Program

Preparation Guide

When it comes to crafting your own radio show on SYN, there are a bunch of steps that

every SYNner goes through so that their program’s potential is fully realised. Within these

pages are instructions for you to put together all the components needed for an awesome

SYN show. Fill out this bible and use it as your own reference to hold yourself accountable

throughout the season.

If you need any assistance with your show, please email content@syn.org.au or

radio@syn.org.au for a good time.

Your Show’s Name :

Presenter’s Name(s) :

Show Brief and Outline Your plan for the duration of the show

Program Logo and additional graphics A simple logo to use on the SYN website, social media etc.

Show Media and Promos Giving your show personality and promotion

Running sheets, Cue Sheets and Briefs, OH MY! Preparation each week

Music Direction 40% Australian Music. Theme? Tone?

Regular Segments Live segment, journey segment, pre-recorded segment etc.

SYN Website and Social Media Text, audio, video and image posts

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The first step to jumping into a new

program is to set your show‟s brief- this is

a short blurb (1-2 sentences) on what

your show is setting out to achieve.

Some things to consider before defining

your brief are summarised below.

The following is an excerpt from the SYN Radio Training Manual 2013 chapter „Creating

a radio show‟. You can have a Radio Manual refresh by heading to syn.org.au/radiomanual

A good radio program:

Knows its mission

Knows its audience

Owns its topic

Sets a tone

SYN operates three main program types:

Flagship program

A flagship program is a permanent fixture in

the SYN program grid. It has a

predetermined topic and audience in mind.

Seasonal program

A seasonal program can be a program about

any topic that runs for a 10-12 week season.

Can only run 2 seasons max.

Diversity program

Our Diversity programs provide a unique

platform for youth, community and cultural

groups to get their voice heard. They usually

run as if they are flagships, with the

opportunity to run all year round with a

rotating roster of hosts.

Know your mission

What do you want your program to achieve?

Example: The Science Show- “Our mission is

to make young people more informed about

science”

Know your audience

Who do you want your audience to be?

Example: The Naughty Rude Show- “Our

audience is young people aged 12-25 who

are curious about sex and relationships, but

who don‟t know where to get advice or

information from”

Owning your topic

Do your research. You should know your

topic back to front before you enter the

studio. Your audience are relying on you to

give them reliable information.

Example: The Video Game Hour- “I read

gaming blogs each week to make sure I

know all the latest releases and any big

news in the video game industry”

Setting your tone

How do you want your audience to feel when

they tune into your show?

Example: Panorama- “Panorama is a news

and current affairs show. We want to be

treated as serious journalists so the tone of

our program is authoritative and

professional”

Sustainability

Is your program sustainable? Can you

possibly think of 10-12 weeks of

content/topics to talk about? Map out and

plan your topics over a season - if you don‟t

have enough to talk about consider

broadening the scope of your program.

Show your passion

The best radio makers are passionate about

their content.

They care about what they are producing

and why they are producing it. Your passion

will shine through in your voice and in the

quality of your content.

The previous six important elements, when combined, make your show into an awesome

show. When preparing any of these elements it‟s first important to ask yourself- what is

the brief (or aim) of your show? By defining this brief you can always look back whenever

you‟re developing content- if the content has the same aim as your show, it makes

everything seem united resulting in a stronger program.

What is your show brief (in 1 - 2 sentences)?

After setting out your show brief, try to determine the following-

Your mission: (what do you want your program

to achieve? This can be a single

statement or a few key content

ideas you wish to set out to do.)

Your program‟s

tone: (how do you want your audience

to feel when they tune in? Think

about what genre your program

is, eg. Comedy- light, humorous

tone)

Your program‟s

audience: (who are you setting out to

speak to? Eg. Students? A

particular ethnic group? People

interested in a particular topic?)

Age ranges (circle): under 12 12-17 18-24 25-34 35 & older

After coming up with the concept

and brief of your show, it‟s important

to think about how your show is

going to last over a sustained period

of time.

Whether it is a 12 week season or a

year of flagship material that you

have to plan, working out an outline

for your program can be very

beneficial. It can not only help you

come up with content each week but

also aids in making your show feel like

it is progressing forward.

