Media Studies and Production

Alternative Job Titles for Media Programming Directors

• 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)

Job Tasks and Activities for Media Programming Directors

• 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.
• Check completed program logs for accuracy and conformance with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules and regulations and resolve program log inaccuracies.
• Conduct interviews for broadcasts.
• Confer with directors and production staff to discuss issues, such as production and casting problems, budgets, policies, and news coverage.
• Coordinate activities between departments, such as news and programming.
• Coordinate logistics for productions or events.
• Coordinate reporting or editing activities.
• Cue announcers, actors, performers, and guests.
• Determine presentation subjects or content.
• Develop budgets for programming and broadcasting activities and monitor expenditures to ensure that they remain within budgetary limits.
• Develop ideas for programs and features that a station could produce.
• Develop promotional strategies or plans.
• Develop promotions for current programs and specials.
• Direct and coordinate activities of personnel engaged in broadcast news, sports, or programming.
• Direct fundraising or financing activities.
• Direct productions or performances.
• Direct setup of remote facilities and install or cancel programs at remote stations.
• Discuss production content and progress with others.
• Edit audio or video recordings.
• Establish work schedules and assign work to staff members.
• Evaluate new and existing programming to assess suitability and the need for changes, using information such as audience surveys and feedback.
• Interview others for news or entertainment purposes.
• Maintain inventories of materials, equipment, or products.
• Maintain logs of production activities.
• Maintain recording or broadcasting equipment.
• Manage content of broadcasts or presentations.
• Manage operations of artistic or entertainment departments or organizations.
• Monitor and review programming to ensure that schedules are met, guidelines are adhered to, and performances are of adequate quality.
• Monitor network transmissions for advisories concerning daily program schedules, program content, special feeds, or program changes.
• Operate and maintain on-air and production audio equipment.
• Operate communications, transmissions, or broadcasting equipment.
• Participate in the planning and execution of fundraising activities.
• Perform personnel duties, such as hiring staff and evaluating work performance.
• 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.
• Prepare copy and edit tape so that material is ready for broadcasting.
• Read news, read or record public service and promotional announcements, or perform other on-air duties.
• Report news to the public.
• Review information about programs and schedules to ensure accuracy and provide such information to local media outlets.
• Select materials or props.
• Select staff, team members, or performers.
• Select, acquire, and maintain programs, music, films, and other needed materials and obtain legal clearances for their use as necessary.
• Verify accuracy of data.

Interests for Media Programming Directors

• Enterprising
  Managing, negotiating, marketing, or selling, typically in a business setting, or leading or advising people in political and legal situations.
• Conventional
  Following procedures and regulations to organize information or data, typically in a business setting.
• Artistic
  Creating original visual artwork, performances, written works, food, or music for a variety of media, or applying artistic principles to the design of various objects and materials.

Skills for Media Programming Directors

In order of importance

• Speaking
  Talking to others.
  Importance: 81/100
• Judgment and Decision Making
  Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
  Importance: 78/100
• Reading Comprehension
  Reading work-related information.
  Importance: 78/100
• Critical Thinking
  Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
  Importance: 78/100
• Coordination
  Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
  Importance: 75/100
• Time Management
  Managing your time and the time of other people.
  Importance: 75/100
• Active Learning
  Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
  Importance: 72/100
• Monitoring
  Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
  Importance: 72/100
• Active Listening
  Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
  Importance: 72/100
• Management of Personnel Resources
  Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
  Importance: 72/100
• Complex Problem Solving
  Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
  Importance: 69/100
• Social Perceptiveness
  Understanding people's reactions.
  Importance: 69/100
• Writing
  Writing things for co-workers or customers.
  Importance: 69/100
• Negotiation
  Bringing people together to solve differences.
  Importance: 66/100
• Systems Analysis
  Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
  Importance: 56/100
• Persuasion
  Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
  Importance: 56/100
• Systems Evaluation
  Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
  Importance: 56/100
• Instructing
  Teaching people how to do something.
  Importance: 50/100
• Management of Material Resources
  Managing equipment and materials.
  Importance: 50/100
• Operations Analysis
  Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
  Importance: 50/100
• Learning Strategies
  Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
  Importance: 50/100
• Service Orientation
  Looking for ways to help people.
  Importance: 50/100
• Management of Financial Resources
  Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
  Importance: 44/100
• Operations Monitoring
  Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
  Importance: 35/100
• Quality Control Analysis
  Testing how well a product or service works.
  Importance: 31/100
• Operation and Control
  Using equipment or systems.
  Importance: 31/100
• Mathematics
  Using math to solve problems.
  Importance: 25/100
• Technology Design
  Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
  Importance: 19/100
• Programming
  Writing computer programs.
  Importance: 13/100
• Troubleshooting
  Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
  Importance: 10/100
• Science
  Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
  Importance: 10/100

