add

From Middle English adden, from Latin addō (“add, give unto”).

In a typical week, 10 to 15 songs may be up for consideration as “adds” of new songs for the station's playlist.

2006, David Baskerville, Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, page 370:

Effectiveness of their work is measured by the number of “adds” they receive on the airplay charts of major trades.

2013, Russ Hepworth-Sawyer, From Demo to Delivery:

(radio) The addition of a song to a station's playlist.


mobile station

(radio) A radio transceiver installed in a vehicle.


ID

en-noun

ID (countable and uncountable, plural IDs)

If not done at the top of the hour, however, the station ID should come at the next possible break in the programme.

2015, Simran Kohli, The Radio Jockey Hand Book, page 93:


affirmative

/əˈfɜːmətɪv/

From Middle English affirmative, affirmatyve, from Old French affirmatif, from Latin affirmativus, from affirmare (“to assert”).

(military, especially radio communications) Yes; true; correct.


finger

Sranan Tongo: finga

PIE word
 *pénkʷe
From Middle English fynger, finger, from Old English finger (“finger”), from Proto-West Germanic *fingr, from Proto-Germanic *fingraz (“finger”), from Proto-Indo-European *penkʷrós, from *pénkʷe (“five”). Compare West Frisian finger, Low German/German Finger, Dutch vinger, Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish finger; also Old Armenian հինգեր-որդ (hinger-ord, “fifth”). More at five.

sormi

something similar in function to a finger

(radio) Any of the individual receivers used in a rake receiver to decode signal components.


AC

ACs (plural)
a.c. (alternative)
A/C (alternative)
a/c (alternative)
A.C. (alternative)
a.c. (alternative)
ac (alternative)
A.C. (alternative)
A.C. (alternative)
A. C. (alternative)
a.c. (alternative)

adult contemporary
adult contemporary#English

(music, radio) Initialism of adult contemporary (a radio format).


traffic

en-noun

traffic (usually uncountable, plural traffics)

traffics (plural)
traffick (alternative)
traffique (alternative)

From Middle French trafique, traffique (“traffic”), from Italian traffico (“traffic”) from trafficare (“to carry on trade”). Potentially from Vulgar Latin *trānsfrīcāre (“to rub across”); Klein instead suggests the Italian has ultimate origin in Arabic تَفْرِيق (tafrīq, “distribution, dispersion”), reshaped to match the native prefix tra- (“trans-”).
The adjectival sense is possibly influenced by Tagalog trapik and follows a general trend in Philippine English to construct a noun from an adjective.

trafik

pedestrians or vehicles on roads or on the air

Vakea

The exchange or flux of information, messages or data, as in a computer or telephone network.

(radio) Of CB radio, formal written messages relayed on behalf of others.


ride

en-verb

ride (third-person singular simple present rides, present participle riding, simple past rode or (obsolete) rade or (obsolete) rid, past participle ridden or (now colloquial and nonstandard) rode)

rides (present singular third-person)
riding (participle present)
rode (past)
rade (obsolete past)
rid (obsolete past)
ridden (participle past)
rode (colloquial nonstandard participle past)

From Middle English riden, from Old English rīdan, from Proto-West Germanic *rīdan, from Proto-Germanic *rīdaną, from Proto-Indo-European *Hreydʰ-, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reyH-.
Cognates
From Proto-Germanic: North Frisian ride (“to ride”), Saterland Frisian riede (“to ride”), West Frisian ride (“to ride”), Low German rieden (“to ride”), Dutch rijden (“to ride”), German reiten (“to ride”), Danish ride (“to ride”), Swedish rida (“to ride”).
From Indo-European: Welsh rhwyddhau (“to hurry”).

set a beggar on horseback and he'll ride to the Devil

vocal riding

The board operator normally watches the meter scale marked for modulation percentage, riding the gain to bring volume peaks into the 85% to 100% range.

2006, Simran Kohli, Radio Jockey Handbook:

“You don't want them riding the volume knob, so that's why you learn how to do your levels properly to make the whole thing transparent for the listener. […]

2017, Michael O'Connell, Turn Up the Volume: A Down and Dirty Guide to Podcasting, page 22:

(radio, television, transitive) To monitor (some component of an audiovisual signal) in order to keep it within acceptable bounds.


key

key (third-person singular simple present keys, present participle keying, simple past and past participle keyed)

keys (present singular third-person)
keying (participle present)
keyed (participle past)
keyed (past)

From Middle English keye, kaye, keiȝe, from Old English cǣġ (“key, solution, experiment”) (whence also Scots key and kay (“key”)), of uncertain origin. The only sure cognates are Saterland Frisian Koai (“key”), West Frisian kaai (“key”), and North Frisian kay (“key”). Possibly from Proto-Germanic *kēgaz, *kēguz (“stake, post, pole”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵogʰ-, *ǵegʰ-, *ǵegʰn- (“branch, stake, bush”), which would make it cognate with Middle Low German kāk (“whipping post, pillory”), and perhaps to Middle Dutch keige (“javelin, spear”) and Middle Low German keie, keige (“spear”). For the semantic development, note that medieval keys were simply long poles (ending in a hook) with which a crossbar obstructing a door from the inside could be removed from the outside, by lifting it through a hole in the door. Liberman has noted, however, "The original meaning of *kaig-jo- was presumably '*pin with a twisted end.' Words with the root *kai- followed by a consonant meaning 'crooked, bent; twisted' are common only in the North Germanic languages."

cog

(telegraphy and radio telegraphy) To depress (a telegraph key).

