For
the June interview, my handler requested something different. A strong successful woman in a difficult field of work. No problem. Lets talk to the woman who's voice you hear every morning through an entire state.
Hi, would you introduce yourself please?
Hi! I'm Amy Heider Brown, know at various times in my career as Amy Heider, Amy Brown, Christy Brown, Amy Barnes, Shelly Turner, Anita Ride and Mustang Sally, because radio is a silly place. Currently, I do morning traffic reports for Express Lane Traffic, a company that provides traffic to various radio and television stations in South Carolina. I'm married, with one daughter, and I help administer comedy forums in my spare time.
Why Radio?
I needed a safe backup when I applied to three of the best musical theatre schools in the country. Naturally, I didn't make it into any of them, but the same day I was summarily dismissed by the genius/jerk director of one program, I was offered a partial scholarship in the same school's broadcasting program, and told that I had a great voice for radio. Balm on the wound, you might say. I'd taken a few classes in high school, so I already had an interest, and I enjoy talking to an audience.
SC is not exactly known for it's amazing economy. How hard was it to get the job in the first place?
Radio and TV employment really isn't tied to economy. There aren't many more jobs when times are good than when they're tight. Ever since American radio consolidated into large groups of stations, running of those stations has become streamlined, and a lot of jobs have been eliminated over the years. It's tougher than ever to break into the business, but once you're in and have experience, it's pretty easy to be hired elsewhere, particularly if you're female. For this particular job, the owner of the traffic company called me.
How does a traffic report actually work? Always wondered about that!
Ideally, there's a producer who gathers the information, and a reporter who gives it. The producer finds out about the accidents by calling the different police stations and emergency services dispatch offices, every 20 minutes to half an hour to get updates on accidents and whether they've been cleared away yet. The producer also listens to police scanners to get emergency information as it happens. One thing making the information-gathering easier is the fact that more agencies like the Highway Patrol have websites with real-time updates statewide. Local agencies, though, are still very much a call away.
The producer hands that information to the reporter, who announces it in whatever format the client wants. Almost every station wants their traffic delivered differently. There's usually a strict time limit, an intro and an outro you need to use word-for-word, and a sponsor. Some stations want as much information as you can cram in, others only want major accidents. It's very rare that a traffic reporter is only doing traffic for one station, so it's important to stay on top of who gets what next -- which is why it's difficult for the reporter to do this and also gather the accident information. If reporters are very lucky (I am), they also get to see the traffic cameras, keeping the accident and slowdown information reliable, current and complete.
What are the prospects like in radio?
I honestly would NEVER urge someone to go into radio. It's difficult to break in, all the best jobs have insane hours and demands. Really, if you think about it -- if your favorite morning show is already on when you wake up, how early do you think THEY had to get up to go to work? And when do you think they planned out and recorded the bits they do? And how late did they have to stay at that sponsored bar night last night?
Which brings me around to the other difficulty about being a woman in radio. There have been tremendous strides for women in the last twenty years, but I've seen some incredibly stupid things in my time. I once had this conversation with a station manager:
Me: So, how's the search for an afternoon DJ going?
Him: Pretty well. We've had a surprising number of applicants with real experience. And MOST of them were women! If it weren't the shift right after yours, I might even hire one of them!
It's times like those I wish I recorded all my conversations. Just because it was the shift after mine, he couldn't possibly think of hiring a woman, presumably because all women sound alike. You never see anyone fretting about two male jocks airing back-to-back. Fortunately, this kind of thinking is gradually going the way of the dinosaur, but there are still remnants. Go back to thinking about your favorite morning show. How many people are part of it? How many are women? Have you EVER heard a radio show (outside of college stations or experimental all-women networks) that had more than one woman on it?
I've heard it said many times by industry veterans that radio is for the young. They say that primarily because of what I mentioned before -- the hours, the weird demands. But it holds particularly true for women, for one big reason: children.
I can think of quite a few women I know enjoying a good bit of success in radio. I can think of only ONE who is in a great position and is also currently raising children. She has the advantage of having been raised here, with family ready and willing to watch her kids when needed. Even so, she had a rough time staying in the industry for a while.
