General The music department is responsible for obtaining and processing all the recorded music that comes into the station. Unlike many stations' music departments, BSR's generally does not dictate what music should be played by DJs - instead it is the driving force behind the rapid expansion and diversification of our music library. Music Department staff includes the Music Director, the Genre Directors, and the Librarian. The department has occasional meetings to sort out its business and review problems and policies. Working in the Music Department is a great way of putting your appreciation and knowledge of music to good use- and you're guaranteed to learn more about music, even if you think you're an expert.
Music Director
The Music Director (MD) coordinates all the music department activities. The MD's primary responsibilities are to oversee the work of the Genre Directors- in order to insure that BSR continues to get a diverse range of new music- and the Librarian(s)- to make sure that all that music, new and old, stays organized. The MD is also responsible for keeping genre and reviewing labels stocked, making sure that CD's and records are being reviewed properly, checking mail and email, answering phones, tracking down overdue CD's and records, and just being generally encouraging. This position requires a minimum of four office hours per week.
Genre Directors
The Genre Directors (GDs) are responsible for obtaining all the new music that BSR gets. Their duties include schmoozing with record promoters, record labels and bands via phone and email; labeling new music as it comes into the station and entering it into the database; cleaning off their genre's Features Shelf; and reporting their genre's top-played charts to CMJ and then sending these charts to said promoters, labels and bands, if applicable. Yes, GD's take requests- if you don't see something in the station that we should have, ask your friendly neighborhood GD. There is usually a GD for each CMJ genre (Top 200 [Rock], Alternative [Latin], HipHop, Loud Rock, Jazz, New World [International], RPM [Electronic]), as well as for other genres when necessary; in the past this has included Classical, "Jambands," Country & Folk and Blues. There is, of course, tons of overlap. More practically, GD's also answer phones, check mail and email, put review labels on and tattoo "BSR" on CD's and records, and track down delinquent reviewers. Though most of the excess music and other goodies that BSR gets are saved for on-air giveaways and promotions, the GD's can occasionally get free music stuff and often get on the guest list at concerts. The GD is also the person to talk to for getting in touch with bands for shows, on-air performances, interviews, etc. This position requires a minimum of four office hours per week, but two people can split the position (two hours each).
Music Librarian(s)
The Librarian maintains the Music Library. Everyone is repsonsible for re-filing records and CDs after they are done using them, but inevitably things get misfiled or left out on occasion, at which point the heroic Librarian intervenes! This position requires a minimum of four hours per week, per person, as there may be more than one Librarian.
General The Programming Department is responsible
for supervising all on-air programming. They develop a
schedule each semester, administrate the training program
for all new programmers, review programming throughout
each semester, and propose any new station policy regarding
programming. They work closely with the Music Director,
Sports Director, News Director, Production Director, and
Features Director to coordinate the programming from these
distinct departments and oversee any on-air special events.
They ensure that all programming follows our Mission Statement
of "diverse student and community produced non-commercial
radio", balances the goal of building a regular audience
with the goal of providing an educational experience to
students, and follows Brown Student Radio and FCC regulations.
The Programming Board chooses shows based on a number of
factors, including the amount of work the DJ puts into
the station, the entertainment and education value of the
potential show, and how the show will fit in with the other
shows that may be applying in the same round of allocations.
Programming Director The Programming Director (PD) coordinates
the actions of the Programming Department. The PD is responsible
for channeling the (sometimes) conflicting priorities and
preferences of the individual Programming Board members
into a cohesive schedule, general programming policy, and
overall on-air sound. The Programming Director has the
power to overrule the action of any programmer if they
find the action to go against station policy, until the
matter can be reviewed by the Programming Board, or by
the Executive Board if disciplinary action is necessary.
The Programming Director is appointed by the Executive
Board.
The Programming Board Members of the Programming Board
work with the PD to supervise all on-air programming. There
are six members of the Programming Board, in addition to
the PD. The Programming Board members are elected for a
one-year term by general Station Membership, three members
elected at the end of each semester so that their terms
are staggered. All members have had at least a year's experience
on-air. The Programming Board members review shows throughout
the semester, ensuring that each show gets reviewed at
least twice per semester. They also work one-on-one with
new recruits during Programmer Training, and they create
the schedule for each semester in conjunction with the
PD.