(radio) To operate (the transmitter switch of a two-way radio).

avaintaa

radio: operate (transmitter switch of a two-way radio)


skein

skeins (plural)
skean (alternative obsolete)
skain (alternative obsolete)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-skein.wav

From Middle English skayne, from Old French escaigne (Modern French écagne), probably of Proto-Celtic origin, from Proto-Indo-European *skend- (“to split off”). Compare Irish scáinne (“skein, clew”).

der

All three tele skeins are pitching furiously to snag the super Easter Day tele show to be bankrolled by Frigidaire, […]

Three comedy shows from the U. S. are in the CTV lineup: CBSTV's Phil Silvers and Danny Thomas skeins and NBC-TV's "Harry's Girls."

1963, Radio Television Daily, volume 93, page 5:

(radio, television, dated) A series created by a web (major broadcasting network).


MOR

/ɛm əʊ ˈɑː(ɹ)/

But MOR as a programming powerhouse began to lose strength as the radio industry evolved during those decades.

2003, Christopher H. Sterling, Encyclopedia of Radio, page 1575:

At a hip grocery store, Maggie meets David (Kelvin Harrison Jr., from “Waves”), a handsome singer-songwriter with a rockin’ MOR vibe, and the two have a “High Fidelity” music-geek convo that dances on the edge of cringey-ness.

2020 May 25, Owen Gleiberman, “‘The High Note’: Film Review”, in Claudia Eller, editor, Variety, Los Angeles, Calif.: Variety Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2020-05-25:

middle of the road
middle of the road#English

(radio) Initialism of middle of the road.


image

German: Image

Slovak: imidž

Russian: и́мидж (ímidž)

Armenian: իմիջ (imiǰ)

From Middle English ymage, borrowed from Old French image, from Latin imāgō (“a copy, likeness, image”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eym-; the same PIE root is the source of imitari (“to copy, imitate”); see imitate. Doublet of imago.

(radio) A form of interference: a weaker "copy" of a strong signal that occurs at a different frequency.


squelch

en-verb

squelch (third-person singular simple present squelches, present participle squelching, simple past and past participle squelched)

squelches (present singular third-person)
squelching (participle present)
squelched (participle past)
squelched (past)

Unknown. Perhaps a blend of squash + quell + quench. Compare also English squolsh, English squoosh.

(transitive, radio technology) To suppress the unwanted hiss or static between received transmissions by adjusting a threshold level for signal strength.

sintonizar

radio technology: suppress hiss or static


squelch

en-noun

squelch (countable and uncountable, plural squelches)

(radio technology) The suppression of the unwanted hiss or static between received transmissions by adjusting the gain of the receiver.


ABC

Australian Broadcasting Corporation
w:Australian Broadcasting Corporation

(radio, television) Initialism of Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Australian Broadcasting Company
w:Australian Broadcasting Company

(historical, radio) Initialism of Australian Broadcasting Company

Australian Broadcasting Commission
w:Australian Broadcasting Commission

(historical, radio, television) Initialism of Australian Broadcasting Commission

Asahi Broadcasting Corporation
w:Asahi Broadcasting Corporation

(radio, television) Initialism of Asahi Broadcasting Corporation.


ham

Uncertain, though it is generally agreed upon that it first appeared in print around the 1880s. At least four theories persist:
* It came naturally from the word amateur. Deemed likely by Hendrickson (1997), but then the question would be why it took so long to pop up. He rejects the folk etymology of Cockney slang hamateur because it originated in American English.
* From the play Hamlet, where the title character was often played poorly and/or in an exaggerated manner. Also deemed likely by Hendrickson, though he raises the issue that the term would have likely been around earlier if this were case.
* From the minstrel's practice of using ham fat to remove heavy black makeup used during performances.
* Shortened from hamfatter (“inferior actor”), said to derive from the 1863 minstrel show song The Ham-fat Man. William and Mary Morris (1988) argue that it's not known whether the song inspired the term or the term inspired the song, but that they believe the latter is the case.


linear

From Latin līneāris, from līnea (“line”) + -āris (adjectival suffix), equivalent to line + -ar. Doublet of lineal.

linear amplifier
linear amplifier#English

(radio slang) Ellipsis of linear amplifier.


CBC

In an email to CNN, Gariépy denied a CBC news article’s characterization of him as supporting “ideas of white superiority and white ‘ethnostates,’” saying, “no proper context was provided by the journalist to understand the circumstances in which I discussed these subjects in the past.”

