Glossary
- Actuality Voice of a person directly involved in a news story
- Ad lib Unprepared and spontaneous comments
- Affiliate A station that has contracted to carry network programs
- AFTRA American Federation of Television and Radio Artists
- Airwaves Popular term for radio transmission
- Ampere The measuring unit for current
- Amplitude The high and low points of a sine wave
- AOR Album -oriented rock
- Ascertainment The investigation made by a broadcaster to learn the
needs of a community
- Attributive phrase The phrase at the end of a quotation that tells
who said it
- Audio console See Console
- Audio equipment--Equipment that processes sound and sound voltages
- Audio feed A spoken message received via wire or radio transmission
- Audition A tryout of speech or other performance to determine acceptability
- Back announce To announce the name of a record after it has been
played
- Back timing--Timing a record so that it will end exactly at the
time desired
- BBC British Broadcasting Corporation
- Bidirectional mike A microphone that picks up sound on two sides
- Block programming Dividing the broadcast day into small segments--usually
15-, 30-, or 60 -minute blocks
- Board Audio console. See Console
- Board fade Using volume control to turn down the sound
- Book Periodic report prepared by audience survey companies
- Broadcast endorsement Authorization for an individual to operate
a broadcasting station
- Broadcasting Sending radio messages to a broad, general audience
- Bulk eraser An electromagnet used for quickly removing all the sound
patterns from magnetic tape
- Cardioid mike A directional microphone that picks up sound in a
heart –shaped pattern
- Carrier Radio frequency signal upon which audio sound frequencies
are transmitted
- Cart Abbreviation for tape cartridge
- Cart machine Cartridge tape recorder or player
- Chain break Station break or station identification given between
programs
- Channel Designated frequency upon which a broadcasting station operates
- Citation A notice issued by the FCC that a broadcaster has violated
a rule
- Class A time Preferred broadcasting time, when station has the most
listeners
- Combo Combination announcer and engineer
- Communicaster Host on a radio talk show
- Composite week Days of the week selected by the FCC to determine
the quality of programming done by the broadcasting station during
the term of its license
- Condenser mike A type of microphone in which one or both plates
of an electrical condenser vibrate to produce audio voltages
- Console The main section of audio control to which all other studio
equipment is connected; also called a "board" or "mixer"
- Construction permit A document issued by the FCC permitting construction
or modification of broadcast equipment
- CPB Corporation for Public Broadcasting
- Cross fade To fade out of one audio source and into another
- Cross talk Sound voltages picked up by induction from one channel
that interfere with the sound voltages in another channel
- Cue An indication to start. Also, finding the point on a record
or tape where the sound begins
- Cumes Abbreviation for cumulative ratings, indicating the number
of people listening to a station in a given period of time
- Current The flow of electricity, measured in amperes
- Dead air A period of time when there is no sound being transmitted
- Decibel The measurement unit for sound level
- Demographics Sociological characteristics of a segment of the population
- Direct address Using radio transmission to talk directly to a particular
individual
- Direct quote--Repeating the exact words spoken by another person
- Directional mike A microphone that picks up sound mainly from one
direction.
- Same as unidirectional microphone
- Disclaimer An announcement to the effect that opinions expressed
are not necessarily those of the station
- Distortion Any difference between the original sound and reproduced
sound
- Double spotting Scheduling two spot announcements in immediate succession
- Drive time Morning and afternoon hours when people are commuting
to and from work
- Dual operation Two -person operation, one announcing and one engineering
- Dubbing Duplicating sound, usually from one tape to another
- Dynamic mike A type of microphone in which a coil of wire vibrates
to produce audio voltages
- EBS Emergency Broadcast System
- Enunciation Clarity in speaking
- ET Electrical transcription. Voice or music recorded on a disk in
individual, separated tracks. Usually a series of short spot announcements
- Extemporize Elaborating spontaneously around a prepared message
- Fader Volume control. Also called a "pot"
- Fairness Doctrine Policy of the FCC that requires broadcasting stations
to deal fairly with controversial issues
- FCC Federal Communications Commission
- Feedback Squeal or howl produced by sound coming from a loudspeaker,
re-entering the microphone, and recirculating the chain of transmission
to the speaker
- First Phone First Class Radiotelephone Operator's License
- Format Sequence of programs, recorded music, and announcements
- Free-speech message A message written and spoken by a private citizen
expressing his own viewpoint
- Frequency The number of cycles per second of a sine wave: also,
colloquially, the "spot on the dial" where a station operates
- Frequency discount A discount given to an advertiser based upon
the number of spot announcements purchased
- Fringe area Area where a broadcasting station is received only faintly
- Gain Volume
- High impedance High load resistance. Characteristic of non-professional
audio equipment
- Hot clock The face of a clock labeled to indicate the times that
certain types of records are to be played
- IBEW International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
- IBS Intercollegiate Broadcasting System
- Impedance The electrical load imposed by one piece of equipment
upon another to which it is connected
- Independent station A broadcasting station not affiliated with a
network
- Indirect quote Paraphrase of the words spoken by another person
