Radio Jobs: Station Manager

The job of a radio station manager is interesting and stressful at the same time. The job is quite exciting and ideal for enthusiastic people. Station manager is in charge of all the radio programs that are aired. He is the one who hires the audio engineers, the DJ’s as well as the radio producers.

Station manager holds a very responsible position. The station manger needs to report the president or vice president if it is a large radio broadcasting company owning more than one radio station. But his importance is no less important than the president or the vice president.

Job Description of Radio Station Manager:

Being one of the most responsible persons the station manager needs to oversee each and every program that is going to be aired. The final decisions are to be taken by the station manager. It is you who will decide what content is to be aired or what songs are to be played. In fact the news stories are also to be finalized by the station manager.

If you hold this position you will have to assign the programs to the producers in charge of the shows. You need to delegate the responsibilities over to each RJ or radio DJ. The producers can take minor decisions but the ultimate decision is yours. There can be one head station manager or this post can be broken into general station manager, sales manager, content manager, traffic manager and other posts depending on the requirements of the radio station.

Training for Station Manager:

No specific academic background is required to become a radio station manager. There is no specific subject that you can study or no special course that you can attend in order to hold this post. Radio station manager is a senior position and the station managers usually work their way up from other smaller positions. So you can opt for other smaller radio jobs to start your career and become a station manager gradually.

Though there is no special course a degree in radio production, communications or managing will help you to be a good station manager. A course in media, marketing and advertising can also prove to be of much help. As a station manager you should design programs very carefully because they must be interesting and informative.

How to Become Radio Station Manager:

Becoming a radio station manager is not easy. It requires a lot of experience and various skills. You should have excellent knowledge of radio production industry if you want to opt for this post. You will have to work very hard to improve your skills. You can start off your career as a radio producer, audio engineer or a DJ as most of the station managers have started.

Radio Station Manager Salary:

Station manager is the highest positions of all jobs at a radio station. So the station manager gets the highest salary. It is a very well paid position. But the salary of a station manager depends on the size of the radio station. As a station manager your income can range between $65,000 and $70,000 annually.