It is an important question, one that every high school student should ask. There are a lot of options out there, and one of the best decisions that a student can make is to get educated about education. Ask yourself: “What do I love to do? What are my hobbies? What do I have a passion for? Do I need to go to college to get the skills that I need to be successful? How can I eventually earn a living doing what I love?”

Learning Outside the Classroom

While Jim appreciated the things he was learning inside the classrooms of his high school, they ended up not being the things that were most important to him. “I liked all of my classes and teachers (especially when we got to talking about sports). I even got pretty good grades.” After high school, Jim went to a good four-year college, but he decided to drop out after only two years. “My last year of high school,

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Announcing high school or college sports events can be a great way to break into sports announcing, particularly for young people.

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my parents were pushing me to go to college and I decided Looking at the Words to go for business. I knew that I wanted to work in sports in An intern is what you call somesome way, and I assumed that one who has an “internship.” most major sports team probSomeone who has an internship ably had enough announcers is working a particular job for free knocking down their doors, so or for little pay as a way to learn I didn’t really consider that as about the job itself, to practice a career option yet. Business being in a work environment, and seemed like a great way to get to get experience. into the industry—but I just didn’t have a passion for it.” Jim continues: “I was a smart kid. It wasn’t my intelligence that kept me from completing college. I just could hardly pull myself away from a biography on a favorite player or the local sports columns. I knew what I wanted to learn and did my very best to learn it. I didn’t see the need to put myself in debt to prove that I know what I know. All you need to do is talk to me and it is clear that my mind has always been on a hockey rink or the baseball diamond.” Jim became an announcer for his college’s basketball team. Now he spent most of his time the same way he had when he was in high school: obsessing about sports. He ended up dropping out of college because a local radio personality heard him announcing a basketball game and decided to ask him if he would like to be an intern at the town’s local radio station. “Doing radio work was amazing because I was able to spread my passion and my knowledge to so many people. Not only did I get enough experience to start a job at the station right after finishing the internship

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Following his passion took Jim from announcing at high school sports events to a career as a professional sports announcer.

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but all of my experience lead to my first professional announcLooking at the Words ing job, working part time for a local minor league baseball If you have an obsession, you team. In the off season, I bethink about something all the gan to announce for a local time. You can’t stop thinking AHL hockey team and, before about it—and you don’t want to I knew it, I had a career.” stop thinking about it! Some might say that Jim’s passion for sports might be called an obsession. But maybe you need to be a little obsessed to get ahead in a career without a college education! If you’re willing to learn as much as you can anywhere you can . . . if you will take opportunities as they come to you . . . and if you have the right combination of passion, drive, and responsibility . . . then it could be that a college education is only one of the many ways you might find your way into a well-paying and fulfilling career.

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C ha p t e r 2

What Do Announcers Do?

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nnouncers inform and entertain. In live settings, they host and coordinate events, and they are often responsible for choosing and playing music for the event. For a radio or television program, they capture the public’s interest, build large audiences for a program, and keep that audience informed and excited about a program or event. They introduce guests and provide station information and public service announcements to listeners. They

Talking is the most important part of an announcer’s career, but he also needs to be prepared. Talking is hard when you don’t have anything to say!

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moderate and air calls for Looking at the Words radio shows, and they provide the latest news and sports If you moderate something, headlines. They are the voice you’re the person who keeps a of a television or radio prodiscussion or meeting in order. gram. They introduce shows, You make sure everyone has a provide narration leading out chance to talk and that no one of or coming back from a talks too much. You keep the discommercial break, and they cussion on track. offer a number of other services for a program. In short: they talk. But even though talking is a big part of the job, being an announcer doesn’t mean that talking is all you do. Not only are there many kinds of announcers but also many different responsibilities that are asked of announcers. The responsibilities that different announcers are asked to do reflects the setting where they work—whether in a radio studio or at a live event, for example—and the size and content of the program, show, or event. Announcers go by many other names—disc jockeys (DJs), masters of ceremonies (MCs), and public address announcers, to name a few— each responsible for specific duties, which can range from informing themselves on a specific topic before an appearance to working technical equipment for an event or broadcast.