When I was single and applying for jobs, there were always strange parts in interviews. Potential bosses absolutely couldn't ask you flat out if you had a boyfriend or kids, but they'd dance around the question: Do you have any commitments that would keep you from doing your job? Is there any reason you'd be unavailable if we needed you for, say, remote broadcasts on evenings or weekends? And these are valid concerns on their part. They're looking for 100% availability in a radio jock. But it slams a glass ceiling on women more effective and unbreakable than actual misogyny. Guys don't get those same questions, because of course it's understood that a guy wouldn't be expected to watch the kids if he's needed elsewhere.
I didn't go into starting a family blindly. I knew it would cripple my chances at advancement in my career, and it has. I had to quit one job because I couldn't find reliable child care that didn't eat my entire paycheck. I was all but accepted at another weekend job at a station I adore, when the boss said, "Great, you can start this weekend, and then you can sub for X in the mornings next week, as she's going to be out of town." I panicked and said, "Wait, I don't know if I could find a sitter that quickly," and I saw the job offer die right there. A lack of instant availability for hours I hadn't applied for killed me. But I wouldn't change the choices I've made. I could be here, with a husband and daughter that are my entire life, or I could be on a morning show in a top 50 market wondering why I could never quite find the right man.
How do you balance out working and your family?
Working any sort of radio hours make family life interesting.
I'm blessed that I have a fantastic boss who owns the traffic company, and he gives me a great deal of flexibility. I'm reliable as hell at my job, and in return I don't have to do appearances, or prep work outside of my shift, so my husband and I can manage, with him leaving for work as I get home by 9:30am. It would be very difficult for me to work any other shift as long as I have an elementary-school-aged child. A morning show would be great, but those openings are few and far between, and carry all the problems I mentioned before. As my daughter gets older, all of these problems will diminish and become more manageable.
I'm very lucky in that my husband takes his parenting seriously, to the point of learning to braid her hair for school.
Future plans and hopes?
I really do want to get back into morning show work. It's fun and creative, and I love the interaction with the listeners. I'm doing more writing, and I'm currently working on voicing a story for an audiobook. I'd love to do more voice work, and to get back into doing theatre as my daughter gets older. I love where I am in my life, and I love the fact that I've been able to make a fairly reliable career out of something so ephemeral and ever-shifting as radio.
Thank you for your time!
You are welcome!
Image by Kevin Axt from Donuts for Sharks.
Hi, would you introduce yourself please?
Hi! I'm Amy Heider Brown, know at various times in my career as Amy Heider, Amy Brown, Christy Brown, Amy Barnes, Shelly Turner, Anita Ride and Mustang Sally, because radio is a silly place. Currently, I do morning traffic reports for Express Lane Traffic, a company that provides traffic to various radio and television stations in South Carolina. I'm married, with one daughter, and I help administer comedy forums in my spare time.
Why Radio?
I needed a safe backup when I applied to three of the best musical theatre schools in the country. Naturally, I didn't make it into any of them, but the same day I was summarily dismissed by the genius/jerk director of one program, I was offered a partial scholarship in the same school's broadcasting program, and told that I had a great voice for radio. Balm on the wound, you might say. I'd taken a few classes in high school, so I already had an interest, and I enjoy talking to an audience.
SC is not exactly known for it's amazing economy. How hard was it to get the job in the first place?
Radio and TV employment really isn't tied to economy. There aren't many more jobs when times are good than when they're tight. Ever since American radio consolidated into large groups of stations, running of those stations has become streamlined, and a lot of jobs have been eliminated over the years. It's tougher than ever to break into the business, but once you're in and have experience, it's pretty easy to be hired elsewhere, particularly if you're female. For this particular job, the owner of the traffic company called me.
How does a traffic report actually work? Always wondered about that!
Ideally, there's a producer who gathers the information, and a reporter who gives it. The producer finds out about the accidents by calling the different police stations and emergency services dispatch offices, every 20 minutes to half an hour to get updates on accidents and whether they've been cleared away yet. The producer also listens to police scanners to get emergency information as it happens. One thing making the information-gathering easier is the fact that more agencies like the Highway Patrol have websites with real-time updates statewide. Local agencies, though, are still very much a call away.
The producer hands that information to the reporter, who announces it in whatever format the client wants. Almost every station wants their traffic delivered differently. There's usually a strict time limit, an intro and an outro you need to use word-for-word, and a sponsor. Some stations want as much information as you can cram in, others only want major accidents. It's very rare that a traffic reporter is only doing traffic for one station, so it's important to stay on top of who gets what next -- which is why it's difficult for the reporter to do this and also gather the accident information. If reporters are very lucky (I am), they also get to see the traffic cameras, keeping the accident and slowdown information reliable, current and complete.
