Today’s Engineer in Today’s Radio Industry
by Troy Pennington
The author is national president of the Society
of Broadcast Engineers. Radio World provides this space to the
society as a service to the industry.
Perhaps now more than ever before, the technical
members of our profession are facing issues that challenge the
survival of this industry we so cherish.
The broadcast engineer’s role today is crucial
to keeping our stations and production facilities solvent and
competitive. We must realize that the part we fulfill in our individual
station’s organizational structure is vital to the success
of the facility, and ultimately to this business we call broadcasting.
Proven worth
Broadcasting has for a long time provided a viable
livelihood for those of us on the technical side of the industry.
This career also offers intrinsic rewards that bring a sense of
real satisfaction when a job or project has been completed successfully.
We work hard to prove how valuable we are to our
stations’ managers and owners. And we are starting to receive
much deserved credit for it. I feel our stations are proud of
us, their engineers.
Today, the broadcast engineer is one of the most
valuable resources to his or her company. The engineer’s
professional opinion increasingly is becoming an important component
in the managerial decisions that ultimately affect the financial
welfare of our facilities.
Broadcasting has been an intriguing business for
investors for a long time, and today that interest is more intense
than ever. The role we play in the broadcasting profession has
contributed to many of the successes that our companies have experienced.
We have helped build these companies and assisted
in guiding them to the valuable properties they have become. It
is proven that broadcast engineering is no longer a necessary
"fixed cost" of a station. In a good operation, it is
considered to be an asset, and its opinions are highly solicited
and considered.
Leadership
This ever-changing industry is bringing more responsibilities
to the technical roles we play. We must be willing to accommodate
the changes of this "new-age media" or be complacent
with being left behind. We must improve the marketing of our importance
– it is imperative that we remain "top of mind"
with the business leaders of our industry. For they know we are
knowledgeable, as well as capable, of addressing important issues
that affect the technical segments of the industry.
Consistently, we are initiators, team players and
leaders within our own groups. Day to day, we are called upon
to assist with critical decisions that not only affect our companies’
local operations, but our national corporate operations as well.
From the chief engineer to the director or vice
president of engineering, group owners are listening to us and
are considering our valuable input. This makes for a "win-win"
arrangement, so vitally needed in today’s competitive business
environment.
Large investments are being made in broadcast groups.
Shareholders demand a return on their investments and ensuring
these returns takes prudent decisions based on sound resources.
Top management talent has been put in place to oversee operations
in a way that hopefully ensures a return on the investment dollar.
You can certainly consider the broadcast engineer
or engineering department as one of these resources to these decision-makers.
I am proud to be a part of this industry. My 30-plus
years span turntables, tubes and tape from the ’60s to the
digital bits of the new millennium. I have seen first-hand the
change that broadcast engineering has helped bring about, and
I look forward with great anticipation to what continuing trends
in technology will bring.
However, it is up to us to stay abreast of those
changes and the new waves of technology. Our station decision-makers
are relying on us for continuous input on ways of staying competitive
and meeting bottom-line expectations.
Our overall objective will continue to be providing
uncompromised public service that is essential to our listeners
and viewers in this day and time.
We all are experiencing some amount of uncertainty
in today’s society, especially following the Sept. 11 attacks
on the heart of America.
Our industry is strong, will survive and will continue
to serve our viewing and listening public in the way we have been
doing for decades, but better. Today we need each other more than
ever!
It is imperative that we remain committed to this
industry and our owners and pledge to give it all we’ve got.
We will be fine, as will America. During this time of heightened
uncertainty, it is our industry that will keep our country informed
and help it in the healing process. We will continue to take pride
in the profession that we have chosen: broadcast engineering.
Troy Pennington is chief engineer of Cox stations
WZZK(FM), WODL(FM) and WRLR(FM) in Birmingham, Ala. RW welcomes
other points of view.