2021 February 19, Rob Kuznia, Majlie de Puy Kamp, Sara Sidner and Mallory Simon, “How White nationalists evade the law and continue profiting off hate”, in CNN:

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
w:Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

(Canada, television, radio) Initialism of Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting Company
w:Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting Company

(Japan, television, radio) Initialism of Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting Company.


NPR

First, I think that the NPR leadership made a mistake in appearing to fire Williams in a snit, rather than not renewing his contract, at the next opportunity, because of longstanding differences in journalistic values.

2010 October 25, James Fallows, “Why NPR Matters (Long)”, in The Atlantic, archived from the original on 2025-06-10:

In Trump’s first term, his annual budget proposals zeroed out the funding for the corporation, but Congress always allocated the funds anyway — a reflection of the fact that national Republican opposition to NPR and PBS is countered by local support.

2025 May 2, Brian Stelter, Clay Voytek, “President Trump signs order seeking to end federal funding for NPR and PBS”, in CNN:

National Public Radio
w:National Public Radio

(US, radio) Initialism of National Public Radio.


countdown

countdowns (plural)
count down (alternative)
count-down (alternative)

(radio, television) A radio or television program counting down the top songs of a given week, usually in reverse order and ending with the number one song.

lista

a radio or television program counting down the top songs of a given week


double

en-verb

double (third-person singular simple present doubles, present participle doubling, simple past and past participle doubled)

doubles (present singular third-person)
doubling (participle present)
doubled (participle past)
doubled (past)

PIE word
 *dwóh₁
From Middle English double, from Old French doble, double, from Latin duplus (“twofold”). Doublet of doppio and duple.

Could you please repeat your last transmission? Another station was doubling with you.

(radio, informal, of a station) To transmit simultaneously on the same channel as another station, either unintentionally or deliberately, causing interference.


cart

(radio, informal) A tape cartridge used for pre-recorded material such as jingles and advertisements.


copy

copy (third-person singular simple present copies, present participle copying, simple past and past participle copied)

copies (present singular third-person)
copying (participle present)
copied (participle past)
copied (past)
coppy (alternative)
coppie (alternative)
copie (alternative)

Etymology tree
Middle English copien
English copy
From Middle English copien, from Old French copier and Medieval Latin cōpiō.

etymon

Do you copy?

(radio) To receive a transmission successfully.


AFC

(radio) Automatic Frequency Control (radio & TV technics)


AGC

automatic gain control
w:automatic gain control

(radio technics) Initialism of automatic gain control.


package

en-noun

package (countable and uncountable, plural packages)

Equivalent to pack + -age. Possibly influenced by Anglo-Latin paccagium or Old French pacquage.

Attend a news conference, and prepare a wrap or package.

2005, Ted White, Broadcast News: Writing, Reporting, and Producing, page 245:

(television, radio) Synonym of wrap (“complete news report ready for broadcast”).


junction

→ Bengali: জংশন (joṅśon)

→ Japanese: ジャンクション

/ˈd͡ʒʌŋkʃən/

From Latin iūnctiō (“union, joining, uniting”), from iungō (“join, attach together”). Equivalent to join + -tion.

der

Even rolling news has junctions to meet - headlines on the hour or half-hour, or links to live events, for example.

2007, Gary Hudson, Sarah Rowlands, The Broadcast Journalism Handbook, page 336:

Try to avoid becoming too predictable or repetitive, particularly at regular junctions.

2010, Peter Stewart, Essential Radio Skills: How to Present a Radio Show:

(radio, television) A point in time between two unrelated consecutive broadcasts.


programmer

/ˈpɹəʊɡɹæmə/

/ˈpɹoʊɡɹæmɚ/

*program + -er (US) / programme + -er (UK)

The handful of never-ending summer classics annually activated by rock-radio programmers.

1990, Wayne Jancik, The Billboard Book of One-Hit Wonders, →ISBN, page 151:

So if there is a real shortage of training material and opportunities for radio programmers, then let's write some.

(radio, television) One who decides which programs will be shown on a television station, or which songs will be played on a radio station.

ohjelmapäällikkö

one who decides which programs will be shown on a television station


web

From Middle English webbe, from Old English webb, from Proto-Germanic *wabją, from Proto-Indo-European *webʰ- (“weave”).

what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive

[…] the first big move toward a contract for television performers was made Friday (20) when the webs agreed to pay them according to the length of the show. […] Altho the major TV webs — NBC and CBS — may fall in line soon, an agreement may possibly be held up by the opposition of DuMont […]

1950, Billboard, volume 62, number 43, page 9:

ABC-TV this week put into effect its long anticipated plans to move into daytime programming in a bigger way by opening up its 4-5 across-the-board strip. The web is using its "Mickey Mouse Club," which is stoutly anchored in the 5-6 p.m. slot, as a backing up point for its afternoon expansion.

(dated, US, radio, television) A major broadcasting network.


format

Via French format and German Format, from New Latin liber fōrmātus (“book fashioned”), from fōrmō (“I shape, fashion”).

The radio station changed the format of its evening program.

(radio) The type of programming that a radio station broadcasts; such as a certain genre of music, news, sports, talk, etc.


wrap

en-noun

wrap (countable and uncountable, plural wraps)

From Middle English wrappe, from the verb (see above).

