Engineer and Producer Roles

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS:

RADIO: ENGINEERS & PRODUCERS

On 11/07/13 1:27 PM, Sandiland Pro wrote:
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What exactly does an engineer do in a show or a radio station? Well I know a Lil bit but have never experienced it practical and I wish to experience it as a producer you know, and I was wondering if I can ask you to help me to prepare myself on how and what to prepare when applying for a job of a radio producer please help!
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RADIO: ENGINEERS & PRODUCERS

My response:

With regards to radio, an engineer & producer are 2 different jobs / job descriptions.

An engineer deals more with technical side [we call them engineers, but say in France, they call them ‘technicians’]…with various tasks for different people..
eg – for one employee, this could be dealing with all the equipment [computers, cd players, mics etc] as well as maintaining and running of on-air equipment & broadcasting programs [ie understanding of the on-air software, system hardware etc]
– another employee will be an engineer from the production side eg putting together /doing ads, jingles, sound editing etc etc – working more in the production studio

Radio PRODUCER – also different jobs for various people…
…but essentially these guys put together the content for specific shows eg The Breakfast Show has a producer, who arranges features, books interviews, helps run competitions, sources and provides info for the presenter [works closely with presenter]…monitors show, brainstorms, social network stuff etc – ie PROVIDES THE CONTENT FOR THE SHOW, while the presenter presents!
Usually each of daytime shows has their own producer.
There’s also the talk show producer [who does similar], and then a producer for news or news features may oversee all the news-related stuff…

there’s also the guys in the music department – yes, they listen and compile music according to the station format, but they also load music into system, load ads, jingles etc, keep logs, ensure data is correct, provide legal forms etc for SAMRO, ICASA etc…and they need sound knowledge of technical side of on-air formats, broadcast program and system…

Then, when it comes to the Music Industry [and recording studios etc], an engineer and a producer are also 2 separate functions, but often an engineer may also be the ‘producer’ ie define the sound or direction of the artist’s recording – essentially when we say an album is ‘produced by’ someone, the artist has usually appointed this person to direct the project musically…and I say this cos on some CD’s you’ll see eg : produced by Thapelo Khomo / or produced by Black Coffee …then it might say: ‘executive producer is ____’ – usually the executive producer is the money guy, or the label guy [they usually don’t admit it, but they have little or nothing to do with the ‘sound’

By the way, although most specialist shows do, I don’t have a producer [and never had one]..I produce, present and compile my whole show – entirely alone and without assistance [which is great but can also get hectic if help is needed when I’m on-air]

email me: nicky@kayafm.co.za – and tell me your specific area of interest, so maybe I can connect you with one of my colleagues and see if you can maybe for a few hours etc

Also, I suggest starting at a Community radio [even for one show a week], to get an understanding and experience…

Hope this helps…

let me know…feedback, exchange & more info is welcome!

NickyB