Disc Jockeys (DJs) and Television Announcers

Becoming a disc jockey or television announcer are two of the many careers that are available for an announcer without a college education.

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Talking is only part of the job; radio DJs are also responsible for operating the equipment that broadcasts their radio shows.

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Rita Campbell, a disc jockey and television announcer with Looking at the Words more than ten years of experience, began her career as a Script writing means creating the disc jockey in high school. She words that you’re going to speak was first able to try her hand at ahead of time and writing them broadcasting radio announcedown. Then when it comes time ments at her high school’s rato talk, you read from the script dio station, and it was this exinstead of talking off the top of perience that led to her first job your head. at a small radio station in her town. In the years since then, she has changed jobs a few times, sometimes working for multiple radio and television stations at once. She has spent most of her career working for small, independent radio and television stations. But despite having little formal education beyond her high school diploma, Rita has recently been hired by one of the few large radio stations still broadcasting from her hometown. “Once you have been in the industry as long as I have,” Rita says, “you can compete with anyone no matter what degree they have. I have proven myself as a talented voice and a responsible worker—and that is all that employers are really concerned with in the end. A college education is one way to prove that, but on-the-job experience can be a lot more valuable. “Surprisingly enough,” Rita continues, “there isn’t much of a difference between being a television or a radio announcer. Television jobs involve more script writing but in both cases, you are responsible for generally the same things. The only real difference is that at one job, you announce into a camera—and at the other, you announce into a microphone.” Rita explains that while there is little difference between television and radio announcing, there is a big difference between large and small

What Do Announcers Do?

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Researching topics and writing notes or a script gives announcers a roadmap for when they are hosting a radio or television show.

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stations. At small stations, an announcer has to work most of Looking at the Words the technical equipment herself, which, now that the InterAirtime is the time during which net has become a large part of a radio broadcast is being transradio broadcasting, is getting mitted. Advertisers often pay for harder and harder. “When I an amount of airtime (such as started this career, you pushed an hour), which means that their a few buttons, checked your commercials will be featured dursound levels, and you were off ing that period of time. and running. Now you need to be sure that you are broadcasting both on air and over the Internet and you need to make sure that you are recording your show so that you can post it on the station’s website, for others to hear it after it is over.” Other duties that Rita has been responsible for during her career so far involve writing scripts for other announcers, selling airtime on the stations to advertisers, and producing recorded material. “Even though you could record a show beforehand,” she says, “at a small station, there are so few DJs that you are usually better off airing everything live and recording the show while broadcasting it. This isn’t too much of a hassle, but it means a lot of long nights.” According to Rita, working at a small station is a lot more work, but radio DJs at small stations are able to control what music to air, what kinds of guests they interview, and what kinds of questions they ask them. “When you broadcast the day’s headlines,” Rita says, “you have the freedom to provide commentary, and you can announce smaller events that are happening in the community.” Even though announcers at smaller stations have a smaller audience than their larger broadcast station counterparts, they usually have a much

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Some announcers may conduct interviews or have guests share information with their audience. Communicating clearly is key for announcers conducting interviews.

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closer link to the community where they broadcast. “This link between my community and me,” Rita says, “has been the most rewarding part of the career so far. In fact, I wouldn’t have moved on to my new job if the station was broadcasting from anywhere other than my hometown. I would never want to lose that link with my community. They are my audience. They are why I do what I do.” Even though Rita’s audience stayed the same, Rita’s new job was very different for her previous position. “I was a little unsure how my responsibilities would change as I moved on to a larger station,” Rita says. “On the one hand, there is certainly a lot more money that comes with a job like this, and one of the nice things is that I don’t have to work all of the technical equipment or sell airtime to advertisers—the station can afford to hire sound technicians and marketing people who take care of all of that for me. On the other hand, you spend a lot of time reading scripts and a lot of time recording shows. Almost nothing is done live and if it is, you have a script in front of you. Some people like this kind of work because there is less to worry about. With a script in front of you, you don’t even have to think about what you are saying, you never have to research a topic beforehand, and if you make a mistake during a recording, you can always do a second take. I miss the small station life, though. It is a lot more hectic but a lot more fun.” While announcing is a well-paying career that is possible for someone without a college degree, Rita’s comment makes an important point: for most people, it is what you do on the job, not what kind of salary you make, that makes a career rewarding and fulfilling. The money you make is an important part of any career, of course. But for many people, a good salary may not be enough for them to keep a job that they do not enjoy or do not have a passion for. “Learn what you love,” Rita says. “I love my community. Even though at my new position, I have less freedom to say what I want to my community, I am still a very large part of it. I am outspoken and love

What Do Announcers Do?

