BROADCAST STATION PERSONNEL

WHAT IS A BROADCAST STATION?
Before we get to the personnel in a broadcast station, let’s state what a broadcast station is. According to TheFreeDictionary.com, a broadcast station is a station equipped to broadcast radio or television programmes. In other words, it is a station equipped with the necessary equipments to transmit either radio or television programmes.
PERSONNEL IN A BROADCAST STATION
Below are some broadcast personnel:
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: This is the owner of a program, and therefore, the ultimate authority for the project. He usually hires a team of producers, directors and writers who take care of the creative aspects of the project. He/she also, coordinates the content and presentation of broadcasts under the managing director and news editor. . Sometimes, the executive producer just drops the money for the project and may have very little creative input in the course of the project. They do not belong to any unions or professional guilds because they are management. An example of one of the executive producers in Nigeria is Mosunmola Abudu of ‘Moments with Mo’.
PRODUCER: He/she is usually hired by the executive producer to be in charge of the creative quality of the show. He develops and organises local programs and is responsible for scripting, story development, booking of guests and overseeing field production and editing. He hires a director to be in charge of the daily responsibilities on the set and the director answers to the producer in regards of quality. Producers know the best directors and writers to hire for a project. He is responsible for the overall quality of the finished product and he must answer to the executive producer from time to time.
DIRECTOR: He/she is hired by the producer or executive producer (as the case may be) and he is in charge of coordinating the daily responsibilities on the set for the shooting of the program. He is the actual executor of the program. There are different directors in charge of different aspects. Some of them are:
Production Director: He/she assigns announcers, schedules studios, arranges recording sessions, produces commercials and directs programmes.
News Director: He/she runs the news department. He assigns stories to reporters on staff, monitors the wire service and is involved with identifying the important news issues within the important news issues within the community. In a television station, the news director understands budgeting, personnel management and the technical aspects of the television. He also has a firm understanding of the community service role of broadcast journalism. He/she must also have solid news judgement- the ability to determine which stories are most informative and of greatest value to the local viewer.
Program Director: He/she is responsible for the entire on-air production and sound of the station. With control over production, talent, work schedules and program schedules, his programming objectives support the goals of the general manager. He also directs the station’s policies to plan the most effective program schedule for the station alongside the general and sales managers.
Music Director: He/she manages the station’s library and works with the program director in selecting new recordings to be played as they are submitted by record companies.
Promotion Director: This position promotes the station’s image, programs and activities. He conceives and executes a variety of written and taped station promotion spots and works closely with the program director to create on-air promotions and also with the sales department in securing/attracting new clients and maintaining current advertisers and viewers.
Sports Director: This position often handles the coverage of sporting events. Stations that do a lot of sports sometimes hire a “colour” announcer to give sports updates.
Light Director: He/she is primarily responsible for lighting the set.
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE: This is the representative of the station who solicits advertising from commercial business. He develops working relationships with local business leaders and with local advertising agencies and client responsibilities. He also sells advertising time.
ENG EDITOR: ENG is a group of people that work alongside reporters. The full meaning of ENG is Electronic News Gathering. Their editor edits tapes taken by the Eng crew. He works with producers, reporters and writers to build news packages.
CHIEF ENGINEER: He/she heads the technical staff and is responsible for the technology necessary to put the station’s broadcast on the air. The engineer works to maintain broadcasting capabilities and provide quick solutions to problems that may arise with the transmitter, tower, satellite receiver and other related equipment. Under this, we have:
Maintenance Engineer: The maintenance manager installs and performs preventive maintenance on the station’s control consoles, boards, recording equipment, microphones and a wide variety of other station equipment and electronic systems. They are responsible for repair and modification of all electronic equipments.
Master Control/Videotape Engineer: This is responsible for operating the videotape recording and playback equipment for live programs and during commercial breaks and taped shows.

Studio Engineers: They are responsible for operating all equipments necessary for the production of a program. This includes the studio cameras, the audio console, studio lighting, and the video switcher and in some stations, the character generator and the electronic still-storage graphics display equipment.
Video Engineer
CAMERA OPERATOR: He/she is responsible for framing the shot, zooming in or out and performing any camera moves on the air such as pan, tilt, dolly, arc or tongue. Camera operators usually have their particular shots written on the script for scripted shows such as sitcoms, soap-operas and newscasts; or they have an assigned area or type of shot for unscripted programs such as talk shows and sports for broadcasts.
AUDIO TECHNICIAN: Primarily, he is responsible for mixing, miking and sweetening audio for a program.
CONTINIUITY WRITER: He writes some of the local commercial and promotional copy. He must be detail-oriented and have skills in computer and word-processor operation.
NEWS WRITERS: Their responsibilities may include monitoring of news feeds, preparing news packages for voicing by anchors or reporters, researching story information, booking guests for live interviews on news shows and producing segments of news programmes. Exceptional writing skills are essential and are a must.

REFERENCES
Folarin, B. (2000). Foundations of Broadcasting. Ibadan, Nigeria: Atlantis Books.
National Alliance of State Broadcasters Association. (2010). Radio Jobs and Television Jobs. Retrieved from http://careerpage.org/jobtypes.php
Vinovich, G. (2013). TV Industry Personnel. Retrieved from http://www.csudh.edu/televisionarts/docs/DMA320-TV-Industry-Personnel.pdf&sa=U&ei=OmdHUfiAB4&ved=0CAkFjAB&usg=AFQjCNGZBXSTM1at_zyNkT5yJdW8pohg4Q

Olaniyi Oluwatosin