The Signal School · mass media, journalism & screen
Broadcasting, Radio & Podcasting
Writing for the ear, speaking to one listener at a time, and running the board without dead air.
A complete first show — concept, format, recording setup, editing, and getting it into the feeds.
Syllabus · 3 units · ~16 hours
Unit I — The Show Before the Show
Premise, format, and episode length · Who is listening, and while doing what · Naming and describing the show honestly
Unit II — Recording
One microphone, treated room, sensible levels · Remote guests without terrible audio · The interview versus the scripted segment
Unit III — Edit and Release
Cutting for pace: what listeners skip · Loudness standards and export settings · RSS, directories, and a release rhythm you can keep
Sentences built to be heard once — short, active, and readable aloud at a natural pace.
Syllabus · 2 units · ~12 hours
Unit I — Ear Versus Eye
Why print sentences fail aloud · One idea per sentence; subject early · Numbers, names, and how to say them
Unit II — Formats
The reader, the voicer, the wrap · Writing into and out of sound bites · Timing copy: reading rates and back-timing
Training the instrument you already own — breath support, pacing, emphasis, and reading copy like you mean it.
Syllabus · 2 units · ~10 hours
Unit I — The Instrument
Breath support and posture at the microphone · Pitch, pace, and volume as separate controls · Warm-ups that actually help
Unit II — Reading and Speaking
Marking copy for emphasis and breath · Conversational delivery from a script · Recovering from stumbles on air
The technical floor under every good show — microphones, gain staging, EQ, compression, and clean exports.
Syllabus · 3 units · ~20 hours
Unit I — Capturing Speech
Microphone types and polar patterns · Gain staging and headroom · Room treatment on no budget
Unit II — Processing
EQ for intelligibility, not flavor · Compression: what it fixes and what it ruins · Noise reduction and its artifacts
Unit III — Delivery
Loudness normalization and LUFS targets · File formats and bit rates for speech · Archiving sessions you may need again
The clock, the board, and the discipline of live air — formatics, talk breaks, and never sounding rushed.
Syllabus · 2 units · ~14 hours
Unit I — The Clock
Hot clocks and format wheels · Hitting posts and back-timing to the news · Preparing more than you will use
Unit II — On the Board
Console basics: faders, buses, and monitoring · Screening and taking callers · When things break: covering gracefully