When you are planning your program outline, simply write out each of your episodes and

their air dates, adding any notes next to the program. These outlines do not need to be

used like a strict rulebook but are helpful documents to look back on if you‟re ever stuck

for content.

Think of your outline as planning out chapters in a book- what will go in those chapters?

There could they be:

Themed weeks

Events related to your show that you can cover

Potential interview ideas

Events to get your audience involved (eg. text in questions, contest etc.)

Segments ideas

Regular segments that progress and differ each week

Abridged Show Outline

Week /

Air date

Ideas

1 Week of

__/__/15

2 Week of

__/__/15

3 Week of

__/__/15

4 Week of

__/__/15

5 Week of

__/__/15

6 Week of

__/__/15

7 Week of

__/__/15

8 Week of

__/__/15

9 Week of

__/__/15

10 Week of

__/__/15

Space for additional awesome show outline ideas:

In this shiny, new digital world we live in, it‟s important for your

show‟s presence to not only be on the radio – every successful

program on SYN employs a certain amount of cross platform

content. Whether it be posting video podcasts, articles,

maintaining social media accounts or just posting on your

SYN.org.au program page, every show needs some graphics to go

with its content.

Program logos are a requirement on the SYN website, otherwise

you get stuck with sad looking SYN dot logos, which are no fun.

So here are some tips to designing a really awesome program

logo-

The following borrows from an article entitled „5 Tips for Designing a

company logo That Wows‟ by Deborah Sweeney from Under30ceo.com

1. Colour

Colour is by far one of the most important components of designing

any logo that can work to unite all of your materials!

Sweeney suggests picking and sticking with “three or four main

colours… assigning each main element of the logo its own colour”.

Also, don‟t combine colours that don‟t match- unless that‟s what you‟re

going for!

Choosing a colour palette is one of the most fundamental parts of logo

design.

2. Typography

This is usually the first step to making your good logo AWESOME- finding an excellent font. An

excellent logo can just be comprised of the shot title against a coloured background, so picking a

great font is half the battle. Sweeney advises being careful in your choice, as the font can project

an idea of what your show is about, saying “mortuaries, for example, probably shouldn‟t use

Wing Dings”. In that vein, Panorama, a news program, shouldn‟t use Comic Sans.

Make sure your font is also free for non-commercial use or creative commons. Some good font

websites to browse include- fontspace.com and dafont.com

3. Tone

It might be hard to work out this one by yourself but it‟s important that your logo is getting the

right tone across that matches your program‟s own. You wouldn‟t want your show to be very

serious but your logo to put across that it‟s a funny program.

Sweeney‟s tip to working out the tone of your logo is to “simply survey a few random people –

family and friends are typically the guinea pigs of choice”. Ask around and make sure that your

logo is going to draw the right people to your show!

4. Clarity

If your logo is doing its job, people should be able to tell what your show is about from looking at

it! With the same people you asked about the tone of your logo, also quiz them on what they

think your show is about.

If it‟s not coming across, Sweeney advises either coming up with a creative solution or “simply

fall[ing] back on the text and mak[ing] the graphic[s] more symbolic than explicit”.

5. Consistency

So, you have your lovely logo that conveys the right tone and message with its pretty colours and

font- now make sure you keep that going with all the other graphics in your show! Always make

sure you use the same logo across all your platforms, from your facebook account to your SYN

page and for extra points, try to use the same colour palette as your logo with everything

associated with your program.

Sweeney‟s last tip is that “an open mind and patience goes a long way and, when you design

your own logo, you can be sure it will be as much of an expression of your personality as the rest

of your [show] is”.

Now it‟s your turn- give sketching a logo a go!

What is show media?

The term „show media‟ refers to a few different types of audio pieces that work together

to give a program its sound, while also acting as an identifier to the listener, allowing

them to easily recognize the program they are listening to. The different types are-

Show Intro

This is a small audio piece that introduces your program. It is usually comprised of a music track

being played underneath a voice over introducing the program and can also utilise some sound

effects or clips. They generally have a long tail of music on the end to fade down and talk over at

the beginning of your program.

