Broadcast Glossary

air: The medium for radio and TV broadcasting. A station or program, when broadcast, is on the air or
airing.

air check: An audio or video transcription or recording, made from an actual broadcast, of a radio or TV
commercial or program. Technically, a typed transcript is not an air check, although it sometimes is
called that.

air date: The time of a broadcast

airplay: The broadcast of a record or tape. One measurement of a hit recording is the number of airplays
it receives.

airtime or air time: The scheduled day or period of a broadcast, described by the beginning time; the
length of an actual broadcast of a program or segment, such as an interview.

air-to-air: Filming or taping of one moving aircraft from another.

airwaves: The medium through which broadcasting signals are transmitted; their pathways through the
air.

alligator: Slang for a metal spring-clamp with serrated jaws used to attach lights and other items; also
called a gator grip or bear trap. It is used by gaffers (electricians) and called a gaffer grip. The spring-
loaded clamp has serrations along the edges and resembles the jaws of an alligator.

AM station: A station that broadcasts with an amplitude-modulated signal. An AM signal is a long, direct
radio wave that travels the earth's surface, whereas a frequency-modulated (FM) signal is a straight
broadcast signal that travels only as far as the horizon.

amplitude modulation (AM): The encoding of a carrier wave (such as the sound waves or audio signals of
a radio station) by variation of its amplitude, or power (not its frequency).

analog: A method of data storage and transmission by continuous or wavelike signals of pulses of
varying (greater or lesser) intensity; in contrast to digital transmission (on or off).

anchor: The key narrator of a newscast or other program; also called anchorman or anchorwoman. Two
or more individuals sharing these functions are co-anchors. A local anchor works at a local station; a
network anchor, at a network. Specialized newscasters include sports anchor, weather anchor, and
weekend anchor. A field anchor reports from a studio outside the studio headquarters.

audience: A group of spectators, listeners, viewers, or readers of a performance, program, or work.

Average audience is a number or rating calculated by the Nielsen and other research services, based on
specific conditions.

back announce: A recap or summary by a disc jockey or announcer of the records, tapes, or discs
broadcast during the preceding period.
broadcast: A single radio or TV program; the transmission or duration of a program. Any message that is
transmitted over a large area, not necessarily by a broadcast station, is said to be broadcast. For
example, facsimile transmission of a document to more than one fax machine is called broadcasting.

bumper: A transitional device, such as fadeout music or "We'll return after these messages," between
story action and a commercial; also called a program separator.

call letters: The name of a radio or TV station. All stations have call letters beginning with DY, DW, DZ ;
like DYAB, DWRT, DZRJ

correspondent (cor., corr., or corres.): A reporter who is a full-time or part-time employee of one of the
media (not a stringer or freelancer) and who is based elsewhere than the headquarters of the employer.

coverage (cvg): 1 [journalism] Media treatment, the extent to which an event is reported.
2[broadcasting] The geographical area (usually counties) in which a station is received by viewers or
listeners, as indicated on a coverage map. 3 [film, television] The photographing of a scene from various
views and using various exposures.

cue: A signal in words or signs that initiates action, dialogue, effects, or other aspects of a production,
such as an indication from a director for a performer or interview subject to begin or end. Exact timing is
one cue. Cues may be given with a cue light, such as an On The Air sign or a warning light. A return cue is
a verbal or other signal to return to the studio from a remote broadcast, such as a sports event. To cue
ahead is to move a tape to the next broadcast or edit point.

daypart: A programming segment of a broadcast schedule, such as morning and afternoon drive time
and night watch for radio, and morning, afternoon, early, and late fringe for television. Dayparting is the
scheduling of programs at specific parts of the day, targeted to specific audiences that are predominant
during those times.

daytime station: An AM radio station restricted by its FCC license to broadcasting between 15 minutes
before sunrise and 15 minutes after sunset; also called a daytimer.

dead air: A broadcasting term for silence, perhaps resulting from a dead mike (inoperative microphone).

drive time: Morning and afternoon hours when many radio listeners drive to and from work. The hours
vary depending on the area and time of year--generally 6 to 10 a.m. and 4 to 7 p.m. on weekdays.

dub: A dupe or duplicate; an insert in an audiovisual medium; also used as a verb, as in to dub
something into the body of a radio or TV program or motion picture. Material to be dubbed may consist
of a different language soundtrack, new or updated material, or other editing, or combining. When a
duplicate tape is made at a different speed or width from the original, the process is called dubbing
down if the dub is slower or narrower than the original, or dubbing up if the dub is faster or wider. An
editor may use a dubbing mixer

electronic journalism (EJ): Live transmission or videotaping from a location away from the television
studio, by an EJ camera crew.

electronic news gathering (ENG): The use of an electronic, portable TV camera (minicam) to videotape
or broadcast news from outside the studio. By eliminating film, ENG has produced considerable savings
in time and personnel and added a mobility to the news operations of TV stations.
footage: Length. A portion of a film is called footage, such as daily footage or news footage.

format: The general character of the programs, such as all-news, classical, or country-and-western
music.

frequency modulation (FM): The encoding of a carrier wave, such as the sound waves or audio signals of
a radio or TV station, by the variation--modulating--of its frequency, resulting in little or no static and
high fidelity in reception. FM radio stations, from 88 to 108 megahertz produce reception superior to
that of AM or amplitude modulation stations, particularly of music in the high-frequency range.

