On the Air

A while ago, I wrote an article about what goes on before a radio show, possibly leaving some of you wondering what happens when we go live in the studio.  This article will give you some idea of what it is like to be hosting a live show.

I always listen to the previous show for the last 5 - 10 minutes.  If there is a live show out of the other studio, they usually end on time, but a prerecorded show might end a few minutes early, so I have to be ready to go live at any moment.

When it is time for my show to start, I transfer the broadcast to my studio (usually Studio B), turn on my microphone, and give the station identification:

"You are tuned to North Shore Community Radio, broadcasting at
90.7 FM WTIP Grand Marais,
90.1 FM WGPO Grand Portage,
89.1 FM WKEK Gunflint Lake,
and on the web at WTIP.org."

"Now stay tuned for Thirsty Boots (or Women in Music, Classic Country, or Monday Night Mix)."  I then play my theme song if I have one for that show.  My theme songs are:
"Polka Radio" (Peter and Paul Wendinger Band) for Polka Time,
"You're Looking at Country" (Loretta Lynn) for Classic Country, and
"A Calling on Song" (Atwater-Donnelly) for Thirsty Boots.

We were taught in our radio training to pick theme songs that are short, and fit with the theme of the show.  The radio station is really great about letting the hosts play what they want on the shows.

After the theme, I introduce myself, read several underwriter cards, and give out the weather forecast.  If it is on my list, I will also test the Emergency Alert System, which entails holding down a button, and waiting for the buzzing sounds to finish.

I then introduce my first full set, giving information about the musician, and sometimes the songs, although it is safer to back announce the songs (since there are times when the wrong song is played).

I get my music ready to go before the top of the hour announcements, so I usually have to just tap the button on the board, and bring up the volume to start it.  The exception would be MP3, or cassette tape songs (which I have not done in a long time), with which I have to also press play on the device.

Our studio gives us the ability to listen to music through overhead speakers, headphones, or a regular radio receiver.  When a song is ending, and a new one is beginning, I use the headphones, since that best allows me to adjust for the variations in the recorded volume of songs.  After that, I usually take off the headphones and listen to the overhead speakers.  The regular radio receiver and the dials on the board let us know that we are broadcasting.

As soon as the song starts playing, I reach down to my music collection, and grab another recording.  It is usually not for the next song, but the song after, since I commonly have the next song in another player.  When I start a set (group) of songs, I already know what will be played in that set, and am figuring out what I will be playing on the next set.

One of the most important things for me in picking out music is flow.  Getting a smooth flow of music is easy in a Polka show, but is much more of a challenging when doing the Monday Night Mix or Women in Music shows.  I also like a good flow from show to show.  When I am ending the Women in Music show, I will often times play some big band songs, since the following show is Swing Session.  Transitioning from Polka to Classic Country, my first full set will be Country dance music.  If I feel like my transition from set to set may not be extremely smooth, I will talk longer between sets to keep the audience from getting a jarring experience.

Some hosts have every song planned out for the whole show, and others have an idea of what they want to play, but do not have the specifics written down.  I use the latter method, in large part because it makes it easier to work with requests.  Also, two songs may look like they will flow well together on paper, but in reality do not, so I need to change the song on the spot.

There are also a lot of great reasons for using the complete planning method.  It might be less stressful during the show, because you are never lacking an idea of what to play.  It is also good because you are less likely to say something you shouldn't.  The planning method used really depends on what works best for the host.

A very important thing to do as soon as the song starts, is to turn off the microphone.  I personally turn down the volume, and turn off the switch to make sure it is off.  Many of the hosts on our station have left the mic on, and had their private conversations or ramblings go out over the airwaves, and I am no exception.

I love getting phone calls during the show.  The vast majority of the callers are great.  They tell the host that they are enjoying the show, and sometimes request a song.  We love hearing from callers like this!  They let us know that we are making a positive difference in the world by hosting a radio show.  Here are some guidelines for having the best chance to talk to the host and get requests played:

1. The host is also the engineer, and answers the phone (except during pledge drives, or specific call in shows).  If you hear their voice on the air, they are not going to answer the phone.

2. Wait 30 to 45 seconds after the first song of a new set starts.  This gives the host a chance to get the next songs ready, and enter the current song in the online playlist.  There is also a fair amount of time before the set ends.

3. If you don't get the host right away, try again later.  There is a strobe light that we can see in both studios if someone is calling, but we may not be looking in that direction, or we may be in the bathroom, or talking to someone else.

4. When you talk to us, keep the conversations relatively brief, since the set of music only lasts so long.

5. Give the host your requests with at least a half hour of the show remaining.  It can take some time to find the song and artist you requested, especially if we have to go search the station library.  There is also no guarantee that we have have the song.

Most of the music hosts at our station log our playlist online.  You can access the playlists at wtip.org.  When I first started hosting shows, we had to write the list down on paper.  Thanks to the typing class I took in high school, the online method works a lot better for me.

When we are on the air, we do not know how many people are listening (although the station can see how many people are web streaming us).  It could be one person, or a thousand people.  In our training, we are told to talk as though we are talking to just one person.  We are also told to use our own voice, since that rings most true to our listeners.

Roughly every twenty minutes during a show, we read underwriter cards, and play promos.  The specific cards and promos are on a list that we find when we arrive for our show.  Due to the FCC regulations, we have to read everything on the cards word for word.  Since we are a public station, we are not allowed to give any calls to action (Go eat at ...), or prices since that would be advertising instead of underwriting.

At the top of the hour, we give the station identification again, as well as weather, underwriters, promos, and other announcement (such as birthdays).

In case you are wondering, the next time I am on the air is on Thursday, August 3, 2017 from 8 - 10 PM for the Thirsty Boots show.  Thanks for listening!