This is a news report from the scene of the event. When a voicer and an actuality are combined into one complete story, it's known as a wrap.

2005, Alan R. Stephenson, David E. Reese, Mary E. Beadle, Broadcast Announcing Worktext, page 164:

(television, radio) A complete news report ready for broadcast, incorporating spoken reporting and other material.


roger

→ Japanese: ラジャー (rajā)

From Roger, used circa 1940 in UK and US military communication to represent "R" when spelling out a word. "R" is the first letter in received, used to acknowledge understanding a message. "Roger" for "received" was in spoken usage in air traffic radio parlance by 1950.

Pilot: CESSNA TWO THREE FOUR—ROGER—OUT.

(radio telecommunications) Received (used in radio communications to acknowledge that a message has been received and understood)


roger

en-verb

roger (third-person singular simple present rogers, present participle rogering, simple past and past participle rogered)

rogers (present singular third-person)
rogering (participle present)
rogered (participle past)
rogered (past)

The Explorer radio operator rogered receipt of the War Room's signal.

(radio telecommunications, transitive) To acknowledge by saying "roger".


dipole

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-dipole.wav


scene

scenes (plural)
scæne (alternative archaic)

From Late Middle English scene, from Middle French scene, borrowed from Latin sc(a)ena, from Ancient Greek σκηνή (skēnḗ, “scene, stage”). Doublet of scena and skene.

der

The play is divided into three acts, and in total twenty-five scenes.

The most moving scene is the final one, where he realizes he has wasted his whole life.

There were some very erotic scenes in the movie, although it was not classified as pornography.

Miss Phyllis Morgan, as the hapless heroine dressed in the shabbiest of clothes, appears in the midst of a gay and giddy throng; she apostrophises all and sundry there, including the villain, and has a magnificent scene which always brings down the house, and nightly adds to her histrionic laurels.

1904–1905, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], “The Affair at the Novelty Theatre”, in The Case of Miss Elliott, London: T[homas] Fisher Unwin, published 1905, →OCLC; republished as popular edition, London: Greening & Co., 1909, OCLC 11192831, quoted in The Case of Miss Elliott (ebook no. 2000141h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg of Australia, February 2020:

(theater, film, television, radio) A part of a dramatic work that is set in the same place or time. In the theatre, generally a number of scenes constitute an act.

տեսարան

(theater, film, television, radio) part of a dramatic work that is set in the same place or time


stray

From Middle English stray, strey, from Anglo-Norman estray, stray, Old French estrai, from the verb (see below).

This invention relates broadly to radio communication, but more particularly to a radio receiving system used for the reception of high frequency current signals wherever they are subject to interference from "static" or strays of an untuned or aperiodic character.

1926, Popular Radio, volume 9, page 191:

Because of their shortness, such signals are usually easy to distinguish from the bomb returns but, when such a stray is recorded just before the bomb return, too close to be distinguished by ear […]

1942, John C. Mathisson, Radio Acoustic Ranging, page 652:

Electromagnetic interference EMI, radio interference RI, television interference TVI, and radio frequency interference RFI, can all be described as a confusion to received radio signals due to strays and undesirable signals.

1976, IEEE Power Engineering Society, Nuclear Power: Health, Safety, Waste Disposal, page 20:

(radio) An instance of atmospheric interference.


tally

(US)

(Air Traffic Control): Speedbird 123, New York, traffic at two o’clock, seven miles, a Boeing 737, west-bound, at 4000 feet.

(Pilot): New York, Speedbird 123, tally.


vestige

From French vestige, from Latin vestīgium (“footstep, footprint, track, the sole of the foot, a trace, mark”).

[J]ust a trace, or vestige, of the other sideband is included. In the receiver detection circuitry the vestige of the lower sideband is added to the upper sideband.

2003, Tarmo Anttalainen, Introduction to Telecommunications Network Engineering, page 133:

(television, radio) The remaining portion of a partially suppressed sideband.


hitchhike

hitchhikes (plural)
hitch-hike (alternative)

There are just too many diseases for each to have its own special organization, complete with radio hitchhikes, sponsored ads, expensive brochures, pledge cards, team captains and collection envelopes.

1952, Frank Emerson Andrews, Corporation Giving, page 183:

(radio, advertising) Alternative form of hitchhiker (“advertisement at the end of a programme”).


variety

en-noun

variety (countable and uncountable, plural varieties)

varieties (plural)
variete (alternative)
varietie (alternative)
variëty (alternative)