Sweeper

A sweeper is a short audio piece containing a combination of any or all of the following- the name

of the program, the hosts of the program, the time of the program and a short description of what

the program is. It is always best to make a version of your sweeper with music playing underneath

and one without, so that you can play the ones without background music over songs you are

playing!

Segment Sweeper

These are sweepers that usually announce the name of a segment, which can also include some

music, sound effects and a call-back to the name of the program or the person presenting the

segment. They can also be small sketches, working up to announcing the name of the segment. If

you want to put a description of the segment in there too, that‟s not a zany plan!

Show Outro

This is, strangely enough, the reverse of your show intro. It could be a simple sound clip

announcing the end to your program, the equivalent of Porky Pig saying “That‟s all folks!”, or could

simply be the intro theme track that you talk over.

Station ID

These identify the station that the audience is listening to, usually stating the station‟s name,

frequency and other methods of listening in (eg. Digital and online). They can also utilize a tagline

or have incorporate more information about the station through simple statement or sketch.

Generally these are put together by the radio department and scheduled in Flywire but you can

make a station ID specific to your program for fun!

What are promos?

Promos are the sprinkles on the fairy

bread of radio- they are not only

delicious but also make the station

look good.

They make programs sound more

professional who play them and also

work to draw listeners to other

programs on the station and keep

them tuned in to SYN. Considering

they can take only minutes to whip

up, they are too good an opportunity

to pass up!

Standard Promos

These generally 30 second audio clips work to promote a program or event on SYN. They always

must include the name of the show/event, the day and time it is on (including AM and PM) and

where to listen in/go (eg. “Tune into SYN on 90.7FM, digital and streaming online”, “head to

[website] for more details” or “upstairs at the House of SYN” for an event). Anything else is up to

you! It‟s also best to include a music track underneath and sound effects where you see fit. There

are two types of standard promos that are generally used on SYN-

Weekly Promo

These are promos that have a shelf life of only one week! They can have a format of “Here‟s what

you missed on _________ this week” followed by a clip from your last program or can say what‟s

coming up on the show next week.

Generic Promo

These are promos that detail what your show is about but are not specific to a specific date. They

can run the whole season and can be anything you make them!

Edu-tainment Promos

These promos are not only a way to get more listeners to flock to your program but also are

informative. They come in two distinct types-

FYI Promos

FYI promos break down a topic specific to your program explaining it to the listener while also

stating that you can find out more by listening in! Eg. Your show is about 90s nostalgia, so you

might have FYI promos about the history of certain 90s fads, perhaps one explaining the history of

Furbies.

Review Promos

Review promos are made up of an audio review of anything from films to books to video games-

any medium that is related to your programs topic, calling for the listener at the end to then listen

in to your show. It can also include clips from whatever you‟re reviewing or an overarching format

(eg. 30 second review)

Up next Promo

Up-next promos also come in two distinct types-

Coming up next on SYN

These are played only once a week and scheduled into the show previous to your show, to

encourage people to keep listening. A good way of ensuring they get played is to meet the

people involved

Coming up tomorrow on the show

For flagship programs that have a show every weekday, it‟s a good idea to do a little

promo featuring the hosts from the next day‟s show, saying what‟s coming up and inviting

the listener to stay tuned in throughout the week!

Combo Promo

Combo promos are a new trend at SYN and one we‟re very happy with! If you have any programs

of a similar theme or genre, or even have a bunch of show on one night at SYN, you can get

together with your fellow SYNners and make a promo that promotes all of your shows at once!

Can you feel the love tonight?

Sponsorship Announcements

These help pay for SYN‟s costs and MUST be played when scheduled.

Advertising is strictly prohibited on SYN so instead, SYN is able to sell “sponsorship” with some

strict rules:

SYN may broadcast no more than 5 minutes of sponsorship per hour.

Sponsors must be clearly identified in the sponsorship announcement.

So you don‟t need to worry about making these ones, just be aware that you have to play them!

Required content Show Media-

A connection to your program and a fulfilment of the show media’s purpose.

