Announcer

Randon Swindler

Skills needed to be an announcer

• must have a pleasant and well-controlled voice

• good timing

• excellent pronunciation

• correct grammar

• Willingness to compete for a job openings

Kinds of announcers

• Newscasters

• Disc jockeys

• Public address system announcers

Click on the microphone to go to the next slide.

Newscasters

• work at radio stations • specialize in news, sports, or weather • may operate the control board • may monitor the transmitter • may sell commercial time to advertisers • may keep a log of the station’s daily

programming • produce advertisements and other recorded

material Back

Disc jockeys

• some DJs specialize in one kind of music

• announcing selections as they air them

• follow schedules of commercials, talk, and music provided to them by management

• comment on the music, weather, and traffic

• may take requests from listeners, interview guests, and manage listener contests

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Public address system announcers

• provide information to the audience at sporting, performing arts, and other events

• announce and play music at clubs, dances, restaurants, and weddings

Back

Training

• Formal training in broadcasting from a college, a technical school, or a private broadcasting school is valuable.

• High school and college courses in English, public speaking, drama, foreign languages, and computer science are valuable .

• Hobbies such as sports and music are additional assets.

Employment Outlook

• Announcers held about 69,000 jobs in 2004.

• Employment of announcers is expected to decline due to the consolidation of existing stations, cable television and satellite radio.

Earnings

• Salaries in broadcasting vary widely

• Earnings are higher in television than in radio

• Earnings are higher in commercial broadcasting than in public broadcasting

• Median hourly earnings of wage and salary radio and television announcers in May 2004 were $10.64.

Related Jobs

• news analysts• reporters and correspondents• interpreters and translators• sales and marketing • public-relations specialists• actors, producers, and directors• musicians, singers, and related workers• writers and editors• broadcast and sound engineering technicians

and radio operators

For more information…

National Association of Broadcasters

1771 N St. NW., Washington, DC 20036

Internet: http://www.nab.org

Bibliography of sources

• Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2006-07 Edition, Announcers, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos087.htm (visited July 24, 2007).

• Careers in focus. Broadcasting. 3rd ed.. New York: Ferguson, 2007.

• Ellis, Elmo Israel. Opportunities in broadcasting careers . New York: VGM Career Books, 2005.