DRM / HDCP Cracked - could this be good news for consumers?
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dishcomm said:
That's why I'm an IT guy first and a PD second. I keep the automation running smoothly and that saves us lots of cash.
Ha! PD's.... I have been aroundf a radio station or two. Worked as a gopher in both looking to break into on-air stuff....Never worked out. Business is cut throat and the ponly people that get behind the mic are either big ass kissers or they know somebody.Yep, it's rather unfortunate too. Ratings can drop through no fault of your own. Trends change. Though engineers are now becoming an expendable item around a station too, we spend money and save money, we provide no revenue. GMs are thinking that it's cheaper to call a guy in an emergency than to have one on staff... Penny wise, pound foolish.
I did once get in the face of a PD. He had an ego that the building couldn't hold, he thought i was his personal "bitch". I stood up to him in front of the OM and GM and said "I CAN REPLACE YOU WITH A VERY SMALL COMPUTER PROGRAM TOMORROW, THEY STILL NEED ME TO FIX THE COMPUTER!". He got really quiet after that...
But yes, i know how to change a tube in a 30kW transmitter in under 1/2 an hour. The GM doesn't. That gives me the ability to name my price when he calls. =)
With the way the bus is now, it seems that air talent, if ya can call it that, is being dug up from recent college grads with journalism or comunications degrees. As soon as these people find out how long they will have to be in the business before they make decent money, they either try to get into mgment, or they go and find a real job.
Air talent is becoming less and less useful anyway. With many stations owned by large media companies and all the sydicated programming, local talent is no longer needed. IN fact the days of the radio DJ are probably rapidly coming to and end.
I listen to Sat radio.....There are so many former DJ's from the big AOR stations in NYC and former MTV VJ's on there. Paticularly on Sirius 80's on 8. DJ's these days are no longer or at least almost no longer needed in terrestrial radio.
They don't or are not allowed to select the music. All done by market reseach and put on playlists which most mgmnts will go cuckoo for cocoa puffs if a DJ deviated from the list..
No local air talent at your station?That's why I'm an IT guy first and a PD second. I keep the automation running smoothly and that saves us lots of cash.
Oh yes. We have 6 stations in the cluster here. Most are live 6a-7p and some on the weekend. We do, however run some satellite and do a good bit of voicetracking.
My engineer is more of an RF guy. He's not big on computers. We work very well together. I handle the automation, our traffic system, and the in house streaming server.
I'm also a beta site for my automation software, so that has kept me busy as of late.
I program a hip-hop station and an r&b oldies station. We also have country, classic hits (which I like), talk, and southern gospel. The last two are AM's.
I'd say that's a pretty well rounded group of stations.
I could not do your job for the simple reason is I am a music intolerant.
There are certain types of music that I consider absolute torture when they hit my ears. Those would be hip-hop, rap and country.
Or are you simply too busy to pay attention ot what's on the air and the only time when you become concerned is when CA's get missed or if there is the dreaded "5 plus seconds of dead air"?
I actually listen to hip-hop and pop. I can't stand country. I don't interact with the music of the country station at all. I just fix their computers when they have an issue and program out their satellite shows. But, that is pretty much a set and forget it thing. I consult another hip-hop station in Mississippi. I am 37, so I grew up hearing alot of the early rap stuff.
I have a great job. Music and computers are my two loves and being a great multitasker is the only way to survive in media today. We are locally owned and I have worked there for 17 years.
I have a great job. Music and computers are my two loves and being a great multitasker is the only way to survive in media today. We are locally owned and I have worked there for 17 years.
Talk about a thread drift!
I'm the "project analyst" for KVSC-FM in St. Cloud, MN. One of the few public stations not part of NPR/MPR. Typical college radio. Rule is, if it's been on mainstream radio in the past 10 years, we don't play it!
I'm the "project analyst" for KVSC-FM in St. Cloud, MN. One of the few public stations not part of NPR/MPR. Typical college radio. Rule is, if it's been on mainstream radio in the past 10 years, we don't play it!
WSOU-FM ( Seton Hall Univ) was like that in the 80's. They played the all deep cuts and other AOR that went right by the market analysts. Hence never saw a playlist at any NY metro area AOR station.Talk about a thread drift!
I'm the "project analyst" for KVSC-FM in St. Cloud, MN. One of the few public stations not part of NPR/MPR. Typical college radio. Rule is, if it's been on mainstream radio in the past 10 years, we don't play it!
Yep, it's rather unfortunate too. Ratings can drop through no fault of your own. Trends change. Though engineers are now becoming an expendable item around a station too, we spend money and save money, we provide no revenue. GMs are thinking that it's cheaper to call a guy in an emergency than to have one on staff... Penny wise, pound foolish.
I did once get in the face of a PD. He had an ego that the building couldn't hold, he thought i was his personal "bitch". I stood up to him in front of the OM and GM and said "I CAN REPLACE YOU WITH A VERY SMALL COMPUTER PROGRAM TOMORROW, THEY STILL NEED ME TO FIX THE COMPUTER!". He got really quiet after that...
But yes, i know how to change a tube in a 30kW transmitter in under 1/2 an hour. The GM doesn't. That gives me the ability to name my price when he calls. =)
As Broadcast engineers become more IT engs as I did we are less out of sight out of mind. I was given the boot right after I got them up an running on their non-linear news play out system was finished. They decided to make the remote admin start earning his money again instead of making me do 95% of his job. You mean there still is "good" on air talent? I'm TV but what is being said about radio goes for TV as well. Ha good on air talent. All most are is journalism majors that can read. They really don't write much anymore just steal their stories off the net from AP then edit them.
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Your journalists re-write the AP stories?!?!
All the stuff around here is rip-and-read... And not pre-read. 
The stations around here give me enough to make a living. There's always something that needs to be done, i just told a few stations "hey, contract me 20 hours a week, i'll give you a discount". They bit. So 3 stations, 20,20,10 and an on-call nature for another one turns decent money. Especially when nobody is buying solid state rigs yet... But they're slowly showing up.
Remember, the engineers goal is to work himself out of a job. I had one station working so well i would go in and fall asleep on the couch most days. Worst thing i had to do was clean a CD player once in a while. Every so often re-align a laser. Now that same station employs me (one of the 20h stations mentioned above) and can't wait to give me crap to do, even if it doesn't need to be done.
Like "figure out how to go AoIP... without spending $500,000". Uh... ok.
Also, those who can merry IT and RF will inherit the engineers world. IT managers have no clue how RF works, and most RF guys have no clue how IT works (on large scales).
NOt that smart
Oh no they are smart enough to rewrite an AP story they just take the story and edit out what they need to fill their little piece on air.
Your journalists re-write the AP stories?!?!
The stations around here give me enough to make a living. There's always something that needs to be done, i just told a few stations "hey, contract me 20 hours a week, i'll give you a discount". They bit. So 3 stations, 20,20,10 and an on-call nature for another one turns decent money. Especially when nobody is buying solid state rigs yet... But they're slowly showing up.
Remember, the engineers goal is to work himself out of a job. I had one station working so well i would go in and fall asleep on the couch most days. Worst thing i had to do was clean a CD player once in a while. Every so often re-align a laser. Now that same station employs me (one of the 20h stations mentioned above) and can't wait to give me crap to do, even if it doesn't need to be done.
Like "figure out how to go AoIP... without spending $500,000". Uh... ok.
Also, those who can merry IT and RF will inherit the engineers world. IT managers have no clue how RF works, and most RF guys have no clue how IT works (on large scales).
Oh no they are smart enough to rewrite an AP story they just take the story and edit out what they need to fill their little piece on air.
