Media Programming Directors

Also Called:

News Director,

Program Director (PD),

Program Manager,

Programming Director

What they do: Direct and coordinate activities of personnel engaged in preparation of radio or television station program schedules and programs, such as sports or news.

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Arts, Audio/Video Technology & Communications

Career Cluster

What do they typically do on the job?

  • Operate and maintain on-air and production audio equipment.
  • Check completed program logs for accuracy and conformance with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules and regulations and resolve program log inaccuracies.
  • Read news, read or record public service and promotional announcements, or perform other on-air duties.

Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include leading, making decisions, and business.

Self-Confidence

Leadership Orientation

Innovation

Adaptability

Stress Tolerance

Social Orientation

Interests

Career interests describe the perspectives and interests of people who enjoy the type of work involved in this career.

Discover what your interests are by taking the Interest Profiler Quiz

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Enterprising

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Conventional

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Artistic

Knowledge

People who want to pursue this career have knowledge in these areas.

Communications

  • Multimedia

  • Telecommunications

Engineering and Technology

  • Computers and electronics

  • Product and service development

Arts and Humanities

  • English language

Business

  • Management

Abilities

Whether you have received formal training or not, these types of abilities are helpful in this career.

Verbal

  • Communicate by speaking

  • Listen and understand what people say

Ideas and Logic

  • Notice when problems happen

  • Come up with lots of ideas

Attention

  • Pay attention to something without being distracted

  • Do two or more things at the same time

Skills

People who want to pursue this career have skills in these areas.

Basic Skills

  • Talking to others

  • Reading work related information

Problem Solving

  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it

People and Technology Systems

  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one

  • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it

Work Values

Work values describe how your core beliefs align with those commonly needed for this career.

Achievement

Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.

Independence

Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.

Recognition

Occupations that satisfy this work value offer advancement, potential for leadership, and are often considered prestigious. Corresponding needs are Advancement, Authority, Recognition and Social Status.

Does this sound like something you'd like to do?

1. Do some research
  • Identify how your interests, values, and strengths match this occupation
  • Talk to someone who works in this field or spend a day job shadowing
  • Use the colleges and training directory to explore programs related to this career
2. Plan your next move
  • Talk to your college and career counselor or school admissions staff
  • Visit Idaho Launch
  • Search for available Media Programming Directors jobs on Idaho Works

Data for NSI career cards comes from the following: Idaho Department of Labor, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, O*NET, MyNextMove, and Career OneStop