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An MC is the official host of an event. An MC’s responsibilities vary based on his employer’s expectations

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having my voice out there. I find a lot of value in my career, and that is what keeps me going, not my paycheck.”

Mobile DJs, Public Address Announcers, and Masters of Ceremonies (MCs)

Announcers often work in a number of live settings. Mobile DJs, for example, have similar responsibilities to Rita, except they introduce and play music in live settings: at marriages, bars, nightclubs, parties, or raves. Mobile DJs are often musicians and music producers in their own right; they may perform using turntable scratching and a music production technique known as “mash-ups.” Creating mash-ups involves mixing and matching existing songs to create new songs. Mobile DJs are often self-employed and own their own equipment. Jim from chapter 1 is a good example of another kind of announcer— a public address announcer. These announcers work in a number of live settings, anywhere from sports arenas to senior citizen centers. In sports announcing, a public address announcer will give the audience information about a player, score, or infraction. Sports announcers can be specialized to a specific sport or use their talents for a wide range of sportsrelated information. A horseracing announcer, for example, announces the events of a race second-by-second. He or she must have a quick eye for action and a very good understanding of horse racing. A baseball announcer on the other hand, needs to use an in-depth knowledge of baseball very rarely and is mostly responsible for introducing players and re-capping the last inning.

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Bob Sheppard, “The Voice of God” Among the most famous public address announcers in sports history is the legendary voice of the New York Yankees and New York Giants, Bob Sheppard. Nicknamed “The Voice of God,” Sheppard had a career as a public address announcer that spanned over fifty years, during which time he was loved and respected by fans and players alike. Sheppard began announcing for the Yankees in 1951, and over the years, his voice became so famous that hall-of-fame Red Sox player Carl Yastrzemski once said, “You’re not in the big leagues until Bob Sheppard announces your name.” Sheppard retired from his position with the Yankees in 2007, but his voice lives on. In 2008, the Yankees’ captain Derek Jeter asked Sheppard to record his at-bat introductions. The recordings have been used to introduce each of Jeter’s home at-bats since the beginning of the 2008 season and will continue to do so for the rest of Jeter’s Yankee career.

As a local celebrity, Rita is often asked to host store openings, fundraisers, banquets, and sometimes even live events in her community. Someone who hosts live events is known as a master of ceremonies, or an “MC” for short. MCs can host public events like concerts or private events like marriages, but in either instance, they are responsible for

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speaking to an audience, for introducing performers, and for keeping an event moving. “The first time I was asked to host a live event, that was when I knew announcing would be the career for me,” Rita says. “I was asked to put together a small musical performance with local musicians to celebrate a project to clean up and refurbish a local park. It was like being on the radio only I was able to speak to my community directly. Hosting live events is one of the most thrilling things that I do, no matter what size they are.” Rita loves being in front of an audience. She loves having something to say and informing people. She is passionate about her community and her career. Obviously, though, being an announcer is not for everyone. A successful announcer needs many skills, and only an outgoing few people will be happy and fulfilled by this exciting career.

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C ha p t e r 3

How Can I Become an Announcer?

“T

he thing that anyone thinking about announcing should know,” says Adela Maldonado, a mobile DJ, MC, and parttime radio announcer, “is that this is a changing industry.” According to Adela, it’s getting harder to get a job in TV and radio announcing. You have to be able to make yourself competitive if you are looking for this kind of position, and you need to be willing to start at the very bottom. Making money in live settings is still

Looking at the Words If you make yourself competitive, that means you are good enough to compete with other people who may be looking for the same job. In other words, when someone considers you for a job, they’ll be able to see that you’re as good or better than anyone else who is applying for the same position. If you have charisma, you have a lot of charm and personality. People are attracted to you, and they become devoted to you because you’re so likable.

a great option, but not everyone has the personality to be successful at this kind of announcing. Mobile DJs and MCs are basically performers. No matter the setting, announcers working in front of a live audience need the right mix of charisma, passion, and flexibility if they want to do well. “But most of all,” Adela says, “all announcers need to be quick, fun, and need to be able to learn.”