From Middle French varieté (“variety”) (modern French variété (“variety; genre, type”)) or directly from its etymon Latin varietās (“difference; diversity, variety”) + English -ty (suffix forming abstract nouns from adjectives); by surface analysis, various + -ety. Varietās is derived from varius (“different, diverse, various; variegated”) (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁weh₂- (“to abandon; to give out; to leave”)) + -tās (suffix forming feminine abstract nouns indicating a state of being). The English word displaced the native Old English mislīcnes.
Sense 1.3.2 (“total number of distinct states of a system; logarithm to the base 2 of the total number of distinct states of a system”) was coined by the English psychiatrist William Ross Ashby (1903–1972) in his work An Introduction to Cybernetics (1956).
Cognates
* Galician variedade (“variety”)
* Italian varietà (“difference; variety”)
* Portuguese variedade (“variety”)
* Spanish variedad (“breed; variety”)

der

(radio, television, theater) Ellipsis of variety performance or variety show (“a type of entertainment featuring a succession of short, unrelated performances by various artistes such as (depending on the medium) acrobats, comedians, dancers, magicians, singers, etc.”).

variety performance
variety performance#English

variety performance or variety show

(radio, television, theater) The kind of entertainment given in variety performances or shows; also, the production of, or performance in, variety performances or shows.


grinder

From Middle English grinder, grindere, from Old English grindere (“one or that which grinds; grinder”), equivalent to grind + -er.

inh

(radio, informal) Atmospheric interference producing a roaring background noise.


mush

en-noun

mush (countable and uncountable, plural mushes)

Probably a variant of mash, or from a dialectal variant of Middle English mos (“mush, pulp, porridge”); compare Middle English appelmos (“applesauce”), from Old English mōs (“food, victuals, porridge, mush”), from Proto-West Germanic *mōs, from Proto-Germanic *mōsą (“porridge, food”), from Proto-Indo-European *meh₂d- (“wet, fat, dripping”).
Cognate with Scots moosh (“mush”), Dutch moes (“pulp, mush, porridge”), German Mus (“jam, puree, mush”), Swedish mos (“pulp, mash, mush”).

der

(radio) A mixture of noise produced by the harmonics of continuous-wave stations.


fringe

From Middle English frenge, from Old French frenge, from Vulgar Latin *frimbia, a metathesis of Latin fimbriae (“fibers, threads, fringe”, plural), of uncertain origin. Compare German Franse and Danish frynse. Eclipsed native Middle English fnæd (“fringe”), Middle English byrd (“fringe”), Middle English fasel (“fringe”) from Old English fæs (“fringe”), and Old English fnæs (“fringe”). Doublet of fimbria.

(television, radio) A daypart that precedes or follows prime time.


watershed

Compound of water + shed. Calque of German Wasserscheide.

(Canada, British, television, radio) The time during the day which material of a more adult nature (e.g., violence, swear words, or sex) may be broadcast on television or radio, either one permitted by law or one contrived from convention (e.g. when children are not watching).

dos rombos

time after which adult material may be broadcast


skip

From Middle English skippen, skyppen, of North Germanic origin, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *skupjaną, perhaps related to *skeubaną (“to drive, push”), iterative *skuppōną (“to push/move repeatedly, skip”), from Proto-Indo-European *skewbʰ- (“to push, throw, shake”).
Related to Icelandic skopa (“to take a run”), Old Swedish skuppa (“to skip”), modern dialectal Swedish skopa, skimpa (“to skip, leap”), and English shove. See also dialectal English skimp (“to mock”) (Etymology 1), considered by some to be related.


quad

Shortened, via clipping or abbreviation, from various English terms. Ultimately related to Latin quattuor (“4”); compare quadri-, quadruple.
The typography senses are from the abbreviation quad. for obsolete quadrat; the keyboard command comes from the verb sense.

Clipping of quadruplet (“a set of four; one of a set of four”).

(radio) A quad antenna, a directional radio antenna consisting of multiple loop antennas.


wilco

Wilco, Bravo Six Three will take the north road. Bravo Six Four will take the south road, out.

(radio communications) Indicates agreement and compliance.


wilco

en-verb

wilco (third-person singular simple present wilcos, present participle wilcoing, simple past and past participle wilcoed)

wilcos (present singular third-person)
wilcoing (participle present)
wilcoed (participle past)
wilcoed (past)

(radio communications, rare) To give the "wilco" indication.


transmissible

en-adj

transmissible (comparative more transmissible, superlative most transmissible)

more transmissible (comparative)
most transmissible (superlative)

(radio communications or broadcasting, of a message or program) Capable of being transmitted from a transmitter to a receiver.


cowcatcher

Hitchhiker and cowcatcher plugs will be considered.

National advertisers have probably been major contributors to this practice through the use of so-called hitchhike and cowcatcher announcements.

1945, Charles Harold Sandage, Radio Advertising for Retailers, page 185:

Sometime in the mid-40s, the Hummerts canceled Mr. Keen and Easy Aces from their early evening periods on CBS, which also killed my cowcatchers and hitchhikes.

2009, George Ansbro, I Have a Lady in the Balcony, page 138:

(radio, advertising) An advertisement at the start of a programme.


kicker

[…] international news and politics, and heavy on the light stuff: local news, entertainment and merry little kickers […]

1984, Media Report to Women, volume 12, page 46:

Instead, a reporter can carve out a niche as an entertainment/community reporter, thus concentrating their efforts on filing feature stories for the E block, where the kickers are slated. Kickers are feel-good pieces placed at the end of the newscast to leave viewers in a good mood […]

2013, Frank Barnas, Ted White, Broadcast News Writing, Reporting, and Producing, page 77:

(radio, television) A lighthearted or humorous item used to round off a news broadcast.