Promos- Stating the station’s name “SYN” Your program’s name Time and day that the program is on What the show is about (though your promo should

illustrate this) Lengths Show Media-

Keep it short and snappy but there is not limit! Promos-

30 seconds to 1 minute

Limit on quantity Show Media-

As many as you can churn out! Promos-

Four max per program. Keep them new and rotating so you can make more!

Things you cannot include

o Obscene content (just think- will this be okay to play during ‘Schools on Air’?)

o Defamation

o Promotion of violence drugs and Alcohol

o Plagiarism

o Copyright- try your best to use creative commons audio! Some good websites are-

http://www.freesound.org/

http://www.jamendo.com/

http://freemusicarchive.org

Use this space for scripting your new show media and promos!

Show Media

Remember-

Is this relevant to your

show?

Does this show media

fulfil its intended

purpose?

Will anyone listening to

the program understand

what‟s going on in this

piece of audio? Is its

purpose clear? Test on

friends!

Promos

Remember-

Does your promos

include all the relevant

information? Eg. Who

you are, the name of

your show, what time it‟s

on, how to listen in,

what station it is on?

Are they entertaining?

Is it clear what your

program does from the

promo?

Running sheets are the backbone of every well prepared program on SYN. Their many

benefits include-

Ensuring that your show will run to time

Allowing for anyone to pick them up and know how the show should be run

Allowing each of the presenters to be on the same page

Helps in back/front announcing music

For your own blank, auto-calculating runsheet, you can head to tinyurl.com/synrunsheet

and hit „Make a Copy‟ while logged into your own Google Drive for a copy or click

„Download As‟ to edit in your choice of spread sheet editing program

Once you have your runsheet tying the show together, there are a few other helpful tools

you can employ that expand on the items upon that runsheet- namely, cue sheets and

briefs! Both have specific uses but are very much of the same purpose- keeping your

show tight, prepared and professional sounding.

A cue sheet is used for introducing any pre-recorded

material or packages. It includes information on the

piece being played (such as who it was produced by, it‟s

location and the duration), a short, scripted intro

detailing what the piece is, the first sentence or two of

the piece (cue in), the last sentence or two of the piece

(cue out) and a scripted backannounce (which can detail

who made the package, where to find it after broadcast

or even a question to ask the audience).

Cue sheets are usually written by the person

constructing the piece and passed onto the announcer,

so don‟t forget to pass yours on with any audio you

produce!

You can download an example at syn.org.au/resources

A brief can be used for a lot of different things but the main

use of a brief is for interviews. It contains all of the

information anyone could possibly need on completing a

segment or interview by just picking up the brief, without

any previous research.

It can be put together by the person doing the segment or a

producer and can include the topic, any names required

(and their pronunciation), a scripted introduction to the

segment, an opening question, some more questions or

lines of enquiry for the interviewer or segment producer to

take and any other notes or background information that

the presenter may require.

You can download an example of an interview brief at

syn.org.au/resources

So you‟ve constructed all of the runsheets, cue sheets and briefs you could possibly

desire- now how do you pass them onto the rest of your team? There are a few websites

and applications that are perfect for collaboration that many SYNners use to make sure

everyone is on the same page. Some of them are-

Google Drive

Google drive is a really excellent method of not only sharing

documents but also working on them at the same time,

together in real time.

It‟s used by a lot of programs at SYN, sometimes with a

gmail account connected to their show and other times by

just making a shared folder that everyone in the program

has access to.

Secret Facebook

Group

This is a flagship favourite- for organising or discussing your

show, facebook is an excellent place because most people

can‟t get off the thing.

All you have to do is head to

facebook.com/bookmarks/groups and click the „Create

Group‟ button in the top right hand corner. Just change your

privacy settings to „Secret‟ to keep your discussions

internal. You can see how SYN uses its group by heading to

facebook.com/groups/synmedia

Dropbox

For everything that‟s a little bit bigger than google drive,

Dropbox is an excellent alternative. It‟s a good place to keep

copies of old shows and clips of audio, or even just store all

the media associated with your program.

The desktop version also allows for syncing between your

files on your computer and the cloud, so that nothing will

get lost. Get on it!