Is Announcing Right for Me?

“When I first started thinking about a career in announcing,” Adela says, “I never thought that I would be spending most of my time hosting parties and live events—but sometimes you have to compromise if you want to do well. Announcing is a changing industry, and being able to change with the industry will make you much better off in the long run.” Adela is speaking about an unfortunate truth of the announcing world, especially when it comes to radio announcing. Technologies like the Internet have changed the skills that announcers need in order to remain competitive. On top of that, technology in general—being able to pre-record shows days in advance, for example, or set program-

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Announcers need to know whether they are the main entertainment for the night or only providing the background music! ming schedules by computer and use the material from recorded shows in multiple broadcastings areas—has decreased the number of announcers needed to operate a radio or television station twentyfour hours a day. While the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports

Looking at the Words If you have flexibility, you can adapt to change easily. You don’t get upset when different things are expected of you from situation to situation.

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With young people listening to music on MP3 players and cell phones, radio announcers have to do much more than play popular songs to succeed. Announcers have to be unique and entertaining to keep their audiences in the world of digital music.

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that between 2010 and 2020, the announcing industry will still be growing, it will be growing slower than average when compared to all careers in the United States. “When I was a kid,” Adela says, “I dreamed of the radio studio: choosing great music, interviewing exciting guests—all of that corny stuff. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate that I still get to do some of those things and I love the lifestyle of a mobile DJ but I have the personality for it. I got lucky. If I was to go back and do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing, but I know a lot of people who want to get into this industry and haven’t considered all of the things that they will need to do. After some technical training and an internship at a local station, I was still only offered a part-time job. I make a great living now, but I had to be willing to start out with announcing live. If I couldn’t do that, I wouldn’t be an announcer right now.” Adela makes a good point: anyone thinking about becoming an announcer first needs to ask, “Is announcing right for me?” “Once a young person has asked that question,” Adela continues, “they will be able to consider whether or not they have the skills that announcing requires. And if they don’t have those skills, being young is a great time to start to work on them.” Whether you go to college or not, being able to learn is probably the most important skill for whatever career you choose. Learning is the skill that allows you to learn other skills—and in a diverse and changing industry like announcing, being able to learn might be one of the most important skills you can have.

What All Announcers Need

According to Adela, the most important skill that all announcers need is to be able to communicate. “Whether we are performing live, interviewing a

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Looking at the Words A candidate is someone who could be chosen for a job or other position. Auditions are a kind of interview where you have to demonstrate your actual skill at something (such as speaking).

guest, or picking music to play in a club or on the radio,” she says, “announcers communicate all of the time. Of course, communicating is only one of the many things that we do, but it is the one thing that we do better than most people. Communicating is our most valuable skill.” A love of communicating and an ability to learn will make you a good candidate for a career in announcing.

A television announcer needs an professional appearance to match the confidence of his voice.

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Anyone pursuing a career in announcing should also have certain other skills. The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists seven important qualities that every announcer should have. • Appearance. Television announcers need a neat, pleasing appearance. • Computer skills. Announcers, especially those seeking radio careers, should have good computer skills and be able to use computers, editing equipment, and other broadcast-related devices. • People skills. Radio and television announcers may interview guests and answer phone calls on air. Party DJs and MCs work with clients to plan entertainment options. • Persistence. Entry into this occupation is very competitive, and many auditions may be needed for an opportunity to work on the air. Many entry-level announcers must work for a small station and be flexible to move to a small market to secure their first job. If you’re not persistent, chances are you’ll give up before you find success in this field. • Research skills. Announcers must research the important topics of the day in order to be knowledgeable enough to comment on them during their program. • Speaking skills. Announcers must have a pleasant and well-controlled voice, good timing, and excellent pronunciation. • Writing skills. Announcers need strong writing skills because they usually write their own material. Announcers need a wide range of skills in order to be competitive and successful. There are many ways of acquiring these skills. If you already have some of these skills, then you are already well on your way to an exciting life as an announcer. If you are not very strong in some of these areas, then now is the time to begin to learn and explore.