OB

en-noun

OB (countable and uncountable, plural OBs)

(television, radio) Initialism of outside broadcast.

(television, radio) Initialism of outside broadcasting.


tallyho

1772, UK, probably alteration of French taïaut (interjection used in deer-hunting), from Middle French tahou, tayo, from Old French taho, ta ho, tielau (interjection given to hounds to return) (second half of 13th century), composed of ta (particle used to prod animals) + ho ! (“halt!, hold!”). More at ho.

uder

(Air Traffic Control): Speedbird 123, New York, traffic at two o’clock, seven miles, a Boeing 737, west-bound, at 4000 feet.”

(Pilot): New York, Speedbird 123, tallyho.


continuity

en-noun

continuity (countable and uncountable, plural continuities)

Borrowed from Middle French continuité, from Latin continuitas. By surface analysis, continu(e) + -ity.

(uncountable, radio, television) The announcements and messages inserted by the broadcaster between programmes.


VOA

Abramowitz said that the order left VOA unable to carry out its "vital mission... especially critical today, when America's adversaries, like Iran, China, and Russia, are sinking billions of dollars into creating false narratives to discredit the United States".

2025 March 16, Thomas Mackintosh & Merlyn Thomas, “Trump moves to close down Voice of America”, in BBC:

(US, radio) Initialism of Voice of America.


opt-out

opt-out (countable and uncountable, plural opt-outs)

National television channels (descendant network) with regional or local slots or opt-outs: […]

1995, Pierre Musso, Philippe Souêtre, Lionel Levasseur, The Printed Press and Television in the Regions of Europe:

There is no limitation to the number of regional and local opt-outs that France 3 can operate; nor are there any guidelines in the channel's remit as to the length and content of such news programmes.

2003, Michael Scriven, Emily Roberts, Group Identities on French and British Television, page 27:

(television, radio, countable) A regional broadcast that other stations in the network may elect not to include.


ROC

(statistics, radio) Initialism of receiver operating characteristic.


smear

smear (countable and uncountable, plural smears)

From Middle English smeren, smerien, from Old English smerian, smyrian, smierwan (“to anoint or rub with grease, oil, etc.”), from Proto-West Germanic *smirwijan, from Proto-Germanic *smirwijaną. Doublet of schmear.
Cognate with Saterland Frisian smeere, Dutch smeren, Low German smeren, German schmieren.

In television terms, a certain amount of smear, ringing, and anticipatory overshoot are indigenous to VSB transmission.

1954, Radio & Television News: Radio-electronic engineering section:

Results show the reduction in intelligibility produced by changing the filter condition was much greater than reductions caused by altering smear duration.

1972, Scientific and Technical Aerospace Reports:

(radio, television, uncountable) Any of various forms of distortion that make a signal harder to see or hear.


HT

HT (countable and uncountable, plural HTs)


pirate radio

pirate radio (countable and uncountable, plural pirate radios)

(radio) The act or practice of broadcasting without having the necessary license that covers the territory where the signals are received.

ràdio pirata

radio station without the necessary license


frequency modulation

frequency modulation (countable and uncountable, plural frequency modulations)

(sound, radio) the use of a modulating wave to vary the instantaneous frequency of a carrier wave


hitchhiker

hitchhikers (plural)
hitch-hiker (alternative)

[…] and networks have taken steps to modify or eliminate the bunching of spots and commercials between programs which results from the use of hitchhikers and cowcatchers.

1945, Charles Harold Sandage, Radio Advertising for Retailers, page 186:

(radio, advertising) An advertisement at the end of a programme.


amplitude modulation

amplitude modulation (countable and uncountable, plural amplitude modulations)

(radio) A method of sending information by modifying (modulating) the intensity (amplitude) of a carrier wave.


doublet

doublets (plural)
doubtlet (alternative)

From Middle English doublet, a borrowing from Old French doublet, from double, duble, doble + -et.

zeke

(historical in English) a man’s waistcoat


fallout

fallout (countable and uncountable, plural fallouts)

(radio, television, broadcasting) An impromptu guest used to fill in for another guest spot who is a no-show or who has cancelled last minute.


disc jockey

disc jockeys (plural)
discjockey (alternative)
disk jockey (alternative)
diskjockey (alternative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-disc jockey.wav

Disc refers to the flat, circular shape of the traditional medium for recorded music. Jockey refers to a diminutive of jock, the Northern English or Scots colloquial equivalent of the first name John, which is also used generically for “boy, or fellow” (compare Jack, Dick), at least since 1529. So, disc jockey / DJ etymologically refers to a young person playing (discs holding) music.
Coined by journalist Walter Winchell in 1935 to describe Martin Block. Appeared in print in Variety in 1941.
Previously also called record man.

coin

The show he produced first aired on WJMR, a white-owned New Orleans radio station. The show's disc jockey used the name “Poppa Stoppa” and played what would then be called “race music,” the term given to any music produced by African American artists.

