Media Programming Directors
Direct and coordinate activities of personnel engaged in preparation of radio or television station program schedules and programs, such as sports or news.
Also Known As:
Broadcast Content Manager
News Director
Newscast Director
Production Director
Program Coordinator
Program Director (PD)
Program Manager
Programming Director
Station Manager
TV Program Director (Television Program Director)
Wages
Annual wages for Media Programming Directors in United States
Job Outlook
Bright
New job opportunities are very likely in the future
United States
2034 Projected Employment
175,200
5% Change From 2024
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Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Establish work schedules and assign work to staff members.
- Cue announcers, actors, performers, and guests.
- Act as a liaison between talent and directors, providing information that performers or guests need to prepare for appearances and communicating relevant information from guests, performers, or staff to directors.
- Direct setup of remote facilities and install or cancel programs at remote stations.
- Check completed program logs for accuracy and conformance with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules and regulations and resolve program log inaccuracies.
- Monitor network transmissions for advisories concerning daily program schedules, program content, special feeds, or program changes.
- Review information about programs and schedules to ensure accuracy and provide such information to local media outlets.
- Conduct interviews for broadcasts.
- Participate in the planning and execution of fundraising activities.
- Confer with directors and production staff to discuss issues, such as production and casting problems, budgets, policies, and news coverage.
- Develop budgets for programming and broadcasting activities and monitor expenditures to ensure that they remain within budgetary limits.
- Coordinate activities between departments, such as news and programming.
- Plan and schedule programming and event coverage, based on broadcast length, time availability, and other factors, such as community needs, ratings data, and viewer demographics.
- Read news, read or record public service and promotional announcements, or perform other on-air duties.
- Perform personnel duties, such as hiring staff and evaluating work performance.
- Operate and maintain on-air and production audio equipment.
- Prepare copy and edit tape so that material is ready for broadcasting.
- Monitor and review programming to ensure that schedules are met, guidelines are adhered to, and performances are of adequate quality.
- Direct and coordinate activities of personnel engaged in broadcast news, sports, or programming.
- Operate and maintain on-air and production audio equipment.
- Develop promotions for current programs and specials.
- Select, acquire, and maintain programs, music, films, and other needed materials and obtain legal clearances for their use as necessary.
- Evaluate new and existing programming to assess suitability and the need for changes, using information such as audience surveys and feedback.
- Develop ideas for programs and features that a station could produce.
- Select, acquire, and maintain programs, music, films, and other needed materials and obtain legal clearances for their use as necessary.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")