How Can I Become an Announcer?

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Seeking out vocational school education, internships, or other additional experience can help you create a résumé that can help you land your dream job.

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Becoming an Announcer

While announcing is one of the many exciting careers possible without a college education, in almost all cases, you’ll also need some additional training in order to perform the job well and remain competitive. “Almost all jobs will offer some sort of on-the-job training,” says Adela, “but that is only for the people who get the job.” According to Adela, almost all radio and television announcers start at small stations. “Small stations will be more than willing to teach you their equipment and how they broadcast,” Adela explains, “but none of them have the time and money to teach you everything that you need to know about becoming an announcer.” Certain announcing skills—speaking, writing, research, and persistence—can be learned by practicing them in everyday life. But computer skills and technical skills are much harder to learn on your own, and many companies will want to see proof that you have these skills before they will be willing to hire you. A good alternative to a college degree might be to attend a technical or vocational school. These schools train you for a specific career, but they are shorter and much cheaper than a traditional four-year college. “I went to a technical school to learn how to work radio broadcasting equipment and to work on my voice,” Adela says. “It was only eight months long and very cheap, a few thousand dollars. I was able to pay for it without any loans.” Another option is to look for an internship, working a certain job for free in order to get the technical or working skills needed for the job. “I was offered a part-time job after taking an internship at a local station,” Adela says. “It was a great experience. I learned so much and got a lot

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Radio pioneer Orson Welles, 21, in 1937, a year before the first broadcast of The War of the Worlds.

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of experience. Most important, I was able to use all of the skills that I learned at my technical school in a real-life setting.” Getting an internship after going to a technical school is a great option for anyone looking to get into radio or television announcing.

A Short History of the Radio Announcer The announcer is an idea that was born out of the first electronic broadcasting medium, radio. During the first and second World Wars, radio became, along with newspapers, one of the main sources for news, and many announcers who would go on to careers as television anchors began their careers on the radio. Before television, radio became one of the main sources of entertainment as well. Many announcers were voice actors and would broadcast plays and theatrical radio programs. Perhaps the most memorable of these is Orson Welles’s 1938 broadcast of The War of the Worlds, which many people mistook for a real news story about Earth being invaded by aliens. It wasn’t until television became a widespread source of entertainment that most of these theatrical radio programs stopped. In order to compete with television, the radio began to air Top40 music hits instead, and radio announcers became prized for the “regular-guy” sound that’s so familiar today.

How Can I Become an Announcer?

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C ha p t e r 4

How Much Can I Make?

I

t is very difficult to say exactly how much money announcers make. Although many announcers work full time, many others work second jobs in addition to their jobs as announcers. To make the matter even more complicated, many announcers work multiple announcing jobs at the same time. “Most announcers,” says Bill Jacobs, a local-broadcast television announcer, “are in it because they are outgoing,

TV sports announcers’ salaries are based on how many people their sports broadcast reaches.

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dynamic people.” According to Looking at the Words Bill, announcers are the kind of people who like being the center of If you’re dynamic, you have a attention. They love having an audilot of energy that encourages ence of some kind. They enjoy the new ideas. spotlight and like being well known in their communities. They provide a service to people and they take pride in that. According to Bill, “They are not in it for the money.”

High-Level Earnings

“In general,” Bill says, “an announcer is paid depending on how large an audience they are broadcasting to. A larger audience means a larger paycheck.” While this is correct in a general way, the truth is much more complicated than this. The amount that an announcer is paid depends on the kind of setting where he or she is announcing and what kind of experience he or she has. A sports announcer, for example, can make anywhere from $24,000 a year on the low end to $204,000 a year on the high end. The wide range of announcing salaries in sports depends on how long you have been working and whether you are working for a local, regional, or national broadcast. In live settings, it depends on whether you are working for a minor league, college level, or professional sports team, and how many teams you are working for at a time. “When it comes to radio and television announcers,” Bill says, “their salaries can depend on what time of the day they are working and the size of their broadcast audience. Many radio and television announcers need to be available during the mornings or nights. They are the people working while everyone else is watching the morning news or is listen-

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DJ Tiësto may make millions playing music for huge crowds, but the average announcer makes much less.