2014, Dominic Massa, New Orleans Radio, Arcadia Publishing, →ISBN, page 107:

(dated, radio) A person who conducts a radio program of recorded music combined with talk, news, commercials, weather, etc.

levyjuontaja

person who conducts a radio program with recorded music


write out

en-verb

write out (third-person singular simple present writes out, present participle writing out, simple past wrote out, past participle written out)

writes out (present singular third-person)
writing out (participle present)
wrote out (past)
written out (participle past)

“Jussie Smollett continues to be a consummate professional on set and as we have previously stated, he is not being written out of the show,” 20th Century Fox Television and Fox Entertainment said in a joint statement released on Wednesday.

2019 February 20, Sopan Deb, “Fox Stands by Jussie Smollett: ‘He Is Not Being Written Out of the Show’”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(chiefly television or radio) To remove (a character in a fictional series such as a TV show) by writing the script so as to explain their disappearance (through death, moving away, etc.).


splatter

en-noun

splatter (countable and uncountable, plural splatters)

Uncertain. Emerged 1780s.https://www.etymonline.com/word/splatter Possibly a blend of splash + spatter.

(uncountable, radio) Spurious emissions resulting from an abrupt change in a transmitted radio signal.


on air

→ Japanese: オンエア (on'ea)

The broadcasting sense derives from the early use of radio, literally sending the transmission on the air waves.

Julie is on air now, presenting the weather forecast.

Channel 9 will be on air in a few minutes, giving a live broadcast.

The transmitter remained on air all through the war.

The microphone was on air, and the whole country heard the outburst.

It can get very hectic in the studio, especially when a news story breaks while we are on air.

2003, Focus on Africa: BBC Magazine - Volumes 14-15, page 43:

However, he had no contract with my Tongan friends and it was strictly against the rules to put performers on air without one.

2009, David Attenborough, Life on Air: Memoirs of a Broadcaster:

You should move to a minimal degree while you are on air.

2013, Graham Andrews, You're On Air, page 92:

The on-air studio will comprise of the equipment for recording, editing and storage – both in analog and digital formats. A hard disk based system, CDs and cassette players would form a part of the room. There will be an on-air indicator at the entrance of the room, which indicates the person entering the studio to be aware that the studio is on air, and indicates that there should not be any disturbance from the external source.

2018, M. Neelamalar, Radio Programme Production, page 174:

Taken a bit in drink one evening, and live on air, Davey got into terrible trouble by varying his standard opening words with the memorable line" when roses are red, they're ready to pluck; when girls are sixteen, they're ready to...

(radio, television, broadcasting) Broadcasting or transmitting through the medium of radio or television.

Don't interrupt while the program is on air.

This show isn't on air at the moment — it's only on in the summer.

The popular television series was on air for ten years before it finally ended.

Was his interview on air?

We can't put this material on air.

Sack can be contacted directly when his show is on air (2-5 p.m. EST Sundays) at 1-800-TALK-YES, and welcomes brief phone questions about employment concerns at 1 -2 1 2-702-9000, extension 34.

Thus, all ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC affiliates in the top 30 markets, representing 53.5% of all U.S. households, are on air with DTV.

2004, United States. Congress. House. Committee on Energy and Commerce. Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, Advancing the DTV Transition, page 25:

Czechoslovakia, for instance, had already participated actively in the founding meetings of the IBU, whereas the Polish delegate had joined in the Geneva frequency discussions before Poland even had its own broadcasting stations on air.

2012, Suzanne Lommers, Europe - On Air: Interwar Projects for Radio Broadcasting, page 93:

Obviously, the Japanese officer was sleeping or drunk with sake, and the Allied broadcast in Japanese was broadcast on air. As the local technicians on duty did not understand Japanese, it went on air for some time.

2019, On Air: Untold Stories from Caldecott Hill:

(radio, television, broadcasting) Being, or so as to be, broadcast or transmitted by radio or television.


radio silence

radio silence (countable and uncountable, plural radio silences)

صمت إذاعي

period of time when all radio transmissions cease

杳无音讯

period of time during which nothing is heard from a person or organization

(radio) A status maintained where all fixed or mobile radio stations in an area stop transmitting (sometimes limited to certain frequency bands).

(radio) The period of time during which this status exists.


feedline

(radio) Physical cabling that carries the radio signal to and from the aerial.


beeper

→ Polish: biper, beeper

Radio "beepers" are easy: all you need is a telephone, and you can basically have an overseas conversation with any DJ or radio news director in America.

2009, Keith Oliver, Command Attention: Promoting Your Organization the Marine Corps Way, page 11:

(radio, informal) A broadcast interview taking place over the telephone (originally having to include a beeping sound to indicate that it was not a live broadcast).


anchorman

From anchor + man. Senses 1 and 4 derive from sense 2, sense 3 is literal.

(television, radio) The main host of a television or radio program, particularly one relating to the broadcast of news.

مُذِيع أَخْبَار

muḏīʕ ʔaḵbār


hit parade

Elvis joins the hit parade this week with his song “Hound Dog”.

