Trent Radio only has three employees: the General Manager, the Programme Director and the Production Manager. These three employees obviously cannot be at the station for every hour the broadcast facilities are in use, which means that Trent Radio relies on volunteer operators.
This season is the busiest Trent Radio has ever encountered, which means that we need more operators to monitor the broadcast and make sure everything runs smoothly. Interested but not sure if it’s for you?
Read on to see what a typical four-hour operating shift looks like:
4:59pm - Arrive at Trent Radio.
5:00-5:05pm - Chat with out-going operator, programmers, and other loiterers in Trent Radio kitchen.
5:06pm - Ensure that there’s coffee in the coffeemaker by pouring a large mug for yourself. In the event that there is no coffee, brew more.
5:07-5:50pm - Monitor broadcast (a.k.a. listen to the radio) to ensure that no major screw-ups are occurring. Continually sip coffee.
5:51-5:59pm - Mentally prepare to broadcast.
6:00-6:04pm - Begin Smooth Operator broadcast with a station ID and intro.
6:05-6:29pm -Read community announcements and play local music and sponsorship spots.
6:30pm - Pass the studio off to the next programmer.
6:31-6:45pm - Monitor broadcast. Sip more coffee.
6:46pm - Greet newly arrived programmer.
6:47pm - Feel belly rumbling.
6:48-6:52pm - Chat with the pizza/ fish and chips/ Indian food representative on the phone. Order something greasy and delicious.
6:53-7:22pm - Impatiently wait for pizza/ fish and chips /Indian food to arrive while gulping back another cup of coffee and monitoring the broadcast.
7:23pm - Greet early bird eight o’clock programmer gruffly. You can’t help it. You’re hungry.
7:24pm - Rejoice at the arrival of the delivery person with your nourishment.
7:25-7:55pm - Hungrily tear into your food while engaging in interesting conversation with the early bird. They’re much cooler when you’re not hungry.
7:56pm - Admonish the early bird for attempting to bring their coffee cup into the studio. Don’t you know there are no liquids allowed in there?
7:57-8:39pm - Sit back and monitor the early bird’s broadcast, which is actually really good. Liquids in the studio faux pas forgiven. Sip your third cup of coffee.
8:40-8:50pm - Wash the dishes. Wonder how one kitchen can hold so many coffee cups.
8:50-8:59pm - Write in the Operator’s Log about your evening. Draw a picture of a unicorn eating ice cream.
9:00-9:03pm - Shoo out the final programmer to play the last sponsorship spot and the sign-off before switching over to Radio Free Peterborough.
9:04-9:06pm - Do a final check to make sure everything’s in order, set the alarm, and...
9:07pm- LEAVE feeling jittery. Promise yourself to never drink that much coffee again, but give in next week during YOUR NEXT OPERATING SHIFT!
So, to recap: as an operator, you get to spend your evening hanging out at Trent Radio, chatting with all sorts of cool cats and drinking lots of coffee, and your only responsibilities are to tidy up, lock up, and make sure the building doesn’t burn down and that your programmers aren’t spewing hate speech all over the airwaves. Why wouldn’t you want to be an operator?
For more information on becoming an operator or Trent Radio in general, contact Programme Director James Kerr at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . And remember, the more operators we have, the more programmes we can fit into the schedule!