There are many more methods of preparing and communicating with your fellow show

runners- why not try them and pass them onto other SYNners via SYN‟s own secret

facebook group? ( facebook.com/groups/synmedia )

Even if your show isn‟t a music program, it‟s more than likely that you‟ll have some music

in it- such is the nature or radio! It‟s important that your music choices go on to

perpetuate the tone or the program that you‟re trying to put across. Try not to randomly

select music for the sake of filling in where you need music- think about what that music

says about your program.

Here are four tips that you can fall back on when playlisting your program-

Consider the tone of your program and how that will work with your music

selection. Eg. If you have a program about philosophy, combining this with top 40

hits may seem a bit disjointed, Katy Perry and Satre make strange bedfellows.

Wheras, if you have a discussion program about the latest in pop culture, top 40

music will suit you just fine. Pick the right music for the right program.

The excellent thing about SYN is it‟s eclectic music selection as it‟s the

combination of all of our volunteers- so when you‟re in a pinch and finding it

difficult to pick between tracks, embrace that and play something you wouldn‟t

expect to hear on the radio.

One way of helping select music is to work with themes- if back in your program

outline stage you assigned some themes, perhaps your music choices could sit

within them? Eg. You might have a pirate themed program for „Talk Like a Pirate

Day‟ and play nothing put sea shanties!

If you want to aid in making SYN sound more united in music direction, there is a

perfect way to do this by adding some Sweet 16 tracks or Feature Album tracks to

your program. Each week, the music department meet and select the top 16 new

music tracks of the week- eight Australian and eight international. They also pick

two Feature Albums- one for a local artist and one for an international artist.

If you play any two tracks from this wide selection of music, you‟ll help give a

musical flow to our eclectic little station.

You can find all these tracks at the House of SYN or the studios on any computer

with the LIBRARY drive. Just click around and go on a musical adventure!

Alternatively, you can help steer music selection at SYN by heading to the music

meeting, every Thursday from 5:30pm at the House of SYN.

Show Page and maintaining a web presence

The SYN website is a pretty

place but it can be confusing

when you start off!

Head to syn.org.au/gettingonline

for step by step guides on

making show pages and doing

more awesome stuff.

If you need any help in setting

up and maintaining your show page you can email the online

dudes at online@syn.org.au!

It‟s important to keep up a web presence elsewhere on the

internet as well so your show is a program that the audience can

interact with! Pick any social media sites of your choosing for your

program but don‟t just get all of them and let them sit idle eg. If

your show isn‟t going to use an instagram, don‟t just make one for

the sake of it. Then let online@syn.org.au know what social media

you have so they can promote your feeds!

Even if you have all these social media streams you still have to

post things to your SYN program page. It‟s the first port of call for

listeners and SYN will promote your shows in the eNews if you

have full show pages! So get on it!

And a few more things….

Podcasts

Always make sure you edit out any

music or sponsorship announcements!

Don‟t ever upload a podcast with

copyrigted content in it –we‟d been in

legal issues if we acted like the Pirate

Bay!

Playlists

Post a playlist of all the songs you played during your show AFTER EVERY SHOW. On

the new website, if you click „Add Content‟, then „Add Blog Post‟ and click the second

tab up the top that says „Extra Options‟ you can add an awesome playlist! This helps

with the crazy amount of emails that the radio department get each day asking them

about a particular song playing during a particular show – you‟ll be helping out

listeners and the radio manager from their heads exploding! They also make us look

totes profesh while giving artists some lovely exposure.

SYN Awards

The SYN Awards are held every year. They annually celebrate how awesome we all

are and you can nominate yourself/your show/presenters/others throughout the

year. You can nominate by heading to http://members.syn.org.au and clicking the

„Nominate for a SYN Award‟ tab!

Guests

Oh hey! Do you want a specific guest? Do you want a random guest? Do you want a

guest? Then you need to email talk@syn.org.au! Always email Talks when organising

any interviews – it makes us look professional and avoids guests being able to

appear on every single flagship throughout the week with no-one knowing. You can

also use this form for interview requests http://tinyurl.com/synterviewform

,

2015