- Induction The generation of an electromotive force in a conductor
from another conductor insulated from the first
- Initial sound--Sound at the beginning of a word
- Input Information or sound fed into a communications system; the
electrical point in equipment at which signal voltage is applied
- Institutional promotion Campaign to publicize the name of an organization
so that it will be recognized and remembered, with little or no
effort to promote the sale of specific products or services
- IPS Inches per second
- Jack Female electrical connector. Socket
- Kill date Termination date of a spot announcement
- Kilo Thousand
- Kilocycle Thousand cycles per second. Same as kilohertz
- Lavalier mike--A microphone that is hung around the neck
- Lead The beginning paragraph of a news story
- Lead in The sentences that prepare the listener for a news report
- Level Volume of sound as indicated on a volume unit meter
- Line-in jack Input socket for high-level (amplified) signals
- Live copy--Copy that is read directly on the air rather than being
prerecorded
- Load--A piece of equipment that draws electric current
- Logs--Daily records of programs or performance of broadcasting equipment
- Low impedance--Low load resistance. Characteristic of professional
audio equipment
- Master control A room that contains all the audio equipment necessary
for broadcasting
- Megahertz Million cycles per second
- Middle sounds The phonemes in the middle of a word
- Milliamp--One one-thousandth of an ampere
- Mixer A unit that can control individually the volume of microphones
and other audio equipment connected to it. See Console
- Modulation Variation in frequency or amplitude of a radio frequency
carrier by sound; voice, music, or sound that is amplified or reproduced
by audio
- equipment
- Monitor To listen to and check program quality. Also, the speaker
or headset
- used to hear the amplified sound
- MOR Middle-of-the-road. Pertaining to popular music
- Music under Music, usually recorded, played under the voice of the
announcer
- NAB National Association of Broadcasters
- NABET National Association of Broadcast Engineers and Technicians
- National rep A representative contracted to a broadcasting station
to obtain national advertising accounts
- Network Any arrangement made by several stations to broadcast programs
simultaneously
- Non-directional mike A microphone whose sensitivity is the same
from all directions
- NPR National Public Radio
- Off mike Speaking too far away from a microphone, or into a side
that is not "live"
- Ohm The measuring unit for resistance
- Omnidirectional mike--Same as non-directional mike
- Out Communication is ended and no response is necessary
- Out cue The last word of a spoken message or report. A cue for the
next program element to begin
- Output The information or sound that comes out of a communications
system.
- Also, the point at which the sound comes out of the equipment
- Pacing Rate at which a message or program proceeds
- Participating advertiser--An advertiser who buys spot announcements
on a broadcasting station but does not control the program content
- Patch cord A cord that connects two pieces of equipment in a communications
system
- Patch panel--A bank of jacks used to interconnect pieces of equipment
in a communications system by means of patch cords
- Payola--Money paid illegally to broadcast personnel in return for
favors
- Peak--The high point registered by the needle on a VU meter
- Phone patch Device or circuitry that connects a telephone to an
audio system for recording or further transmission
- Phonetic Alphabet, International The standard set of symbols representing
the sounds produced in human speech
- Play list A list compiled by the disk jockey of the records played
on the air
- Plug Male electrical connector
- Point-to-point communication--See Direct address
- Potentiometer A volume control device. Also called a "pot"
- Power The work that is done by an electric circuit, measured in
watts
- Primer Document issued by the FCC to explain a rule or concept promulgated
by the Commission
- Prime time The time of day when a broadcasting station has its largest
listening audience
- Program log--Daily record of all programs and spot announcements
broadcast by a station. Required by the FCC
- Project To speak with strong volume and clear enunciation
- Promo An announcement promoting a program or activity of the station
- Proof of performance Measurements of power and frequency verifying
that a station has been operating within its designated parameters
- Protection Separating commercial announcements that are in competition
with each other so that they are not heard too close together
- PSA Public service announcement
- Public file A compilation of license applications, construction
permits, ascertainment reports, correspondence with the FCC, letters
from the public, proof of performance, and other matter pertaining
to the operation of a broadcasting station which the public is
entitled to inspect
- Quadraphonic Sound picked up through four different channels and
transmitted simultaneously on one FM carrier
- Radiotelephone Communications system in which a radio frequency
carrier is modulated by sound; a wireless system which uses a microphone
rather than a telegraph key for communication
- Rate card Brochure printed and distributed by a broadcasting station
which lists the costs of advertising at various times of the day
- Rating Statistical percentages indicating the size of a station's
listening audience
- Remote A program originating away from the broadcasting studio
- Residuals Payment to an announcer or other performer, made on the
basis of the number of times a recorded spot announcement is aired
- Resistance A load put upon an electric circuit, measured in ohms
- Résumé A summary of an individual's qualifications for employment
- Ribbon mike A type of microphone in which a thin strip of metal,
vibrating in a magnetic field, produces sound voltages.
