With modern technology, networking and automation the good old days of starting in radio hosting a mid-dawn shift so you can learn the craft is all but dead. Community can sometimes be a great place to hone your craft but can foster bad habits when if you don't have a great program director helping you along with feedback. I've been involved with media and entertainment for my whole life and as a current breakfast radio host I'm going to share with you some things I've learnt along the way.
Radio school is a great place to start if you've got no (or limited) experience and want to hit the ground with a running head start. Not only do you learn the basics and have a chance to hone skills with experienced industry professionals but they'll generally have an established network of industry people who can help find you a job.
You really need to learn who your audience is - what age is your average listener? What gender? What did they watch on tv last night? What sports are they fans of? Questions like these will help you narrow down the types of topics you should be talking about. If you're unsure of who your listening audience is then ask around the station - someone will be able to tell you about the "target demographic".
Be relevant and local. It's tempting to talk about the funny stories in the world news, the quirky odd spots. It's also tempting to talk about celebrities and what they're up to. But unless you are a national show networked through a number of cities then people would rather hear about what's going on in THEIR town. If you are are doing an international story then do your best to localise it: "a big star shouted everyone drinks in a hollywood bar, imagine if they did that in "
Keep your breaks brief - yes you are interesting and funny but we'd rather hear the short version of your story, then the punchline and then move on!
Preparation. "If I had 8 hours to cut down a tree I'd spend six of them sharpening my axe". The hard work in your shift is done before the first break. You know your topics and you've cut out all the superfluous information. You have emergency stories if you need fillers for time. You have mapped out approximately how the breaks will fall into your hours and now you're ready to have a great time in your shift! Chookas!
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