By Alicia Bullaro
As most of the Olivet community already knows, the WOCR radio station loves to call sports games when they can. This year, and all of its craziness, has brought some speculation on whether or not the students involved with the station would be able to call any games. But, with the recent news that high school football will be played in Michigan, the WOCR students still have that opportunity.
Olivet High School (2-0) has played two away games, and the next four on its schedule will be played at the Eagles' home field in Olivet. This is great news for the students looking for broadcasting experience at OC, as they plan on calling all four of these home games live on-air.
There are typically three people involved in broadcasting these games live on the radio: Play-by-Play talent, Color Commentary talent, and the Board Operator in the studio. The talent are on-site at the games, while the board operator is in the studio operating the broadcast console and making sure that the broadcasters sound how they should on the radio. They also are in charge of playing a number of different things during breaks in the game, so that listeners are listening to something the entire time they are tuning in.
Pulling this off also adds a little extra work for station manager Travis Garner on a few accounts.
“The work required on my end would include helping find people who are willing to call games and run the board…making sure we have all of our bases covered before we go on air,” Garner said, “Also, training people who are interested in board operation.”
Much more work goes into prepping for these games than one might expect, both on the content end and the technical end. It is expected that the students calling the game do their research on both teams. This could be information about many elements, including player names and numbers for both teams, coaches and/or players who this game may have significance to, etc. It is a great idea for the talent to be well versed on the people involved in any given game that they call on-air.
In addition to this preparation, the equipment needs to be set up on-site the day of the games. This includes a Tieline, which is a small box that can be transported easily, that then is connected to another box in the studio through an Ethernet cable. This set-up is fairly simple, and once it is complete it is the responsibility of all three students to make sure the audio levels are appropriate for the entirety of the game
“Once that’s set up it’s pretty much just plug in our headsets, monitor audio levels, and call the game!” said MPC Professor Daine Pavloski. “Our Board Operator in the studio is then in charge of playing PSAs and other sports-content during breaks in the action and monitoring the broadcast on the whole.”
Then once the game is over, and after postgame discussion, the equipment is easily packed up and brought back to the station.
The WOCR students will be calling the high school football games for four Fridays in a row, beginning on Oct. 2. Those in the Olivet area can tune in to hear the games on 89.1 FM on their radio dial. Or if you are not in the area or prefer listening online, you can listen from anywhere else at wocr891fm.com.
Commenti