• DJs are on air personalities. DJs piece together fluid radio programs along with entertaining their audiences with funny or insightful comments in between songs. DJs are responsible for selecting and cueing music, timing music selections, announcing artists, keeping track of traffic reports, weather reports, breaking news, playing recorded commercials, announcing live commercials, talking on the phone, taking requests, and keeping the station's log. DJs also do a lot of work with producing programming and public relations.

• A news reporter is responsible for reporting timely and accurate news. They must be able to find "the facts" fast and put together stories that convey recent events vividly and succinctly. The qualities needed include aggressiveness, energy, and inquisitiveness.

• Sportscasters are responsible for announcing sporting events as well as having the ability to discuss sports with a knowledgeable understanding. When professional sportscasters announce a game, they must have a wealth of knowledge to pull from in order to make interesting comments about the sport.

• A production director or recording engineer work creatively, using music, sound effects, and mixing/recording technology to produce "commercials, programs, public service announcements, and many other audio bits that can give a station its sound.

• A successful talk show host must be able to ask probing questions and interact with callers well. Most talk shows center on a specific topic, the talk show host must be an expert in their narrowed field of interest in order to have supported information to offer.

• The first internet radio station was Internet Talk Radio. It was developed in 1993 by Carl Malamud. Malamud viewed the internet as a great resource, but his show was not produced full-time. This led to the launch of Radio HK, the first full-time, internet only radio station. Over the years, improvements in technology have allowed for better sound streaming quality. Internet radio stations today are available through several large websites such as Shoutcast, iTunes, Yahoo, and Live365. Each of these websites offers a diverse list of online radio stations to select from.

• Typically, there aren't many commercials on internet radio stations. Operating costs for the station itself are fairly low because most of the programming is automated. In addition, it is very accessable and affordable to listeners. With the ability to create a wide-variety of different radio stations and music formats, internet radio is a very appealing option for those who enjoy music. A listener is able to log on to a computer from anywhere in the world and tune in, without having to worry about static. Internet radio is beneficial to new music artists who are not able to pay the high costs associated with marketing and advertising. This gives independent artists a better chance to succeed in the industry.

The Drawbacks

• The technology that is used to stream music is good, but it is still has not been perfected. There is a chance that the music may pause from time to time to allow the stream to reestablish a connection with the main host site. Due to a high transfer rate and depending on the connection speed, one may not be able to listen to internet radio in certain locations. Also, there is the fear that employees might illegally download music using the company's own resources.

• Better mobile technology is making internet radio more readily accessible and easier to use, but only time will tell for sure what impact internet radio will have in the years to come.

• In 1992, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States designated the "S" band for use of satellites that were to be engaged in nationwide broadcasting. In 1997, the FCC granted broadcast licenses to American Mobile Radio (now known as XM Satellite Radio) and CD Radio (now known as Sirius Satellite Radio). Just as cable had a significant impact on television, many today are predicting that satellite radio will have a similar impact on radio the radio industry of today.

• In space, XM has two Boeing HS 702 satellites placed in parallel geostationary orbit. Sirius uses three SS/L-1300 satellites which form an elliptical satellite constellation. Both XM and Sirius keep at least one spare satellite on the ground, just in case one of the satellites in orbit encounters a problem in signal transmission. Whether XM or Sirius, the satellite radio's ground station transmits a strong signal to each of its satellites in orbit. The satellites then bounce the signals back down to satellite radio receivers on the ground. Each of these ground radio receivers that can be purchased by any customer at most electronics stores across the country is programmed with technology to receive and unscramble the digital data signal which is sent to it. As an added feature to the encoded sound, the signal also contains information about the broadcast such as the radio show name, artist, song title, and musical genre. In urban areas, where tall buildings have the potential to interfere with the broadcast signal from the satellite, ground transmitters are used to receive the signal first.

• Positives: offers subscribers good variety of music channels ranging from one extreme in genre to another, with over 120 channels to choose from; all music channels are 100% commercial free; national "coast-to-coast" programming is available, which means that you can receive same radio station anywhere you go

• Negatives: can not offer the local programming that traditional broadcast radio provides; one-time activation fee and monthly subscription fee are required; employment opportunities are likely to be very limited; there is some controversy surrounding the lack of regulation of what is being broadcast because, at the moment, satellite radio need not comply with FCC rules and regulations

• Headquartered in Washington, D.C.
• Pricing for activation and monthly service fees are subject to change. Explore XM's website to find out more, up-to-date information about prices by clicking on the link found under the "Links for Satellite Radio" section.
• Some channels offered are CNN News, BBC World Service, NASCAR, and The Weather Channel. (For complete list, click on link to channel guide below.)

• Headquartered at Rockefeller Center in New York City
• Pricing for activation and monthly service fees are subject to change. Explore Sirius' website to find out more, up-to-date information about prices by clicking on the link found under the "Links for Satellite Radio" section.
• Some channels offered are CNBC, NFL, C-SPAN, Radio Disney, and ESPN. (For complete list, click on link to channel guide below.)

• Carrier current or AM/FM broadcast. More and more college radio stations are turning to broadcasting. Broadcasting signals have a larger range and can thereby have larger audiences.
• Commercial or Noncommercial. Some larger college radio stations use advertising through commercials to help provide a source of revenue for helping fund the radio station. Noncommercial stations are usually funded by alumni or community donations.
• Professionally staffed or student run. Being student run is more useful to the students to gain experience and also appeals more to potential listeners in the targeted audience of college students. Professional staffs can run a station more efficiently, but take away from the college radio experience.

• Position. Trying to remain a neutral radio station can be difficult when so many people wish to express their personal opinions. Stations can easily become labeled causing many listeners to turn to a different station.
• Volunteers. Not having enough volunteers to work at the college radio can hurt the station. Without sufficient staffing, the station will ultimately fail.
• Financing. Many colleges must rely on donations for financing. However, some are turning to commercialism in order to more easily acquire funding.
• New technology. There are many new technologies being invented that may put an end to college radio. However, college radio in the past has adapted to changes more quickly than most local stations.

• DAB digital radio. DAB may appear to be a threat to radio stations. However, it can be looked at as a chance to advance the world of college radio. Just as the switch was made from AM to FM, analogue radio can make the change to digital.
• Webcasting. College radio stations were among the first to take advantage of this new technology by being able to broadcast their programs over the internet, they can more effectively reach the campus and community that they are involved in.
• Wireless Fidelity. WiFi can broadcast multiple micro signals within one single broad signal. This would allow a single station to have the ability to become a multi-media station, in which they can broadcast multiple genres of stations at once.