Actuality

- Live or recorded audio as it happens. It could be an event, or interview audio from a location.

Aircheck

- A copy of a broadcast.

AGC (Automatic Gain Control)

- Normalising audio by automatically boosting or reducing sound so that the output remains at the same volume.

AM (Amplitude Modulation)

- A range of frequencies used to transmit programmes to listeners. Lower quality than FM.

Atmos

- Background noise or the ambient sound from a location.

Audio

- Any piece of sound whether recorded or live.

Back-anno (Back-annoucement)

- Words spoken by a presenter after playing a song or report. The words relate to the previous audio. Can be scripted or ad lib.

Back-time

- A presenter/producer calculates the duration of audio to get to a specific junction such as the news or an ad-break on time.

Bed - Music for talking over. Break - Advertisements/Commercials Bumper - A piece of production played next to a

commercial break or feature. Bus - A way of routing multiple audio channels

through a mixer enabling the channels to be controlled by one fader (instead of four separate ones).

Cans

- Another name for headphones.

Channel

- A single stream of audio. In stereo broadcasts there are two channels of audio left and right. In mono broadcasts there is one channel of audio.

Clock-start

- An item or programme that starts at a precise moment, such as the news or opting into networked output.

Compression

- A system to keep the levels constant by automatically reducing the volume of a recording or broadcast if it goes beyond a certain level.

Copy

1) A script which is to be read by a presenter or voiceover.

2) A piece of advertising audio.

Cue

1) To prepare a piece of audio ready to start (to cue up).

2) A script read by a presenter to talk into an item.

Daypart

- A section of a radio stations output during the day. For example, breakfast, mid-mornings, afternoon, drive, evenings, late nights and overnights.

DB (Decibel)

- A measurement of the level of sound.

Demo - A short collection of either links,

packages or pieces of audio to showcase your talents to a potential employer.

Drive / Drivetime - The programme usually broadcast

between 4pm and 7pm the time when listeners are normally driving home.

Drop-ins - Soundbites from TV programmes, films

etc. Drone - A long sustained note, usually to add

tension to competitions.

EQ (Equalization)

- The process of adjusting various audio frequencies. Used to enhance audio.

Fader

- Sliding control on a mixing desk to control how loud audio is.

Feedback

- Also known as howl-round. The ear-piercing noise created when the sound from a microphone is picked up by a loudspeaker, which in turn amplifies the sound.

Format

- The type of programming a radio station offers. There are many radio formats including AC (Adult Contemporary), Hot AC, CHR (Contemporary Hit Radio) and news.

FM (Frequency Modulation)

- A range of frequencies used to transmit programmes to listeners. Higher quality than AM

FX

- Short for effects. They create atmospheres for radio programmes and IDs.

Gain

- Another word for volume.

Heads/Headlines

- The main news reduced to a short summary. Usually heard at half-past the hour.

Hook

- The most memorable part of a song, usually the chorus.

ID

A piece of production or announcement by the presenter to identify the station.

Imager

- A piece of production used to brand the station.

Jingle

- A catch-all term to describe station branding. Its commonly used to describe sung pieces of music to identify a station.

Levels - The strength of audio. Low level =

quiet volume, high level = loud volume. Link - An item of speech to connect two

items, such as a presenter speaking between two songs.

Mixdown - Where multiple channels of audio are

mixed down to one stream, ready for broadcast.

Music Positioner - An imager to demonstrate the type of

music played on a radio station. Normally two or three songs hooks, ending with the station name and positioning statement.

OB (Outside broadcast)

- A programme which is broadcast from a location away from the studio.

Outcue

- The final words in a recording. The words are added to a script so that a presenter or journalist can tell how a recording will end.

Output

- The audio heard by the listener.

Package

- A news story told in a creative way using various tools including soundbites, voiceover and possibly fx and music.

Playlist

- A set list of songs that a radio station will play during the week.

Popping

- The loud distorted sound created when a voice is too close to the microphone.

Positioning Statement

- A phrase a radio station uses to sell itself to the listener.

Presenter

- The host of a radio programme

Producer

- Radio producers have a responsibility for the content of radio programmes or station sound.

Reverb (Reverberation)

- An audio effect. The reflection of sound as if its bouncing of walls.

Rotation

- The repeating of a playlist over a given time.

Royalties

- A sum of money to remunerate composers, artists and publishers for using their copyrighted material.

Segue

- Where a presenter plays two songs back to back with either nothing in-between or a station ident.

Sibilance

- The harsh hissing sound sometimes caused by the s or sh sound.

Soundbite

- A short piece of audio.

Stereo

- Two channels of audio, left and right.

Stopset

- A break for commercials.

Talk-up

- A piece voiced by a presenter to showcase or promote something connected to a radio station. It could be a for a programme or station-led event.

Teaser/Tease Forward

- A short piece of audio or script aimed to keep the audience listening to the station.

Traffic

a) the department that schedules commercials on a radio station.

b) Important information on roads, rail and other forms of transport.

Two-way

- A talk between a presenter and reporter on a news story. An illustrated two-way includes audio clips, such as soundbites or voxes.

VP (Voice piece)

- A summary of a news item voiced by a reporter.

Voiceover or V/O

- Recorded voice piece used in idents, commercials, drama or news pieces.

Voxpop / Voxes

- From the Latin Vox Populi, which means The voice of the people. The voices are edited together to form a short piece.

Wrap

- A voice piece or report where the announcer or news reporter wraps their voice around a news clip.