As a promotions intern at Clear Channel Communications, I’ve learned an array of things thus far pertaining to the world of radio. Going in, I honestly didn’t know much about radio at all.
One of the first things that I learned is that a station is owned by a company, which owns other stations. My internship is with Clear Channel Communications which owns Kiss107, WEBN, 700WLW, ESPN1530, and 55KRC. Another interesting fact that I learned is that the Cincinnati office is almost a “headquarters” for Clear Channel. Our office receives new songs before any other Clear Channel Office and then they create the mixes to send out to other stations across America. Also, the Cincinnati office has the ability to broadcast through any other Clear Channel station in America. This comes in handy for when there are emergencies or disasters in which a certain location has lost ability to broadcast news and information out to the people.
There is an over abundance of things I still need to learn about radio. Some of the things I have learned are things that I had kind of already caught on to. For example, there are many different Kiss stations across America. Some are spelled K-I-S-S and others are spelled K-I-I-S, but either way they are owned by Clear Channel.
Even though they are basically the same station, they do hold differences. The music played on the radio stations varies from city to city. It’s all about what their cities musical demographic is. For example, Kiss in Chicago plays the song, “Levels” by Avicii, all the time because Chicago is really into electronic music. However, Kiss in Cincinnati only plays “Levels” late at night around the time people are going out, because they are not as “hip” to electronic music. The stations can also edit already edited songs if they see fit. Radio Companies will also play different mixes. For example, Kiss owned by Clear Channel will play the song “Ass Back Home”, but Q102 owned by Hubbard will play the version “Self Back Home.
Becoming a Radio personality isn’t something I’ve ever thought about pursuing and honestly I don’t know if I would even come close to being successful at it. However, it’s quite interesting to learn about and if you’re going to be working with promotions or sales for radio stations it is extremely important to understand how they function.
I am so thankful for my internship with Clear Channel Cincinnati, and there will definitely be more posts on what I’m working on and learning!
Rebecca Potzner 