In the ever-changing media market that is opening the world to a wider audience, can one knowledgeable in the broadcast technology of the past compete with one trained with the information technology of today? Or should there be a hybrid – one who can do both? The answer is quite logical.
Ryan Salazar ,
Editor-In-Chief,
Broadcast Beat Magazine
Long ago, from the earliest days of media, it was recognized that there needed to be people who performed the technical workings of the studio. Aside from the inventors and photographers who tinkered with and were able to tweak cameras, the advent of radio brought the need for a true engineer who understood the inner-workings of electricity and the analog signal it could carry. This was to be a person who could read an oscilloscope and interpret frequency patterns. It was all vacuum tubes and miracles in those days.
"I started in 1972 repairing vacuum tube gear at the RCA Institutes TV Studio School, so I have seen it all," states Keith Andoos, speaking as a broadcast engineer of the past. "Change is inevitable, and broadcast technology is no longer a 'mystery' to the rest of the corporation. In other words, it is no longer 'a license to print money.'"
Today, broadcast and sound engineers install, set-up, calibrate, operate and repair electronic equipment used to transmit radio and television programs, regulating the signal for clarity and strength, monitoring the array of sounds for radio and both colors and sounds for television transmissions. While a license is not required in the U.S. to practice as a broadcast engineer, these positions usually require a degree (Associates, Bachelors or Masters Degrees, typically) in one or more fields, such as: electrical engineering, telecommunications, computer information systems, computer science or computer
88