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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.

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