Much like good tradies you need good tools to equip yourself for success in your broadcasting career. Here are my top 5 investments that you should at some point add to your game.
5. A Black book
“Once you have used this number – you need to destroy it” That’s normally the instruction you get from someone that has just handed over a celebrity’s personal phone number because you have an interview lined up. Here is my advice – If you are lucky enough for this to happen, Keep that number and add it too your black book of numbers because you never know when you are going to need it again.
I remember working in a station not so long ago and i was trying to secure an interview for the breakfast show. I can’t remember why we were looking for Ian moss but it was something we were doing on the breakfast show. Our news director at the time tapped me on the shoulder and said “follow me”. Suddenly i was escorted back to the news room and handed a thick blue book! This thing must have been encyclopedia think! I remember he said “you’ll find Ian’s number in there – Don’t tell anyone where you got it from”. It pays to keep a hold of old information like phone numbers because it will make your broadcasting life easier going forward.
4. A Filing System
If you have not already head straight to JB HIFI and purchase a portable hard drive to hold all of your work that you produced over the years. Much like the phone numbers, you never know when you are going to need old interview grabs that you have on file.
It was only recently that I was doing a Saturday morning Grand Final addition of a breakfast show and I remembered I had earlier this year conducted an interview with Mike Brady and we have talked about his never aging song “Up there Cazaly”. It was this year that that particular song turned 40 so i thought i would re-purpose the interview that I had recorded with the great man.
3. A recording device
You don’t have to spend a fortune these days on Hi tech recording equipment. These days everyone has a smart phone that can record some great quality audio. If news breaks are you in the right place at the right time all it’s going to take it you getting the audio you need and emailing to yourself to post production later.
2. Your own pair of head Phones
Have you ever walked in someone else’s shoes? There is nothing worse. They don’t feel comfortable on your feet, it makes it hard to walk because things don’t feel right. Head phones are exactly the same. When you put on a pair of head phones that are not yours the sound is different, there is a rattle in them, they are loose, you can hear a buzz. With your own pair of head phones they just feel and sound right.
1. Time
This is an interesting one but it’s so important when it comes to this game. You have to get yourself time. Time to learn – early in the career you will be learning a lot listening to other announcers how they do things applying those things to your craft and as you do that you need to give yourself time to grow. Don’t be in a hurry in this game otherwise it will be over before you know it. Give yourself time…