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ing to the radio on their way to work.” Announcers in these positions generally earn more because they have more listeners than broadcasts at other times of the day. Bill works as an announcer for a local and regional early-morning television broadcast and earns about $75,000 a year, making him a part of the 10 percent of radio and television announcers who earn more than $70,000 dollars a year.

Announcing for Millions Announcers in most cases are also personalities and entertainers. Many announcers, like DJ’s, do not simply sit on the sidelines and comment but are the main entertainment for the night. Some announcers broadcast or perform in front of millions of people a year and make millions of dollars a year doing it. DJ Tiësto, a Dutch DJ, is perhaps the highest-paid announcer of all time, earning around $22 million a year. John Madden, an NFL sports analyst, is the highest-paid sports announcer of all time and makes between $6.5 and $8.5 million a year—and that does not include all the money he has made on commercials and his best-selling line of NFL video games!

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On average, news broadcasters are paid the highest salary of all announcers. As of 2010, news announcer salaries can be as high as $92,000 for local and regional news broadcasts. Those announcers talented, hard-working, and lucky enough to announce on the national level can earn hundreds of thousands of dollars a year—and at some of the most premier stations and broadcasts, these announcers can earn millions of dollars a year!

Average Salaries

While earning $75,000 dollars a year, like Bill, is certainly not impossible for any announcer who is willing to become experienced and work hard, Bill makes a high salary compared to most announcers. These highpaying positions are rare and difficult to attain. It is also more likely that college graduates will be trying to get these positions, so someone without a college degree will need a good amount of experience and fame in the field in order to keep up. Most announcers today are usually paid according to their experience—how many jobs they have worked and how long they worked them—and how large their audience is. The average announcer makes almost $28,000 dollars a year. But adds Bill, “When you consider that most announcing positions that are out there are for small stations or are only part time, then you can see why this number is so low.” Bill suggests that with the right amount of experience and an ability to balance a number of jobs at once, announcers can and often do earn a lot more than this amount. For example, having gotten his first television job, Bill picked up a part-time radio announcing job—and after three years and a few pay raises, Bill was already making about $45,000 a year.

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According to Bill, announcing is a rewarding career, but it is also challenging. For some people, no amount of money would be enough to compensate them for being in front of a large audience almost every day! But for the men and women who have the kind of outspoken personality that announcing requires, the pay is just a small bonus for the fulfillment they get from informing and entertaining their community.

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C ha p t e r 5

Looking to the Future

A

s we mentioned in chapter 3, the announcing field has been changing rapidly. While the field is still growing, it will be growing only between 5 and 7 percent between 2010 and 2020. This rate is slower than the average for all jobs, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Part of the reason for this,” says Sarah Gilmore, a small radio station owner who began her career as a radio announcer, “is that technology has recently allowed

many stations to do more tasks with less staff. At the same time, technology continues to increase the productivity of radio and television announcers.”

New Technologies, New Skills

Radio stations, for example, use a technique called “cyber jockeying” to prerecord their segments rather than air them live. With cyber jockeying, a radio announcer can record many segments for use at a later date, during late-night broadcasts, or even for another radio station. “We use cyber jockeying at my station,” Sarah says, “but only to keep our announcers from working around the clock. We save money when the station isn’t open during the night, so the technology is useful. But where other stations no longer have the need for so many announcers, we’ve tried not to decrease the number of announcers that work for us. I like the fact that we can have a lot of different announcers working, sometimes two, or three on the same broadcast. My station is pretty rare, though. I don’t take a very big salary compared to other station owners, and the station doesn’t make very much money—but we make enough to keep our Looking at the Words doors open, and that is all that I want.” Productivity means how much Sarah explains that in you can get done at a job in a order to keep up with the certain amount of time. Technolchanging field of announcogy allows people to do more in ing, both announcers worka shorter amount of time. ing in the field and people

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who are thinking about the announcing profession will need to keep learning how to use all of the new technologies that are coming out in the field. “It is not a bad idea,” she continues, “to get your own DJ equipment. It’s become cheap enough that most people can probably afford it. It will take some time and maybe a few technical courses to learn how to use it, but there is always a wedding in need of a DJ and if you have some fame in your community, then you can make pretty

The equipment that announcers use is constantly changing. Keeping up with all of this technology when you are young will make you more competitive and prepared in the future!

