Media Programming Directors
Direct and coordinate activities of personnel engaged in preparation of radio or television station program schedules and programs, such as sports or news.
Most important skills
- Speaking
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Coordination
- Time Management
- Active Listening
- Active Learning
Key knowledge
- Communications and Media
- Computers and Electronics
- English Language
- Administration and Management
- Telecommunications
- Customer and Personal Service
- Sales and Marketing
- Engineering and Technology
What the work involves
- Plan and schedule programming and event coverage, based on broadcast length, time availability, and other factors, such as community needs, ratings data, and viewer demographics.
- Monitor and review programming to ensure that schedules are met, guidelines are adhered to, and performances are of adequate quality.
- Direct and coordinate activities of personnel engaged in broadcast news, sports, or programming.
- Check completed program logs for accuracy and conformance with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules and regulations and resolve program log inaccuracies.
- Establish work schedules and assign work to staff members.
- Coordinate activities between departments, such as news and programming.
- Perform personnel duties, such as hiring staff and evaluating work performance.
- Evaluate new and existing programming to assess suitability and the need for changes, using information such as audience surveys and feedback.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Enterprising, Conventional, Artistic.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Bachelor's Degree (52% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (36.9%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 1 month, up to and including 3 months (28%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 4: Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Media Programming Directors is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
- Projection education uses SOC 27-2012 (detailed_parent); it may describe a broader group.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | High | Higher on contact with others than 60% of occupations compared | 67% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | High | Higher on dealing with the public than 64% of occupations compared | 57% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | Moderate | Lower on teamwork than 56% of occupations compared | 59% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 61% of occupations compared | 45% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | Moderate | Higher on time pressure than 59% of occupations compared | 49% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | Very low | Lower on conflict situations than 84% of occupations compared | 61% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Moderate | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 52% of occupations compared | 54% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Consequence of error | Moderate | Higher on consequence of error than 54% of occupations compared | 35% of surveyed respondents chose “Fairly serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: moderate
- Conflict situations: very low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: moderate
- Consequence of error: moderate
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 7.68%
- Contact with others about half the time: 0%
- Contact with others most of the time: 25.78%
- Constant contact with others: 66.54%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2023
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 20.53%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: 17.49%
- Very important: 4.64%
- Extremely important: 57.33%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2023
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 7.68%
- Important: 24.1%
- Very important: 9.73%
- Extremely important: 58.5%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2023
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 12.85%
- Limited freedom: 6.5%
- Some freedom: 45.07%
- A lot of freedom: 35.58%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2023
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 24.1%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 4.06%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 22.94%
- Every day: 48.91%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2023
Conflict situations
- Never: 11.29%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 60.66%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 20.73%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 2.06%
- Every day: 5.26%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2023
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 24.14%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 5.09%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 53.73%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 8.35%
- Every day: 8.69%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2023
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 2.17%
- Fairly serious: 35.35%
- Serious: 27.59%
- Very serious: 25.55%
- Extremely serious: 9.34%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2023
Is this career right for me? Find jobs with conditions you prefer
Where people with this background could move
- Analyze
Advertising and Promotions Managers
Closeness 93/100
- Analyze
General and Operations Managers
Closeness 92/100
- Analyze
Marketing Managers
Closeness 92/100
- Analyze
Social and Community Service Managers
Closeness 92/100
- Analyze
Administrative Services Managers
Closeness 91/100 · job zone -1
- Analyze
Postmasters and Mail Superintendents
Closeness 91/100 · job zone -2
Find more alternativesCompare skills with another job
O*NET-SOC 27-2012.03 · SOC 27-2012 (detailed_parent, medium confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8