Knowledge for Media Programming Directors

In order of importance

• 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.
  Importance: 97/100
• Computers and Electronics
  Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
  Importance: 87/100
• English Language
  Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  Importance: 84/100
• 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.
  Importance: 73/100
• Telecommunications
  Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
  Importance: 72/100
• 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.
  Importance: 71/100
• 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.
  Importance: 68/100
• 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.
  Importance: 61/100
• 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.
  Importance: 60/100
• 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.
  Importance: 60/100
• 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.
  Importance: 59/100
• Production and Processing
  Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
  Importance: 55/100
• Mathematics
  Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
  Importance: 53/100
• Law and Government
  Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
  Importance: 49/100
• 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.
  Importance: 48/100
• 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.
  Importance: 46/100
• Economics and Accounting
  Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
  Importance: 40/100
• Fine Arts
  Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
  Importance: 38/100
• Mechanical
  Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
  Importance: 38/100
• Design
  Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
  Importance: 36/100
• Sociology and Anthropology
  Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
  Importance: 32/100
• 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.
  Importance: 31/100
• 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.
  Importance: 29/100
• History and Archeology
  Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
  Importance: 26/100
• Transportation
  Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
  Importance: 24/100
• 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.
  Importance: 20/100
• 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.
  Importance: 20/100
• 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.
  Importance: 17/100
• 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.
  Importance: 12/100
• 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.
  Importance: 12/100
• Biology
  Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
  Importance: 11/100
• 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.
  Importance: 11/100
• Food Production
  Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
  Importance: 9/100

Physical Abilities for Media Programming Directors

In order of importance

• Oral Comprehension
  Listening and understanding what people say.
  Importance: 81/100
• Oral Expression
  Communicating by speaking.
  Importance: 81/100
• Written Expression
  Communicating by writing.
  Importance: 78/100
• Problem Sensitivity
  Noticing when problems happen.
  Importance: 78/100
• Written Comprehension
  Reading and understanding what is written.
  Importance: 78/100
• Speech Clarity
  Speaking clearly.
  Importance: 72/100
• Fluency of Ideas
  Coming up with lots of ideas.
  Importance: 72/100
• Speech Recognition
  Recognizing spoken words.
  Importance: 69/100
• Near Vision
  Seeing details up close.
  Importance: 69/100
• Originality
  Creating new and original ideas.
  Importance: 69/100
• Deductive Reasoning
  Using rules to solve problems.
  Importance: 69/100
• Inductive Reasoning
  Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
  Importance: 66/100
• Information Ordering
  Ordering or arranging things.
  Importance: 66/100
• Category Flexibility
  Grouping things in different ways.
  Importance: 60/100
• Selective Attention
  Paying attention to something without being distracted.
  Importance: 53/100
• Far Vision
  Seeing details that are far away.
  Importance: 50/100
• Time Sharing
  Doing two or more things at the same time.
  Importance: 50/100
• Flexibility of Closure
  Seeing hidden patterns.
  Importance: 47/100
• Speed of Closure
  Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
  Importance: 44/100
• Memorization
  Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
  Importance: 44/100
• Visualization
  Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
  Importance: 41/100
• Number Facility
  Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
  Importance: 38/100
• Mathematical Reasoning
  Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
  Importance: 38/100
• Perceptual Speed
  Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
  Importance: 35/100
• Control Precision
  Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
  Importance: 35/100
• Auditory Attention
  Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
  Importance: 35/100
• Finger Dexterity
  Putting together small parts with your fingers.
  Importance: 31/100
• Visual Color Discrimination
  Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
  Importance: 31/100
• Hearing Sensitivity
  Telling the difference between sounds.
  Importance: 28/100
• Arm-Hand Steadiness
  Keeping your arm or hand steady.
  Importance: 28/100
• Reaction Time
  Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
  Importance: 28/100
• Manual Dexterity
  Holding or moving items with your hands.
  Importance: 25/100
• Depth Perception
  Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
  Importance: 25/100
• Wrist-Finger Speed
  Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
  Importance: 22/100
• Rate Control
  Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
  Importance: 19/100
• Response Orientation
  Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
  Importance: 19/100
• Multilimb Coordination
  Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
  Importance: 13/100
• Trunk Strength
  Using your lower back and stomach.
  Importance: 13/100
• Speed of Limb Movement
  Quickly moving your arms and legs.
  Importance: 10/100
• Sound Localization
  Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
  Importance: 3/100
• Dynamic Strength
  Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
  Importance: 3/100

Tools and Technology used by Media Programming Directors

• Media control systems
• Radio frequency transmitters or receivers
• Audio mixing consoles
• Radio core equipment
• Digital voice recorders
• Special purpose telephones
• Laser fax machine
• Desktop computers
• Personal computers
• Tablet computers
• Data base user interface and query software
  • FileMaker Pro
  • Microsoft SQL Server
  • Scheduling databases
• Presentation software
  • Microsoft PowerPoint
• Electronic mail software
  • Email software
  • Microsoft Outlook
• Graphics or photo imaging software
  • Adobe Photoshop
• Video creation and editing software
  • Apple Final Cut Pro
  • Avid Technology iNEWS
• Web page creation and editing software
  • Content management systems CMS
  • Facebook
• Calendar and scheduling software
  • Music scheduling software
  • RCS GSelector
• Spreadsheet software
  • Microsoft Excel
• Document management software
  • Adobe Acrobat
• Office suite software
  • Microsoft Office software
• Cloud-based data access and sharing software
  • Microsoft SharePoint
• Word processing software
  • Microsoft Word
• Instant messaging software
  • Twitter
• Music or sound editing software
  • Broadcast Electronics AudioVAULT FleX
• Human resources software
  • Applicant tracking software
• Internet browser software
  • Web browser software
• Web platform development software
  • Hypertext markup language HTML

Employment Industries for Media Programming Directors

• Media streaming distribution services, social networks, and other media networks and content providers
  21,500 employed
• Television broadcasting stations
  14,200 employed
• Advertising, public relations, and related services
  9,800 employed
• Theater companies and dinner theaters
  6,000 employed
• Radio broadcasting stations
  5,300 employed