A job on the radio; 43.1.2.4.5.>15 and 28.1.4.5.>11

[maudie]

I've heard an awesome radio station in my country is looking for speakers. So I decided to give it a shot and apply for the audition. I've never been one but it's a very attractive prospect for me. I have some PR experience, general knowledge not to be ashamed of, a cozy voice, and my speech and grammar are very good. And I'd love to have that experience.

Q: What are my chances of getting this job?
A: 43.1.2.4.5 > 15

Regarding this one, 43 seems to represent my own determination. I do feel very determined to try
Line 1 is a bit discouraging, showing me that I'm ill-prepared, which is true. To quote Wilhelm's translation, "When one goes and is not equal to the task, one makes a mistake."
Line 2 I'm not sure about, but "forewarned is forearmed" rings a certain bell, so maybe if I prepare myself I won't fail miserably.
Line 4 is a discouraging one again. Sort of saying "that's not a place for you, but you won't heed the warning". You're right again, I won't I'll try and fail, if I must.
Line 5 points to corruption. Perhaps someone with friends on the radio will get the job. To quote Siu's paraphrase "Uprooting corruption from high offices requires the utmost determination." Blofeld's translation of Confucian commentary says "Yes, blamelessly but not brilliantly!" so I gather I won't do badly but I won't do very well either.
43 thus changes to 15 - Temperance, Modesty, Yielding. Yield, you say Ha!

Then, stubbornly, I asked a new question - Show me what I need to do regarding this job. I wanted to leave room for Yi to say "leave it" or "prepare yourself well" or whatever it wants to say.

A: 28.1.4.5.>11

28 - great excess, great gains. But "the superior man, when he stands alone, is unconcerned, and if he has to renounce the world, he is undaunted." Yi being a Friend to me, says "yeah, go ahead but don't come crying to me when you fail" - not IF you fail
Line 1 says I'll make due preparations - Legge's translation of Confucian commentary says "She feels the weakness of being in the lowest place, and uses extraordinary care." Yes I do/will.
Line 4 - Legge's translation again (a part of it) - "If the subject of the line looks for other help but that of line one, there will be cause for regret." So I can lean only on my own resources. Definitely no "connections" to push me. That's okay.
Line 5 - nothing much No blame, no praise. Well, at least I'll have my CV ironed out for any new opportunities which may arise.
11 I like. I might just feel good about myself regardless of my failure. Who knows, maybe it'll all lead to some useful connections or something!

 

[sooo]

Based on your first reading and your job description, I'd say your chances are good, providing you keep it real. 43 is speaking, 15 is authentic. Also mentioned is preparation (very important for announcers, even DJ's, and especially news casters and talk show hosts)

Your second reading appears to affirm the first, particularly the caution to work with real substance and not rely too much on your personal charm, voice or speaking skills.

As a radio professional for 20 years, more than half as station mgr or GM, I strongly affirm these points. From this vantage, it might be helpful to know what country you'd be working in and what the radio format is. Radio stations are very different one country to the next. If you will be interviewing others on the show, your ability to interview, ask excellent questions and be a great listener are even more valuable than your speaking abilities or your own knowledge.

Good luck with your interview.

 

[maudie]

Wow, thanks. The only thing I'm prepared for is failure

The country is Croatia, the radio is 101, mostly music, politics and culture. I've heard something about radio formatting (as it's a recent thing around here) but I have no idea what that really is. The announcers didn't say what they're looking for, just to send CVs and they'll pick out people for the audition.

Would you help me by posting some useful links for me to read? What else would you suggest for preparation?

 

[sooo]

Hoo boy, er, girl?

I've never looked into Croatian radio stations before, but what you describe is what we in the US used to call AOR, which today means Album Oriented Rock, but before that meant all over the road. Here's it's almost never used as a format anymore, but 'back in the day' it was common to program different music or feature programs by day-part, i.e. local news from 6am-10am, country music from 10am-3pm, pop music from 3pm-7pm, and then rock from 7pm through to the next morning. It was also known as full service radio. The last station I know of with that kind of formatting was an AM station in a small town in North Dakota, while our FM played Adult Contemporary (also known as light rock) 24 hours a day. But I doubt any stations do that here anymore. With the FCC deregulation, one company can operate up to 7 stations in a single market, and depending on the market size there can be several broadcasting companies, making for massive market saturation, most of it niche marketed to a very specific demographic, and broken down to even smaller niches by psychographic or lifestyles within a demo. For instance, Urban funk would have the same demo as a pop station, but target primarily a black audience. It's crazy how many stations and niches there are now.

Your market appears to be growing similarly in quantity of stations, however as you describe your station of interest, it's formatted by day part, like here in the old days. Here's a link with several Croatian stations; perhaps yours is listed too - http://www.surfmusic.de/country/croatia.html

101 likely would be an FM station, broadcast in stereo (frequency modulation, rather than AM, or amplitude modulation), so music and voice both would sound clearer, but reach is typically more limited, hence a more local audience.

