Program Director
Duties
- Employs best practices to program audio content, which may include a mix of music, news, traffic, talk shows, community outreach programs and more, and where applicable, they manage the music license.
- Monitors the live and automated hours of operation, as stations function in blocks of time across the 24/7 spectrum, including the all-important morning and afternoon "drive times" that are subject to strict FCC rules of operation.
- Provides management oversight of programming across all platforms, including digital.
- Involved with both on- and off-air promotional strategies and advertising efforts.
- Provides mentorship to on-air talent and production teams, contributing insight and direction on ways to reach additional audiences. Some also are on-air themselves.
- Engages with the local community and many have oversight of public service announcements.
- Troubleshoots programming issues and are concerned with the overall broadcast signal strength and streaming qualities.
Experience level
- Four-year college degrees in areas such as mass communications or radio and TV broadcasting
- Prior management experience and previous experience in radio programming.
A program director (PD) is focused on the sound of the station - what listeners hear. At some stations, this position is called brand and content director, or the operations/programming manager. At larger station groups, however, the programming content is pre-determined, decided at the corporate level.
Podcasting has become a big source of audience growth and revenue and there is a visual component to promoting the audio content via the station's own website and social media accounts.