What are the prospects like in radio?
I honestly would NEVER urge someone to go into radio. It's difficult to break in, all the best jobs have insane hours and demands. Really, if you think about it -- if your favorite morning show is already on when you wake up, how early do you think THEY had to get up to go to work? And when do you think they planned out and recorded the bits they do? And how late did they have to stay at that sponsored bar night last night?
Which brings me around to the other difficulty about being a woman in radio. There have been tremendous strides for women in the last twenty years, but I've seen some incredibly stupid things in my time. I once had this conversation with a station manager:
Me: So, how's the search for an afternoon DJ going?
Him: Pretty well. We've had a surprising number of applicants with real experience. And MOST of them were women! If it weren't the shift right after yours, I might even hire one of them!
It's times like those I wish I recorded all my conversations. Just because it was the shift after mine, he couldn't possibly think of hiring a woman, presumably because all women sound alike. You never see anyone fretting about two male jocks airing back-to-back. Fortunately, this kind of thinking is gradually going the way of the dinosaur, but there are still remnants. Go back to thinking about your favorite morning show. How many people are part of it? How many are women? Have you EVER heard a radio show (outside of college stations or experimental all-women networks) that had more than one woman on it?
I've heard it said many times by industry veterans that radio is for the young. They say that primarily because of what I mentioned before -- the hours, the weird demands. But it holds particularly true for women, for one big reason: children.
I can think of quite a few women I know enjoying a good bit of success in radio. I can think of only ONE who is in a great position and is also currently raising children. She has the advantage of having been raised here, with family ready and willing to watch her kids when needed. Even so, she had a rough time staying in the industry for a while.
When I was single and applying for jobs, there were always strange parts in interviews. Potential bosses absolutely couldn't ask you flat out if you had a boyfriend or kids, but they'd dance around the question: Do you have any commitments that would keep you from doing your job? Is there any reason you'd be unavailable if we needed you for, say, remote broadcasts on evenings or weekends? And these are valid concerns on their part. They're looking for 100% availability in a radio jock. But it slams a glass ceiling on women more effective and unbreakable than actual misogyny. Guys don't get those same questions, because of course it's understood that a guy wouldn't be expected to watch the kids if he's needed elsewhere.
I didn't go into starting a family blindly. I knew it would cripple my chances at advancement in my career, and it has. I had to quit one job because I couldn't find reliable child care that didn't eat my entire paycheck. I was all but accepted at another weekend job at a station I adore, when the boss said, "Great, you can start this weekend, and then you can sub for X in the mornings next week, as she's going to be out of town." I panicked and said, "Wait, I don't know if I could find a sitter that quickly," and I saw the job offer die right there. A lack of instant availability for hours I hadn't applied for killed me. But I wouldn't change the choices I've made. I could be here, with a husband and daughter that are my entire life, or I could be on a morning show in a top 50 market wondering why I could never quite find the right man.
How do you balance out working and your family?
Working any sort of radio hours make family life interesting.
I'm blessed that I have a fantastic boss who owns the traffic company, and he gives me a great deal of flexibility. I'm reliable as hell at my job, and in return I don't have to do appearances, or prep work outside of my shift, so my husband and I can manage, with him leaving for work as I get home by 9:30am. It would be very difficult for me to work any other shift as long as I have an elementary-school-aged child. A morning show would be great, but those openings are few and far between, and carry all the problems I mentioned before. As my daughter gets older, all of these problems will diminish and become more manageable.
I'm very lucky in that my husband takes his parenting seriously, to the point of learning to braid her hair for school.
Future plans and hopes?
I really do want to get back into morning show work. It's fun and creative, and I love the interaction with the listeners. I'm doing more writing, and I'm currently working on voicing a story for an audiobook. I'd love to do more voice work, and to get back into doing theatre as my daughter gets older. I love where I am in my life, and I love the fact that I've been able to make a fairly reliable career out of something so ephemeral and ever-shifting as radio.
Thank you for your time!
You are welcome!
Header copyright Kevin Axt, Donuts for Sharks. All rights reserved.
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