I don't know if much of that is helpful to you though. Best thing would be to spend some time listening to the station, and determine who your audience would be, or what demo they seek to target with the slot you'd be filling. Also helpful would be to at least have a feel for who their most direct competition might be, so scanning the dial to get a feel for your market would help to prepare you for the interview. Even if you only get to send them a CD or recording of a sample of your potential, you can create a demo of your voice, using what you hear others doing on air. It's common to first listen to tapes or CD samples, but that also typically means actual recordings bits of actual radio shows you've done, which means wanting experienced announcers to screen through. Still, you may be able to get enough of their attention by a pretend show or a reading of something. At worst, you can offer to do overnights or work as a volunteer for awhile as you learn more about the business.

I think from the above you can understand what formatting is about: who your show is targeted to reach by the programming.

Hope I didn't make it sound too complicated, but there is quite a bit to it to learn. All you need is a foot in the door, so a modest and cooperative attitude may at least get you going.

 

[maudie]

Hey, thanks for the detailed reply

This would be very close to the "full service radio" you mentioned. Music is divided through decades. It isn't on the list you posted but here's their website: http://www.radio101.hr/
You can listen to their live stream if you want, though you probably won't understand much
It's about the only radio I listen to while I work. I'm an illustrator, by the way. It's also THE cult radio station in Croatia. Here's a wiki site which describes it pretty well, in short: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_101_(Croatia)
What I like about them is that they're very leisurely in the studio, they joke around a lot and express their opinions quite liberally. There's a lot of contact shows too.

The information I was after was more in the line of what an announcer should know - are there any vocal exercises I should do? The idea with sending them (or at least making) a recording of myself is very good, if only for me to defeat my stage fright before the audition. They're asking only for cvs, so I think they're after new blood... Which may mean I have a chance

Btw, this being "Shared Readings" and not "teach people how to get a job" forum, what do you think about line 43.5 specifically?
I also see 43 as directly referring to speaking, but also pointing out dangers of speaking out.

 

[sooo]

You're most welcome.

I only have a few minutes before running off to a Dr’s appointment this morning, so must keep this short. I’ll check the links when I return home.

Here, there are schools for broadcasters, which teach fundamentals to announcers and DJ’s, but most of the speaking techniques they’re taught typically have to be untaught when they enter the real world radio because the announcers sound so artificial, and, well, like announcers. We want good diction, grammar, pronunciation and all that, but mostly we want them to sound like normal people, rather than like what we call “pukers”. Hard to describe in written words but you recognize it when you hear it; very exaggerated enunciation and unnatural sounding. Most stations prefer conversational and natural sounding speech. Learning to operate a board while readying commercials and smooth segues are necessary skills requiring multi-tasking capabilities. Dead air is death, so you have to keep a steady flow going.

43.5, I would interpret that in this case to mean the opposite of “The only thing I'm prepared for is failure”

Have to run. Good luck!

 

[sooo]

Great rendition of "I thank you" by Paul Rodgers! Are most songs sung in English there?

Based on the samples it sounds like either a pop/funk/rock station, close to what we call now AOR, though with CD's, even the term Album seems obsolete, so maybe they call it something else now. But no matter what it's officially labeled, it's rock. I'd listen to it!

Using the US model, a less experienced DJ starts out doing overnights, and the music and announcers are typically syndicated and come in by satellite. The overnight DJ is primarily a board operator, plugging in ads and local news, and maybe occasional "back announcing" from "that was.." to "and now the news", or weather, or some special program or feature. This saves the station the cost of hiring an experienced DJ and assures a consistent quality control by experience announcers and music, which is via satellite. Still, a reliable board operator is extremely important, so they have to take their job seriously even though they don't do that much actual DJ-ing. It has to sound tight, and your "rip and read" off the news wire needs to sound professional. This is a great place for you to start if you can, with some on the job training.

Radio, like many other professions, gets in the blood. If you gain a passion for it, you can rise quickly to more responsible and higher paying positions. The trick, as said before, is getting your foot in the door. H-11 can fit well with this idea of being in harmony with the business.

Enthusiasm and modesty together is the right attitude to approach them with, if you're given the chance. If not, convey them on your demo CD. If this is really what you'd like to do, don't give up on it; you'll get your chance.

If you want to make good money rather than be an announcer, join their ad sales team! Only the best announcer personalities make the big bucks. A good salesperson won't enjoy the notoriety but can make a darn fine living. 'Course I don't know how much emphasis is placed on ad sales in your market. My time in New Zealand studying radio shown a very laid back attitude toward making money, and most of their announcers, even in their capital city of Wellington, sound sleepy and bored. My hopes of using my radio experience there were quickly dashed to pieces. You must adapt to your own market and the stations idea of doing business. If you don't know, ask them! Don't be intimidated.

 

[maudie]

I'm not really after money... Well, no, actually I don't really want to work in a corporation, but this experience seems worthwhile. Also, I was at the protest in '96. This is kind of personal
Thanks, sooo! I'll report!