Looking to the Future

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good money working small jobs on the side. While technology has killed some jobs in the field, learning technology means that you can make it work for you. The future of announcing is in the technology used to broadcast—so the more equipment you understand, the more competitive you will be.”

Advancement and Job Security

Ironically, while technology has slowed the growth of this industry, technology has also had a hand in keeping this profession very much alive. Internet radio, for example, has become a new way for people to continue to enjoy radio content. Radio’s adoption of the Internet as a broadcasting platform has continued to keep people interested. “An Internet radio station,” says Sarah, “is much cheaper to start up than a land-based radio station. This means that people who are looking to get a start in announcing can open their own Internet radio stations to begin to get exLooking at the Words perience in the field.” These factors, as well as Job security means that no a few others, contribute to worker, at least in the near futhe fact that most announcers ture, will have to worry too hard have very good job security. about losing his or her job. “Most announcers have good job security for a few A medium is a way of conveying different reasons,” says Saror transmitting something. ah. The first reason, accord-

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ing to Sarah, is that announcing is an important role for any news and entertainment medium. Announcers are very much responsible for the audiences that many shows have, and it is very unlikely that this is going to change anytime soon. “The second reason,” Sarah says, “is because most announcers are able to build a relationship with their audience. Many people tune in to a radio station, for example, because they like the voice of the announcer, her music choices, or his personality. Our audience doesn’t like it when their morning routine is interrupted by not being able to hear their favorite announcer in the morning, so many stations do not want to let go of their announcers because they are scared people will stop tuning in. When people stop tuning in, the station can’t sell advertising time for as much money as they did before—and at some stations, selling advertisements during a particular show can make them a lot of money.” While all this job security is good for the people who have jobs, when you consider the slow growth of the industry, it means that there won’t be a lot of new job openings—so it’s not very good for people looking to get into the industry or people at small stations looking to advance. “It can be tough,” Sarah says. “We have some announcers at our station who are amazingly talented. Many of them are my friends and as much as I would hate to see them go, I want them to advance. It just seems like the jobs available for them to make more money or have a larger audience are few and far between.” Sarah is right. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, most new jobs in the field open up because people either leave their current position or move out of announcing all together. There just aren’t many new positions being created. “This shouldn’t discourage anyone too much,” Sarah says. “Internet stations are starting to make some real money, and they are so cheap

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Announcing gives you the chance to spread the music, sports, and ideas that you love to others.

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to start up and manage that a few people recording a lot of shows could make a decent living. People want to support Internet stations because they are usually very focused on one topic or genre in particular. This means that there are openings waiting for anyone willing to be a little adventurous. Someone can always advance by moving into a different position in broadcasting or opening their own station.”

Looking at the Words A genre is a particular category that has similar style or subject matter. Classic rock, for example, might be one genre for a radio station, while indie music would be another.

Conclusion

The people interviewed in this book are intelligent, driven, and passionate about what they are doing. They all had the willingness to adventure and learn, even if learning didn’t mean sitting in a classroom. Success to them didn’t only mean the amount of money they earned; it meant pursuing what they are passionate about; it meant learning all they could about themselves and their interests; it meant defining success for themselves, not by the amount of money they made. Ask any one of them, and they will tell you that what made them successful was some combination of passion, drive, and the ability to learn. For many people, college is the perfect choice and an important learning experience. Not only can it open the doors of certain careers, but it is also often the first experience that many young people have at living away from home without the safety and security of their parents.

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Unfortunately, many students go to college with no idea of what they are interested in nor any idea of what they would like to do with their lives. In some cases, they feel pressured by their peers or their parents into going to college without any idea of what this choice means. Many students leave college still with no idea of what they want from a career. And because of the staggering debt that many students have to acquire just to go to college, they may be in a far worse financial position than before. Going to college may be the right choice for you. Or another road might be your best road to success. Either way, explore and consider every option. Be willing to learn and work hard, no matter where life takes you!

