What a Radio Station Program Director Does

A program director is the behind-the-scenes boss at a radio station. In the broadcast business, the program director is the boss. He or she oversees every facet of daily broadcasts and handles details that no other staff member handles.

First and foremost, the program director is responsible for the entire on-air experience of the station. This means, that the PD sets the tone for the station. The overall sound or theme of any station is created by the PD. A successful program director gains ratings and accolades; a program director who fails to grab enough audience share is often replaced by someone with new ideas and better vision.

The program director oversees all production at the radio station. Under the PD's careful guidance, commercials copy is taken from written scripts into 30 or 60 seconds spots that sell product and entertain. It's the program director's job to work closely with the advertising copywriter and on-air talent to create commercials that are timely, that market the product or service in a memorable way and to make sure all commercials are produced in time to air. News production - or the creation of scheduled newscasts - is another of the PD's many responsibilities. For this, he or she works with the news director and reporters to come up with newscasts that contain the up to the minute news and weather. The PD is also responsible for the product of live sportscasts including the broadcast of local teams. And, whether or not to run paid programming - programs that the parent company or producer pays to run on the air - is another decision that falls to the program director. Paid programming runs the gamut from religious broadcasts to commentators.