Live event Coordinator The Live Event Coordinator works
with the Programming Director, the Features Director, and
the Music Director to coordinate live events such as bands,
panel discussions, or other live events to be aired on
BSR. He or she may work closely with a few other station
members who will engineer these live events as well.
General The Features Department is the place
for people interested in creative non-music programming,
including documentary, drama and comedy, interviews, call-in
discussions, poetical expression and much more. The creative
potential for programming that is interesting, innovative,
and entertaining is unlimited. Because features programming
often blurs the lines between departments, and can incorporate
elements of music, news, or sports, collaboration between
features producers and between departments is highly encouraged.
Diversity and collaboration are the strengths and assets
of the department. In addition, the Features Department
tries to build ties to the Providence community and address
local concerns in our programming.
Features Director The features director is responsible
for the coordination and oversight of the features department,
for acting as a resource to show producers, for helping
develop new programming, for helping existing programming
to continually improve, and for aiding in any specialized
training that is not covered in the station wide training
sessions. It is also the Features Director's responsibility
to familiarize producers with the range of existing features
programming, both BSR produced and otherwise.
Evaluation of Shows Formal evaluation of Features shows
will be done by the Programming Board, but as part of training
and development, and for the sake of keeping track of how
shows progress over the course of the semester, periodic
evaluation, feedback and review will be conducted on a
departmental level.
Features Show Producers Each show will have at least one
person designated as "producer," who is responsible for
the content of each show, making sure that the show goes
on when it is scheduled, and reporting any problems to
the Features Director. The designated producer is also
responsible for coming to features departmental meetings
throughout the semester. Producers should arrive at the
station and be ready to go on the air at least ten minutes
prior to the start of their show. If for some reason a
show cannot go on, the producer is also the person responsible
for finding a sub, or if necessary notifying the Features
Director and Programming Director so that he/she may find
a sub.
General The Brown Student Radio Sports Network is
dedicated to providing undergraduates with an experience in on-air
sports broadcasting and reporting. We generate live sports broadcasts
of Brown Athletics as well as a weekly Brown sports roundup show, "The
Bear's Den," for the listening enjoyment of the University, campus,
community, and surrounding area as well as users of the internet.
The Sports Department tries to broadcast live sports broadcasts
every weekend that BSR is on the air and that Brown sports teams
are playing. The schedule is limited by budgetary and travel concerns,
but the Sports Department has been successful in covering many home
and away games. Occasionally, games are taped and then broadcast
during the Sports Department's designated on-air hours (Fri. & Sat.
from 7:00 until games are completed (usually 9:00-9:30).
Sports Director The BSR Sports Director is a member
of the BSR executive board and is responsible for overseeing
and organizing all broadcasts, events and tasks carried
out by the BSR Sports Network. This includes: selecting
broadcast teams, statisticians and engineers for live games;
selecting reporting and interview assignments and making
sure the Sports staff has the proper training and equipment
to carry out these tasks; communicating with the Brown
Sports Information Department to obtain team schedules
and information; selecting a schedule of games to broadcast
that is finalized in conjunction with the non-music and
programming directors and the Brown Sports Information
Department; contacting and making broadcast agreements
with other schools sports information departments for road
games; getting invoices and checks cut for line fees for
road games; keeping two full sets of remote broadcast equipment
together in good working order; writing, obtaining and
recording production such as station ID's, intros and outros
for live games and the roundup show, promos for live games
and the roundup show to be played during other shows and
previews of upcoming games, in conjunction with the BSR
Production Director; and delegating these and other responsibilities
to other members of the BSR Sports staff. The Sports Director
is also accountable for all the tasks carried out by members
of his/her BSR Sports staff. The BSR Sports Director, or
someone he or she delegates, is responsible, in conjunction
with the BSR station Publicity Director, to ensure that
members of the Brown community and the surrounding area
are aware of the BSR Sports Network's broadcast schedule.
