Two years later he was hired by
Rolling Stone magazine as a freelance writer,
and over
the years has served as co-editor of the first
two
Rolling Stone Record Guides, and as
editor of the original
Rolling Stone Jazz Guide. He put in freelance
stints with both
Circus and High Times magazines as editor of
their record review sections.
In 1984, Swenson slowly went broke writing
music biography books until, almost
destitute, he took a job in 1986 as a
syndicated weekly music columnist with United
Press International (UPI). As CNN usurped UPI's
position in the news world, he
moved to the
New York Post in 1990 and worked as a
horseracing columnist. He was
out of work again when a new owner took over in
1993, and fired the entire newspa-
per staff. Tired of office work, he continued
to write about the music scene as a free-
lance reporter. Swenson's articles are printed
in leading industry magazines
worldwide, and he serves as senior editor of
jazz.com. In 1999, he edited the
Rolling
Stone Jazz and Blues Album Guide.
www.jazz.com
RADIO
MUSIC DIRECTOR · PROGRAM DIRECTOR
· STATION MANAGER
JOB OVERVIEW
The program and/or music director is
responsible for selecting the music and for-
mulating a playlist of songs to broadcast on
the air. This may sound easy, but it is a
studied skill. Songs are selected based on the
musical format of the station and the
demographics of the target listener, content,
and other criteria. The program/music
director is also involved in developing
contests, promotions, and marketing cam-
paigns for the station. Most program directors
are former disc jockeys.
DISK JOCKEY · DEEJAY · JOCK
· ON-AIR PERSONALITY
JOB OVERVIEW
The disc jockey, or on-air personality, is
responsible for making sure there is no
dead air time by filling the time with music
and patter. The deejay introduces songs,
does commercials, reads news, and is expected
to have an engaging personality and
voice that keeps listeners tuned
in.
User Comments Add a comment…