What it’s about:

The radio and television major prepares you for a career in all areas of thesetwo types of media, including writing, editing, production, performance, and sales, in addition, you develop an understanding of the history, structure, regulation, and functions of the electronic media and explore the ethical issues you may encounter when you deal with radio and TV audiences.

What the study of this major is like:

In this major, you quickly discover that radio and television production requires teamwork. You must learn to corporate with others on the job and to be both a follower and a leader. Any glamour that the mass media might have had for you can swiftly fade when you are faced with deadlines, difficult-to-meet standards for scripts, and technical problems. Opportunities to practice and polish you writing, performance, and other creative skills make your training both demanding and satisfying.

In a four-year program, about 50 percent of your courses are in the liberal arts-history, literature, social sciences, and natural sciences-and most of these are taken in your first two years. An introductory course in mass media provides an overview of the social, political, economic, and historical factors that affect all media in our society. Elective courses in the major allow you to focus on one media or the other, or to concentrate on certain aspects of the industry.

In addition to lecture classes, you receive hands-on experience in lab courses and field assignments. This training can include working in a production studio, interviewing people outside of class, or using specialized communication gear such as audio and video recorders, editing equipment, and lighting. Tow-year programs are usually more technically oriented, or designed for specific occupations in the industry.

Colleges near large cities usually offer numerous opportunities for internships and part-time employment during the academic year. On the other hand, newspapers and radio stations in rural or suburban communities may allow you to do the kind of work that students in metropolitan areas would not be permitted to do. Student-run radio and television organizations can provide you with excellent outside-of-class opportunities. Colleges with a tradition of media-related programs, such as journalism, advertising, and the arts, are likely to emphasize those areas in their radio and television offering.

Career options and trends:

Producer*; new reporter*; station manager; production assistant*; camera operator; disk jockey; Web master; sales executive; entertainment lawyer.

Mergers, new technology, and the growth of alternative media sources are reshaping the radio and TV industries. Corporate media “families” may now include cable and/or broadcast TV stations, film studios, radio stations, newspapers, magazine, and Internet companies.

If you have skills and experience that can be applied in two or more areas, such as the ability to write for both TV news and the Web, you may have a better chance of getting a job with a media company. All job seekers face keen competition in this field, but camera operators and editors are projected to have the best job prospects.

Source: CollegeBoard 2012 Book of Majors