Evening star., 1937-05-23
Radio Talent
Opens Door
Good Job
Exciting Occupation
Is Found by Many
When Qualified.

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varied, from the familiar job of an
nouncer to the more technical one
Of engineer.
But it takes plenty Of imagination.
originality and perseverance to make
your way in radio. 1t is still new
industry, and there are no definite
rules on how you may become a sue
cessful singer, director, writer or pro-
ducer. For success in radio, then, you
cannot depend solely on ability to
work carefully along closely specified
lines
In this article, therefore. We are
going to deal briefly with the varied
types of radio work We are going TO
try to give you as clearly as we can
the qualifications. training and op.
portunities now open for young people
in this field
ANNOUNCER-Since the announcer
Is the person whom you hear the most
often, we shall begin our discussion
with him. 1t Is generally agreed that
II you want TO become an announcer
you should have a college education.
II this is impossible, you should do
as much reading As you can, for q
well-rounded background is essential.
Naturally, fine speaking voice and
good diction are among the top ouali-
fications A knowledge of languages
and musical terms is helpful.
With all these as a foundation. ths
best training you can get is work In
your local station. Every one Of
MICS rs announcers in New York
came originally from local stations,
| where they had been working five
years or more. So 1t is distinctly ad-
vantageous to take any kind of Job
you can get in your home town broad
casting studio, even If It's only sweep
ing up floors or acting as messenger
boy.
AS for the salary paid an announcer,
we can give you only an average. which
does not include those paid by spon-
sors. and covers only those paid out by
local stations. The average local an
nouncer gets $29 week if he is em-
| ployed full time; $40 if he Is a part
time performer.
ENGINEER-We come next to the
| engineering and techician field of the
| radio industry. It Is generally agreed
that there are two ways to gain Job
as radio engineer. But no matter
which way is chosen, you have to start
with natural aptitude for the science
OF engineering.
! The first method Is that In which
you get your first training by having
an amateur transmitting set of your
own. Later you may become wireless
operator in the Coast Guard or Signal
Corps or with commercial ships. Many
OF the executives Of the largest radio
companies today started as telegraph
operators.
The more conventional method to
gain work rs a radio engineer today,
though requires a high school educa-
ton, followed by two or three years
studying electrical engineering.
And for you who are mechanically
minded, there Is also the manufacture
ing end Of radio. which includes the
making and designing Of radios. This
Is the field where you would probably
have the best chances Of getting ahead.
Research laboratories are maintained
in all radio centers. and it is In these
that new developments start and are
perfected
The engineers and control room men
are found by the census experts to
average s35 week and up, which is
more than the average announcer gets.
The technician's job Is usually more
permanent than an announcer's, and
they are the second largest group in
the radio field.
| PERFORMERS MUSICIANS, AC-
TORS)-The question Of how you
can gain musical recognition on the
radio begins as in the case of the an
nouncer-in the small local radio sta
tion. If you love singing more than
anything else. for example, and would
like to become a radio entertainer.
study the voices which you hear over
the radio, listing their good qualities
and their faults. Acquire your expe-
rience in school performances, church
choirs, amateur productions, and over
your local radio station. And do not
become discouraged by failure. 1t Is
not an easy path to radio fame.
The same advice applies you are
interested in acting.
The average radio performer mot
including the most famous of the net
works artists, who are paid fabulous
sums by their sponsors) receives about
SAL week for full time work, and SIS
for part time.
WRITERS-There is no set formula
for filling the posts of radio script
writer's Every leading network usually
has department which receives con-
tributions from writers throughout the
country The heads Of such depart-
ments soon become familiar with the
best of these writer's. and when a va
cancy occurs it usually goes to one Of
them.
In writing for radio you must al.
ways keep in mind that you are writ
ing for very large number Of people.
You should take simple characters
that can be liked by all. Since your
time Is limited on the radio. you must
catch the listeners ear and irnagina-
ton quickly. Originality in your ideas
Is essential
PRODUCER, DIRECTOR-If you
aspire to the role of producer or die
recor in the radio studio. you must
first know how to handle people. 1t
is fitting that We close this article
With a list of the qualifications for
this job, for the radio director takes
the combined abilities Of announcers.
engineers, actors. musicians and writ
ers, all Of whom we have discussed.
and blends them together to give you
the entertainment which comes from
your own loudspeaker.
Some training in acting is valuable
to a director. You can learn enough
Of this by spending a short time in q
dramatic school or by actually acting
on the stage. You should also have q
certain musical knowledge to be q
successful program director. plus a
knowledge Of current affairs. For the