The Sports Promo Director is also in charge of finding
sponsors to underwrite BSR Sports Broadcasts using the
accepted station underwriting formula.
Live Game Broadcasters The live game sportscasters call
the live action from the game for Brown soccer, lacrosse,
basketball and hockey, baseball and softball matches. The
Sports Director assigns all broadcast teams for every game.
Calling a game is a privilege and all live game commentators
are expected to fulfill other tasks within the Sports Department.
Broadcasters are on air talent and are responsible for
researching and gathering information on the sport or story
assigned to them by the Sports Director.
Engineers Sports Engineers run the studio
during remote live game broadcasts. They are in charge
of putting the sportscaster, production and sponsors on
the air. Sports engineers are assigned on a game-by-game
basis by the director or someone he or she delegates. There
must be an in-studio engineer for every live broadcast.
Interviewers Interviewers must acquire recorded
interviews to be played during intermissions or half times
of matches and during the weekly show.
General Prod, short for production, consists
of pre-recorded announcements. These announcements create
an identity for the station, make broadcasts sound more
professional, and communicate simple messages and announcements
about upcoming events. Most prod is a combination of music
and voiceovers and is carefully produced to sound as professional
as possible. Prod pieces can be as short as a 10 second
station ID ("You're listening to Brown Student Radio")
or as long as a 2-minute calendar of events. The prod department
is involved a number of different areas. Among these are
the Events Calendar, Events Promotion, Show Promotion,
and special BSR events promotion. The prod department is
also involved in working on special projects for other
departments, including "bleeping" songs and speeches and
working on technical matters.
Production Director The Production Director is responsible
for ensuring that pre-produced show promotions, special
event promotions, the events calendar, and other departmental
responsibilities are produced. He or she is also responsible
for responding to requests from station members or other
department heads to clean up audio that a station member
wishes to play on air. He or she will coordinate and oversee
a department in doing so, and will work with the programming
director on any specialized training necessary.
General Ultimately, the mission of the BSR
Publicity Department is to represent the station to the
outside world: the Brown and RISD campuses, greater Providence,
and beyond. While, in the past, Publicity's main target
audience was the student community, it seems that a more
appropriate target is the greater Providence community.
This forces the Publicity Department to expand and cater
to a more diverse listenership, including different neighborhoods
of the city and state, different age groups, musical tastes,
etc. Primarily, Publicity's distribution force, the streeteem,
needs to develop a regular presence in more areas of Providence,
thus helping the station build its identity as an entity
powerful enough to cater to the many tastes of such a diverse
city.
The Publicity Department also seeks to graphically
represent this station in as aesthetically powerful and pleasing
way as possible. The department accepts and encourages all design
submissions from its members. The challenge that Publicity's designers
face is: how do you visually represent such a diverse station while
still maintaining a cohesive BSR image? Given the fact that Publicity's
designers come from varied skill levels and artistic backgrounds,
the Publicity Director will have discretion over the general direction
the image should take. Publicity must maintain a fine balance between
the distribution of information and the visual means of doing so. It
must work to seek out new venues of promotion to capture new listeners,
and inform the public of all that BSR has to offer. The publicity
department is mainly focused on advertising the station and its
many aspects, including special on-air events, general radio news,
individual shows, BSR sporting events, BSR sponsored lectures or
concerts, schedules (both general and features), BSR recruitment,
and general station promotion. This promotion is done with flyers,
newspaper ads, table slips, stickers, buttons, T-shirts, posters,
and anything else that can get the message across.
Publicity Director The Publicity Director is responsible
for coordinating all of the activities of the department.
He or she works with other departments and the Director
of Operations to coordinate a schedule of what needs to
be publicized, and coordinates within the department who
will do the actual design and dissemination. He or she
should also be willing to train other members in design
programs so that the design team can grow. The Publicity
director should also always be seeking new ideas for new
ways to make BSR visible.
Webmaster The Webmaster is part of the BSR
publicity department and works to make sure that BSR's
events are being properly listed and represented online.
He or she should also be responsible for seeking out other
websites with whom to create mutual links, ultimately helping
BSR's internet radio.
