How would a Broad Casting Station Work?

I am more familiar with the workings of radio than television, but I don't believe there is much if any difference. The staff would break down into two basic groups: on-air and off-air. I worked at a radio news service and employees included reporters, editors/writers that compiled the information, technies that kept the equipment running, management, administration (human resources, finance, etc.), and sales. Sales is the really large behind the scenes part of the business, and there were just about as many salesmen with our group as on-air people. They sell the commercial time, track the ads, etc.

I worked in Chicago and I know that broadcasting towers there were both in the city (the two large spires atop the Sears Tower) and outside the city. Because radio towers take up a good deal of space & can be placed outside a city, they typically are.

Good luck.

Joe Breen
St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands

If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe. -- Carl Sagan

First, I should probably advise you that the term is "broadcast" as one word. "Broad cast" as two words seems to suggest a place where trashy women are thrown.

Second, it's unclear what specific kind of broadcast station you want to know about. Radio or television? AM, FM, UHF, VHF? These all make a difference, especially in tower placement.

I'm not very knowledgeable about AM, but I do know that with AM, the entire tower is the radiating element. Exact placement and structure of the tower are therefore probably important. AM generates two different waves: Ground waves follow the contour of the land, so I believe the tower need not be in sight of the receiver (unimpeded by large geologic features). Sky waves go up and out, but at nighttime, the sun-charged ionosphere acts as a magnetic mirror and bounces them back to earth, sometimes very great distances, which is why many AMs have to go dark, reduce power, or switch towers at local sunset. There are some 'clear channels' -- 550, 660, 770, and so on -- that don't have to follow nighttime power rules. Beyond that, I'm not much help.

My background is in FM, so I offer a lot about that. In FM, the radiating element is small, typically two metres, and is mounted to a tall tower that's only there to hold it up off the ground. AM towers have that very distinctive 'radio tower' look, but FM towers are most typically just tall, slender cages, often called 'sticks' because they look like cornstalks. Line of sight is vital. The signal must not be impeded by geologic features or very large, dense structures like dams or earthworks. The goal in FM is to get the element up as high as the law will allow, so that it can 'see' as far as possible and hit more receivers. And yet, in some instances, this can work against you, because some geologic features also serve to block competing signals, and if you clear them, you may have to reduce your own power, partly defeating the benefit of great height.

An FM tower set up to serve two cities near each other would ideally be placed at a very high place between them. If the cities are small and very close, this might be practical. In other cases, it might be found better to hit just one with the primary tower, and the other with a smaller 'fill-in' station called a translator. The translator carries the same program, though usually on a different frequency; it's a robot station requiring no staff of its own, so for legal and operational purposes it's all one station.

In many cases, the broadcast setup is chosen due to numerous outside factors, primarily other broadcasters in the same area, including other kinds. If this station is FM, and there's also one or more AM stations around, then you'd be wise to avoid giving the exact frequency for more than one station (except that you can say the translator's as long as it's far away on the FM dial from the parent's). FM and AM can sometimes interact, so you're better off not giving frequencies for other stations. And if there's a TV station anywhere around (like, within 200 miles or so), make sure it's not Channel 6, because that could threaten the plausibility of your FM station. (This gets pretty complicated, and the details are not vital to your story.)

I'd also avoid complete callsigns (four-letter identifiers) for any fictional station. There's a tool at the FCC's website where you can look up callsigns, including unused sets, but this is only valid for the day you look up. A set that's given as 'free' today might be taken up tomorrow, and you wouldn't know. Other than adhering to the W/K division scheme, you're better off not using complete callsigns, to avoid using ones that are in use. Most stations these days don't bellow them anymore anyway, quietly slipping them in at the top of the hour only because they have to. Nowadays, stations have branding names devised by marketers. So, for example, WHCN in Hartford, Conn., has been 'The River' for some years now, and it's the same across the country. Give your station a somewhat hip, somewhat stupid sounding branding name, and it will sound authentic, because most radio marketers are drooling morons who wouldn't know hip if it bit them on theirs. Something like 'Flash FM' or K-Buzz or W-7 or the like, something that might hint at a callsign (or not) but really isn't, and gives no clear idea of the actual frequency. But it *should* give some idea of the format. Some of the ones where I am include 'Coast FM' (mix), 'The Edge' (modern rock) and 'The Fan' (would you believe..sports?).

Hope that helps. Any more questions, PM me and I'll see if I can offer some more, maybe something more specific.

They didn't want it good, they wanted it Wednesday. - Robert A. Heinlein

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