Steve Schwaller Speaks to Rotary October 26

Steve Schwaller, News Director at KUOO, spoke to Rotary on Wednesday, October 26 about the changes he has seen in broadcasting since the 1980s. Some of the main changes have been:

·         Switch from analog to digital – Steve shared how he used to splice actual tape when editing interviews for on-air compared to now when it’s simply a click on the computer.

·         Programming – Steve talked about how national programming would be mailed in advance to the station on tapes where now it is all via website download

·         Wire Service Data – there used to be two news agencies (AP and UPI) – it is just AP now and instead of standing next to the teletype machine receiving page after page of news printed on paper and having to cut and paste them together for a newscast, now it is all electronic on the computer resulting in a lot of paper and time savings

·         Main Control Room – when playing music on air, Steve shared using LPs and how you had to be fairly skilled to start songs without dead airtime or without it starting slow as the turntable came up to speed. Now it is all digital and most songs are pre-programmed on a play list now.

Over the years, even though there have been a lot of changes, Steve enjoys all aspects of his job and the minute-to-minute changes that can occur following news stories. He sees smart phone apps where you can listen to the radio online as the next change that will take place with radio. Steve also shared a few of his thoughts on the upcoming weather patterns with the group.