- Rip -and -read Derogatory term referring to the practice of reading
copy from a wire service with little or no rephrasing or editing
- Rules and Regulations Publication issued in three volumes by the
FCC to provide legal parameters for broadcasting stations
- Saturation In broadcast advertising, the practice of making a large "buy" of
air time, usually on several stations, for a short period of time,
to promote a sale or activity
- SC Station continuity. Announcement promoting an activity of the
station
- Segue (SEG-way) To go from one program item to another without an
announcement in between
- Set A group of records segued together
- Share Statistical percentage indicating the size of a station's
listening audience
- in proportion to that of the other stations in the area
- Shotgun mike A highly directional microphone (having a very narrow
pickup
- pattern) that will focus on sound coming from a point a considerable
distance away
- Signal The radio frequency emission of a broadcasting station. Also
sound voltages and currents
- Simulcasting Broadcasting the same program on two stations simultaneously,
- as by an AM and an FM station operated by the same owners, or as
a collaboration between a television station and an FM station,
to provide a telecast-of a symphonic concert, for example-with stereo
sound
- Sine wave A curve that represents the flow of alternating current
- Sound In broadcast jargon, program content and overall style of
a broadcasting station. May also be called the "format"
- SP Station promotion. See SC
- Sponsor Advertiser who provides financial backing for all or part
of a broadcasting program
- Spot An announcement, either commercial or public service
- Standard broadcast AM radio
- Stringer Part-time news reporter who gets paid by the story or by
the word
- Tag Live ending to a recorded spot. Additional information, usually
of a local or timely nature
- Talent fee Payment to an announcer or other performer
- Target audience Specific population segment which a broadcasting
station attempts to reach
- Telescoping Squeezing together words or music. In speaking. the
contracting of sounds of words. Also, cutting out the middle portion
of a musical selection to shorten the time of the music
- TFN Till further notice
- Top 40 The forty most popular records of the current week. Also
a station that plays only the most popular records
- Trade journal Periodical serving a particular industry or profession
- Trade -out Exchanging advertising for products or services
- Traffic director The person responsible for putting into the log
all the programs and spot announcements scheduled for every broadcast
day
- Underwriting--The granting of funds to a noncommercial station to
aid in its financial support. FCC policy permits a simple, noncommercial,
on -the –air acknowledgment of such grants
- Unidirectional microphone A microphone that picks up sound mainly
from one direction. Same as directional microphone
- Union scale A rate of pay for specified work agreed to by a union
- Voice-over Talking over music or sound
- Volt The measuring unit for voltage
- Voltage Electromotive force, measured in volts
- VU meter Volume unit meter. A meter that registers the volume of
sound in modulation percentage and in decibels
- Watt The measuring unit for power
- Windscreen A sound -transparent cover placed over a microphone to
minimize the distorting effect of wind and certain speech sounds
- Wire service An organization that distributes news and other written
copy to subscribers by means of teletype
- Wood shedding--Reading over the copy prior to the time it is to
be read on the air
- Zero level--One hundred percent modulation, as measured by a VU
meter
Bibliography
General Background and Information
Cole, Barry and Mal Oettinger, Reluctant Regulators (Reading, Mass.:
Addison -Wesley, 1978)
Coleman, Howard, Case Studies in Broadcast Management: Radio and TV
(New York: Hastings House, 1978)
Foster, Eugene S., Understanding Broadcasting (Reading, Mass.: Addison
-Wesley, 1978)
Head, Sydney W., Broadcasting in America, 2d ed. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
1972)
Kahn, Frank J. (ed.), Documents of American Broadcasting (Englewood
Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice -Hall, 1973)
Johnson, Joseph S. and Kenneth K. Jones, Modern Radio Station Practices
(Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth, 1972)
Robinson, Sol, Broadcast Station Operation Guide (Blue Ridge Summit:
Tab Books, 1968)
Broadcast Journalism
Bittner, John R. and Denise A. Bittner, Radio Journalism (Englewood
Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice -Hall, 1977)
Bliss, Edward Jr. and John M. Patterson. Writing News for Broadcast
(New York: Columbia, 1971)
Smeyak, Paul G., Broadcast News Writing (Columbus: Grid, Inc., 1977)
Tankard, Jr. and Michael Ryan, Basic News Reporting (Palo Alto: Mayfield
Publishing Company, 1977)
Studio Production
Hybels. Saundra, and Dana Ulloth, Broadcasting: An Introduction to Radio
and Television (Princeton: Van Nostrand, 1978)
Seidle, Ronald J. Air Time (Boston: Holbrook Press, 1977) Announcing
Hyde, Stuart W., Television and Radio Announcing (Boston: Houghton Mifflin
1971)
License Handbooks
Broadcast Operator Handbook (Washington: Federal Communications Commission
Field Operations Bureau, 1976)
McKenzie, Alexander A., Radiotelephone Examination Key and Answers (New
York: McGraw-Hill, 1972)
Noll, Edward M., Third Class Radiotelephone License Handbook (New York:
Bobbs-Merrill, 1976)
Schwartz, Martin. Commercial Radio Operator's License Guide (Williston
Park, N.Y.: Ameco Publishing Corporation, 1975)
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