Programmers:
Don’t panic. You can never screw up as badly as other people have in the past—you are not capable of it.
You are probably far more interesting a person than you think. People DO want to hear your stories, you just haven’t been telling them in the right place. The right place is radio.
Don’t be afraid if:
• You’re a first year student. (We love first-years.)
• You’re afraid of technology. (We train you.)
• You think we’re too cool. (We’re not.)
Do you have an interest? Then you have a topic. And here is the airspace.
At Trent Radio 92.7 FM, we collect students and community members with various interests that have come to us and said: “Gee, I wish someone else appreciated the Blues as much as I do!”, or something-like. We hand them a microphone and turn on the signal.
All you need to do to make this happen is fill out a Programme Proposal, a who/what/where/when about your show. You can download them off the Trent Radio website at trentradio.ca. If you need any help filling them out, you’re not sure if your idea is “good enough”, then come out to one of these…
Workshops:
• Tuesday, September 10, 7:00pm at the Peterborough Public Library
• Wednesday, September 11, 2:00pm at Sadleir House, 751 George St. N.
• Wednesday September 11, 7:00pm at Lady Eaton College 212 – ECC – SWB
• Thursday, September 12, at 3:00pm at Trent Radio House, 715 George St. N.
If you already know what you want to do—the minority of people, certainly—then just hand in a hard copy of the Programme Proposal on or before the deadline Friday September 13 at Noon at Trent Radio House, 715 George Street North.
But what if you don’t want to be on the air? What if you have something to give the universe, or at least the airwaves, that does not involve your own voice? Well, volunteering to be a programmer is not the only thing you can do at Trent Radio.
Operators:
Don’t panic. All programming being pushed out into the airwaves on 92.7 FM is done by volunteers – students and community members with little or no experience that are, by definition, amateurs. Overseeing those programmers—making it all work together—are Operators. It is an Operator’s job to sit and have coffee in the Trent Radio kitchen, do their homework, listen to the radio and be supportive.
When the coffee pot is empty; when someone on air is cursing; when someone tries to bring a duck into the booth; when someone’s favourite vinyl record snaps inexplicably; when the phone is ringing—there is an Operator.
The job of an Operator goes beyond supervisoral responsibility and reading community announcements. Community itself arises in this structure, especially when your programmers are just starting out, and giving it their best. Shifts are generally a couple of hours, either in the morning, afternoon or evening. Interested peoples please contact myself, the Programme Director James Kerr, at jkerr@trentradio.ca.
If nothing else we can bring you into Trent Radio house, give you a cup of coffee, sit you down on the couch, talk to you about your courses, give you a tour of the station, and get you familiar with all the goings on in Radio Land.
Don’t think you’re ready for an Operator-level kind of responsibility? Do it anyway. Scare yourself. Rise to a challenge. Leadership is based on character, not what you’ve proven in the past. Nothing great will happen without challenges, and here’s a really good one, a fun one, a challenge where you get involved helping people realize a little piece of their dreams. And maybe you’ll fine your dream achieved, too.
Programme Proposal Workshop: Wednesday September 11 at 7:00pm at Lady Eaton College 212-ECC-SWB.
Programme Proposal Deadline: Friday September 13 at Noon at Trent Radio House, 715 George Street North.
