Radio and television announcers have a wide range of responsibilities. Playing music on a radio station and announcing sporting events on television are two examples of announcer jobs. Graduates of a telecommunications or broadcast journalism program are frequently employed as announcers. If an announcer has knowledge or experience in a particular subject, they are more likely to be hired for that type of job. To be a disc jockey (DJ) and announce the songs played on a country music radio station, for example, the hiring manager is likely to expect the aspiring DJ to demonstrate an appreciation for that music genre.
A DJ may not only play songs in the genre of music that a radio station broadcasts, but also conduct research and produce educational programs. The station chooses the play list of songs to air, or the DJ chooses each song he or she will broadcast in these types of announcer jobs. A DJ who is passionate about and knowledgeable about a particular genre of music is expected to broadcast radio programming that will maintain or even grow the station’s listenership.
DJ voicing parts in commercials is a part of some radio announcer jobs. At small stations, radio announcers may even write the ads, unless freelance radio advertising copywriters are hired instead. Commercials featuring announcers’ voices rather than voice-over actors’ voices are occasionally used in television announcer jobs.
Job duties for television announcers may include introducing guests for game shows and/or providing prize descriptions. Both radio and television employ public service announcers. A public service announcement (PSA) is a message that is broadcast on radio and television without charge to the advertiser. These messages are frequently advertisements from government or nonprofit organizations that are thought to be in the public’s best interests. A public service announcement (PSA) might include a broadcast reminding people not to drink and drive or a message encouraging people to wash their hands frequently to avoid contracting an influenza virus that is circulating in the area.
Sports announcers broadcast their announcements from stadiums before, during, and after games on both radio and television. Color commentators are a term used to describe these types of announcers. Color commentators have worked in or have a background in a specific sport. Play-by-play and game analysis are the two most common types of sports announcer or commentator jobs. After games, sports analysts analyze the plays, while play-by-play announcers call each game play as it happens.