If you have ever watched an old episode of WKRP in Cincinnati or Murphy Brown, you’ve probably heard some of the actors use words that are not commonly used in everyday conversation. Terms such as bumper, crossfade, ratings and spots are commonly used in the broadcast industry.

In everyday conversation, the normal person would have one meaning for the phrases, but the professionals in the field of radio and television would gain a different meaning to the words. These are just a few of the everyday terms used in the radio and television broadcasting industry.

Lingo used in the world of radio broadcasting

Here is just a small sample of the lingo used in the world of broadcasting:

·        A/D – it’s the conversion from analog to digital

·        Access Time - is the time it takes to find, get and begin using information

·        Actives – would be the number of listeners that contact a radio show regarding requests, contests or other information

·        Analog Recording – is the recording of audio using an electronic signal that changes continuously

·        Analog Transmission – is broadcasting an analog recording signal

·        Average Quarter Hour – is a term used to measure the size of the audience for ratings purposes.

·        Backsell – is the method where a disc jockey announces the song title and/or artist of the song that has just played

·        Backtiming – is when the DJ calculates the introductory time on a song in an attempt to talk over the intro of the song and finish just prior to the vocals starting

·        Bed – is a production element, usually instrumental music or sound effects played in the background of a spoken commercial, promo or other announcement

·        Billboard – is a short announcement to recognize a sponsor at the start or end of a production element such as the news, sports, traffic or weather reports

·        Book – is a slang term to the Arbitron ratings service report

·        Call Letters – is the identifying letters of a radio or television station

·        Clutter – is an excessive number of non-program elements (such as commercials) appearing one after another

·        Copy – is the written material used in producing a public service announcement, promo, or commercial that is meant to be read out by the DJ

·        Crossfade – is the technique where a DJ, producer or engineer fades out the out going track at the same time as fading in the new track

·        Daypart – is the radio station's broadcast day is normally split up (starting at 6am) into a series of 4 hour sessions containing one or more shows

·        Dead Air – is when the time on-air where there is no audible transmission

·        Front Sell – is the act of introducing a song about to be played

·        Jingle – is a produced programming element usually in the form of vocals to accompanying music often produced in-house to identify the show, DJ or the station

·        Liner – is a piece of written text that the DJ says over the intro of a song or between spots and songs

·        Pilot – is a one-time episode of a proposed series, usually in extended form, to gauge audience reaction

·        Playlist – is the listing of official songs that a radio station will play during a given week

·        Promo – is an announcement (either recorded or live) used to promote the station's image or other event

·        Public Service Announcement – is a commercial, usually shown for free, giving safety information or advice

·        Spot – is a term for a radio or television commercial

Additional Resources

These are just a few of the terms that are used in the radio and television industry. For your convenience we have added a few additional resources here:

·       Broadcasting Glossary (Univ. of Delaware)

·       Broadcast Glossary

·       Radio/TV Broadcasting Telecommunications

·       Digital TV Glossary

·       Open Library Broadcasting Glossary

·       PBS Media Glossary

·       Glossary of Media and Broadcast Terminology

·       Glossary of Radio Broadcast Terms

·       List of Broadcasting Terminology

·       Glossary of Television Broadcast Terms