WXYC NEW DJ ORIENTATION GUIDE for Summer 2008
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WXYC orientation guide & training manual WXYC NEW DJ ORIENTATION GUIDE for summer 2008 Congratulations and welcome to the staff of WXYC! We are very pleased to have you as a new DJ, and we hope you are excited about taking part in the unique WXYC experience. There’s a bunch of stuff you’ll need to know, and this Orientation Guide will show you the basics. The first part formalizes features of the station that we go over during your first orientation. There are many details here that you’ll need to memorize, but you can always reference this guide. The second part is where the real meat is. It’s where we talk about the philosophy behind our programming and how it should guide your shows. If you put the theme of this section into a few words, you might say that the way to do a great WXYC show is to: cover a lot of musical ground over a few hours, but to make it make sense and to keep in mind that you have an audience of listeners. You’ll want to read through part II as soon as you can, but to be a successful DJ, you’ll need to keep going back to it, again and again. We have a series of requirements that all new DJs must complete, with assistance from mentors. We lay it all out in the third part of the guide, but briefly, the requirements consist of the following, which help you become a better DJ on the air: • taping and critiquing two of your shows • doing one “interactive” observation of your mentor’s show • doing two rounds of research in WXYC’s music library We also need your help off-air, and we have these requirements for new DJs: • attending a “filing party” • working a merchandise booth shift at our ‘80s Dance (date TBA) • pit-sitting for station events (dates TBA) These requirements are designed to help you become a great DJ and also give us help with fun off-air activities. 2 To get answers to any questions not covered in this manual, you can get in touch with a member of station management. This is a team of seasoned DJs who can help you at any time. The management is currently made up of the following: Station Manager David van Dokkum, [email protected] Business Manager Emma Fixsen, [email protected] Music Director Jon Page, [email protected] Programming Director Kellen Carpenter, [email protected] Assistant Programming Director Andy Koch, [email protected] Promotions Director Steph Russ, [email protected] Promotions Assistant Kristen Orr, [email protected] Operations Manager Julianna Thomas, [email protected] IT Manager Jake Bromberg, [email protected] 3 NEW DJ TRAINING MANUAL, PART I Getting Into The Station During your first semester, you will be doing a show while the Union is closed. During this time, only one door is accessible to DJs, and it faces Raleigh Road and is across the street from Connor, Winston and Alexander dorms. It has a combination lock, and we teach you the code during station orientation. It is very important that you memorize the code right away. It is equally important that you keep it a secret – don’t give the number to anyone who’s not a DJ, and don’t write it down anywhere where somebody else could see it. Making it easy for non-DJs to get into the station late at night poses a big security threat to our DJs as well our record collection and equipment. If you forget the code at any time or if there is any problem entering the building, you can walk across the street to one of the dorms and use the outside phones to call the on-air jock for assistance. Also, please do not prop the door open because it’s a huge security risk, and a deafening alarm will go off after a few seconds. Memorize the on-air studio phone numbers are 962-8989 and 962-6397. There is also a combination lock on the door to the station itself, and this door must stay shut at all times. Do NOT give this code to anyone, and do NOT prop the door open. If someone knocks during your show, please open the door and politely ask what they need. If they say they’re a DJ, introduce yourself and check their name on the phone list. DON’T let anyone into the station whose name is not on the phone list, unless they’re a maintenance worker or other university staff. This may sound harsh, but it’s the only way to protect you and the station. Rules & Regulations WXYC is a laid-back place in many ways, but there are some incredibly important rules that we are very strict about. Breaking any of the following rules will get you in serious hot water, and depending on the situation, you could be fired from the station. Please read them carefully to avoid misunderstandings about our expectations. 1. You are responsible for your shift. If you don’t show up for a shift once, you will be warned. If you miss your show twice in one semester, you will be suspended for the remainder of that semester. Tardiness is also a major problem. Please be considerate and show up for your shift on time. In the event that you know in advance you can’t do one of your shows, you will need to get a substitute (read on for how to do that). As a side note, if the DJ after you doesn’t show up, try to get in touch with them by phone. If that doesn’t work, get in touch with a station manager for further instructions. 2. No alcohol or illegal drugs in the station. In general, we do not care how you spend your free time outside of the radio station, but we ask that you never come to the station under the influence of alcohol or of any drug. As well, you 4 cannot bring drugs or alcohol into the station. To put it simply, keep all alcohol and illegal drugs and the lingering effects of either out of the radio station. This rule comes from both the Union and the University, and if we break it, we could lose our funding. 3. No smoking. You can’t smoke in the radio station or anywhere else in the Union, period. If you must smoke during a radio shift, please take a short break and exit the building completely, as long as another DJ can watch the station – it is a violation of Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules for a radio station’s on-air operator to leave the station unattended while it is broadcasting. The best solution is to strategically take smoke breaks before and after rather than during shifts. 4. Food and drink are not allowed in the control room or production (“prod”) room, but they can be brought elsewhere in the station. Feel free to eat your lunch or drink a soda in the station (and remember to clean-up after yourself), but all food and drink is forbidden in the prod room (read on for details about this) and anywhere past the white cabinet at the entrance to the control room. Do not take food or drink near any of the equipment in either the prod. room or the control room. As careful as you might intend to be, accidents will happen and we cannot afford to buy new equipment. It just takes one spilled soda to completely ruin a $10,000+ mixing board and we don’t want to take any chances. 5. Records or CDs cannot be taken from the radio station. Anytime a record or CD leaves the station (unless the music director has given approval for a DJ to review new releases for playbox consideration), it is considered stolen. Anyone caught stealing will be fired from the station and reported to the Honor Court and UNC police. Taking records from a non-profit radio station (and therefore from the station’s listeners) has to be one of the worst crimes against karma that you could possibly commit. Don’t even think about it. When we lose records from our library, the quality of the station declines and everybody – listeners and DJs, alike – loses. That’s why you should be wary of possible thieves. If you encounter someone you don’t know in the station, you have every right to ask them to introduce themselves to you. You will often just be meeting another DJ, but it may be a non-DJ, in which case you should politely ask if you can help them. They may just be friends of DJs, people with PSAs to submit or flyers to put up, or Union housekeepers, but it never hurts to ask, especially when the security of the station could be at risk, not to mention your own saftey. If any problem arises, you can call a member of station management for help, as well as campus security (962-8100). Also, relating to this issue, never leave the station open and unattended. If you have made arrangements with management to take the station off the air, which would only happen under extreme circumstances, then make sure both station doors are shut. 5 6. You are permitted to have no more than one guest with you in the station. You can bring one guest to the station during your show and at other times, as long as you are always present.