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Find Out More In Books Heath, David. Radio Announcers (Cool Careers). Mankato, Minn.: Capstone Press, 2009. Snow, Panky. Radio Announcers (Community Helpers). Mankato, Minn.: Capstone Press, 2001. Steventon, John. DJing. New York: Crabtree Publishing Company, 2009.

On the Internet “The Best and Worst of PA Announcing” pa-announcer.blogspot.com P.A. Announcer- “So You Want to Be and Announcer?” www.pa-announcer.com//pa_006.htm P.A. Guy www.pa-guy.com

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Bibliography Career Overview. “Radio, TV and Sports Announcer Career, Jobs, and Training Information.” http://www.careeroverview.com/announcers-careers.html (accessed February 20, 2013). Education Portal. “Public Announcer: Job Description and Information About Becoming a Public Announcer.” http://education-portal.com/articles/Public_Announcer_Job_Description_and_Information_About_Becoming_a_Public_Announcer.html (accessed February 15, 2013). ONETOnLine. “Public Address System and Other Announcers.” http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/27-3012.00 (accessed February 15, 2013). PA Announcer. “So You Want to Be an Announcer.” http://www.pa-announcer.com/pa_006.htm (accessed February 14, 2013). U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Announcers.” http://www.bls.gov/ooh/media-and-communication/announcers.htm (accessed February 19, 2013). wiseGeek.com. “How Do I Become a Radio Announcer?” http://www.wisegeekedu.com/how-do-i-become-a-radio-announcer. htm (accessed February 15, 2013).

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Index

MC (master of ceremonies) 28, 30, 33 mobile DJs 29, 34 music 7, 9, 19, 25, 29, 34, 36–38, 43, 48, 57–59 Bureau of Labor Statistics 11, 35, 39, 53, 57 narrator 7–8 career 7, 9, 12, 15–17, 20, 23, 25, news 7–9, 21, 43, 47, 50, 57 27, 29–31, 35, 37–39, 41, 51, radio 7, 9, 12, 15, 19, 21–25, 31, 53, 60 33, 35–39, 41–43, 47, 49–50, CNN 13 53–54, 56–57, 59 college 5, 9–11, 13–15, 17, 21, 23, 27, 37, 41, 47, 50, 59–60 salaries 47, 50 commercial 7–8, 21 Sheppard, Bob 30 computer 35, 39, 41 speaking 7, 31, 35, 38–39, 41 DJ (disk jockey) 8, 21, 23, 33, 37, sports 5, 7–9, 13–17, 21, 29–30, 46–47, 49, 58 48–49, 55 advertising 57 airtime 25, 27 appearance 21, 38–39

high school 9–11, 13–16, 23 hosting 24, 31, 35

technology 35, 53–56 television 7, 19, 21, 23–24, 35, 38– 39, 41, 43, 45, 47, 49–50, 54

intern (internship) 12, 15, 37, 41, War of the Worlds 42–43 43 Welles, Orson 42–43 Internet 25, 35, 56–57, 59 writing 23–25, 39, 41 job security 56–57 Yankees 30 live events 30–31, 35

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About the Author Christie Marlowe lives in Binghamton, New York, where she works as a writer and web designer. She has a degree in literature, cares strongly about the environment, and spends three or more nights a week wailing on her Telecaster.

Picture Credits Dreamstime.com: Banner: Chuck Rausin; p. 6: Tatus; p. 8: Dmitri Maruta; p. 10: Jason Stitt; p. 12: Ra2studio; p. 14: Louis Horch; p. 16: Eric Broder Van Dyke; p. 18: Dmitri Maruta; p. 20: Teslenko Petro; p. 22: Richmond Paul Ruiz; p. 24: Maximus117; p. 26: Wellphotos; p. 28: Imageegami; p. 32: Serrnovik; p. 34: Imageegami; p. 36: Komaros; p. 38: James Steidl; p. 40: Tony Northrup; p. 44: Lucian Coman; p. 46 Kenneth D Durden; p. 48: Larisa Chernisheva; p. 52: Andrey Tsidvintsev; p. 55: Benoit Daoust; p. 58: Mccool.

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