headline: The title or description at the top of a page in a book or atop a news release or article, as a
synopsis or to attract attention; called a head, heading, or hed. Headlines are used in broadcast and
other media, in addition to newspapers. For example, the lead item or indication of a forthcoming item
on a broadcast may be referred to as a headline. The preliminary indication sometimes is called a
billboard.

headphone: A radio or telephone receiver held to the ear or ears by a band over the head.

live: Referring to a real or actual performance that is simultaneously transmitted, as by a live action
camera (LAC), as distinct from a taped or delayed broadcast.

mixer: The unit that controls and blends audio and/or video signals; the technician who operates the
unit (also called a rerecording supervisor or chief recording mixer). In a TV studio or on a film set,the
work is done by a floor mixer. A music mixer edits recorded music. The mixing console (generally called
simply a mixer) combines premixed tracks (as in the first phase of mixing) with signals from playback
machines and other sources, including a mixing panel (a small mixer), based on instructions on a mixing
cue sheet.

modulate: To change the frequency, phase, or amplitude of a carrier wave (as in radio transmission). A
modulator is a device to change such a wave.

monitor (mon): A device for checking or regulating performance--for instance, an instrument that
receives TV signals by direct wire rather than over the air, as in a TV studio or closed circuit, sometimes
without the sound

network: A group of radio or TV stations that broadcast the same programs. The stations can be owned
by a headquarters company--the network--that is the source of the programs or can be independent--an
affiliate or network affiliate.

news: Fresh information. Hard news refers to reporting of current events, whereas soft news is more
likely to be human-interest features or less current or less urgent news. A news feature is an elaboration
on a news report. The news department of a radio or TV station or network, headed by a news director,
prepares and/or broadcasts news reports.

newsbreak: An event worthy of reporting, used in television to describe a brief segment, about one
minute long, with a few news items.

newscast: A straight news program on radio or television with relatively few features.
off air: A program received via conventional radio or television and not via cable. Off the air refers to the
ending of the transmission of a program or the termination of a program

on air: A broadcast in progress.

playback: Reproduction of sounds, images, or other material from a recording or other source; the
control for such reproduction on a recorder or other device. A playback operator handles the playing of
prerecorded music, dialogue, or other sound, under the supervision of a production sound mixer A
videotape player or other device that reproduces audio and/or video but does not record is called a
playback machine.

popping: Explosive sounds of microphones with high volume or speaker too close, particularly with a
strong consonant such as p.

prime time: The time period that has the greatest number of viewers or listeners, generally 8 to 11 p.m.,
Eastern Time.

program director (PD or P.D.): A person in charge of programming at a radio or TV station.

PSA or P.S.A.: Public service announcement

reach: The range or scope of influence or effect; in broadcasting, the net unduplicated radio or TV
audience--the number of different individuals or households--of programs or commercials as measured
for a specific time period in quarter-hour units over a period of one to four weeks; also called
accumulated audience, cume, cumulative audience, net unduplicated audience, or unduplicated
audience.

reach and frequency (R&F or R/F): The unduplicated cumulative audience--individuals or homes--of a
radio or TV program or commercial and the average number of exposures over a period of time,
generally one to four weeks.

sign off or sign-off: A slang term for the end or an ending; the end of a transmission, or of a station's
broadcast day.

sign on or sign-on: The beginning of a transmission or the day's programming on a broadcast station.

signal: An electrical impulse representing sound, image, or a message transmitted or received in radar,
radio, telegraphy, telephone, television, or other means, via wire or in the atmosphere. Signal area is the
territory within which broadcast signals are received. Signal strength is its intensity. A signaler transmits
or communicates to a receiver.

simulcast: A broadcast of a program at the same time on a television station and a radio station or on
two radio stations, generally one AM and one FM.

S.O.T.: Sound-on-tape: sound and video recorded on the same machine, as distinguished from sync-
sound recording with separate video and sound tape recorders.

sound effects (SE, S.E., SFX, or S.F.X.): Animals, traffic, weather, and sounds other than dialogue and
music, produced from an actual source or artificially.
soundbite: The audio track of a portion of a radio or TV interview. A 15-second soundbite is common
radio newscasts.

standupper: A report at the scene of an event with the TV camera focused on the reporter, who is
standing up and not seated. In a walking standupper, the reporter moves

traffic department: A department that maintains advertising schedules to keep work "moving" on
schedule. The traffic department in a radio or TV station, headed by the traffic manager or traffic
director, maintains the daily broadcast advertising log.

VO/SOT: A voice-over combined with sound-on-tape; a studio voice, such as a newscaster's, over a
taped segment with a soundbite, a common format in TV news; pronounced VOH-SOT. Two successive
sequences are indicated in a TV script as VO/SOT/VO; three successive sequences are indicated as
VO/SOT/VO/SOT/VO.

voice-over (VO): The sound of an unseen narrator on a TV program or film; a reading by a TV announcer
while a videotape is shown. Voice-over credits (V.O.C.) are audio identifications of sponsors, cast, or
other credits, such as at the beginning or end of a TV program. The TV voice-over story, in which a
newscaster reports while a tape is shown, is very common.