(music, radio, dated) A list of the most popular songs at the moment.


toss-up question

toss-up question (plural toss-up questions)

(television, radio) During a classroom quiz or game show, a question posed to two or more opponents where both are able to answer by signaling, and depending on the rules, the one that responds with a correct answer either takes control of the game or proceeds to advance to a subsequent round.


DSC

DSC (countable and uncountable, plural DSCs)

(nautical, radio telephony) Initialism of digital selective call, a feature that allows a VHF radio to call another VHF selectively (as opposed to a call that is repeated by all receivers that are on within the range of the caller).


presenter

master of ceremonies
master of ceremonies

(radio, television) Someone who presents a broadcast programme; a compere or master of ceremonies.

aanbieder

someone who presents a broadcast programme


ident

In 1999 Chaudoir and fellow BBC designer Tim Platt were given the task of rebranding the existing BBC2 idents.

(radio, television) A brief audio or audiovisual sequence serving to identify the broadcaster.


billboard

→ Polish: billboard

أَفِيش

large advertisement along side of highway

The closing billboard features Como as the spokesman.

1975, Television/Radio Age, volume 22, page 52:

[…] the opening billboard identifying Chase as the sponsor […]

1981, Broadcasting, volume 100, page 22:

(television, radio) An opening or closing portion of a program, often including credits and sponsors' names.


wraparound

wraparound (countable and uncountable, plural wraparounds)

wraparounds (plural)
wrap-around (alternative)

răpˈˈˈˈˈˈˈ -ə-round

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-wraparound.wav

(countable, television, radio) A segment where material featuring one person (such as a reporter) is introduced and concluded by another person.


radiogram

Either:
* a blend of radio + gram(ophone); or
* a clipping of radiogram(ophone).

/ˈɹeɪ.di.əˌɡɹæm/

She comes in with a worried, puzzled expression. Then her spirits suddenly revive; she switches on the radiogram and dances gaily for her own amusement.

1935, Michael Egan, The Dominant Sex: A Play in Three Acts, London: Victor Gollancz, →OCLC, Act III, scene i, page 86:

Inter-train radio communication facilities between the Royal and pilot trains are provided, as well as train to land station contact, and the lounges throughout the train have radiograms. The King's study will have a radio receiving set of wide range.

1947 January–February, “South African Royal Train”, in The Railway Magazine, London: Tothill Press, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 36:

He opens the plywood door that conceals the radiogram. The record is already on the turntable: Miles Davis letting loose.

2017, Fiona Farrell, Decline and Fall on Savage Street, Auckland: RHNZ Vintage, →ISBN, page 96:

(radio, historical) Synonym of radiogramophone (“a gramophone record player that incorporates a radio receiver”).


VOC

VSC

volatile sulphur compound/volatile sulfur compound

(Canada, radio, historical) Voice of Canada; former name of RCI (Radio Canada International)


prime time

prime-time (alternative)
primetime (alternative)
prymtyme (alternative archaic)

(television, radio) The block of programming on television during the middle of the evening, usually between 7:00 pm and 11:00 pm.


prime time

(television, radio) Showing or broadcasting during prime time.


transcribed

a transcribed drama series

(radio) Prerecorded for later broadcasting.


dawn chorus

/dɔːn ˈkɔːɹəs/

[T]he dawn chorus usually has a characteristic chirpy sound, but at times changes into a hiss not unlike tube noise. […] Several investigators, including the author, have at times noticed a tendency for the dawn chorus to change intensity for a short period immediately following some lightning strokes. This may indicate a change in propagation conditions due to the electromagnetic or ionization effect of the strokes.

1956 September 14, Harold E. Dinger, “The Dawn Chorus”, in Whistling Atmospherics (NRL Report; 4825), Washington, D.C.: Naval Research Laboratory, →OCLC, page 14:

It is known that chorus, or ‘dawn chorus’, exhibits a pronounced diurnal variation in its occurrence and that different stations show different local times for the diurnal maxima. These maxima have been shown to be a function of geomagnetic latitude […]

1960 January 9, Joseph H. Pope, “Effect of Latitude on Diurnal Maximum of ‘Dawn Chorus’”, in Nature: A Weekly Journal of Science, volume 185, number 4706, London: Macmillan and Co.; New York, N.Y.: St. Martin’s Press, →OCLC, page 87, column 1:

The frequency spectrum (Fig. 1) includes micropulsations (Pₜ, P_c, LP_c, PP, SIP, IPDP), gyromagnetic resonances, Schumann resonance, solar whistlers[…], dawn chorus, hiss, whistlers and sferics.

1964, D[avid] F[ranklin] Bleil, “Introductory Talk”, in D. F. Bleil, editor, Natural Electromagnetic Phenomena below 30 kc/s: Proceedings of a NATO Advanced Study Institute Held in Bad Homburg, Germany, July 22 – August 2, 1963, New York, N.Y.: Plenum Press, →OCLC, page 2:

Both authors used data from other stations to show that the time of maximum dawn chorus activity increased with geomagnetic latitude. [G. McK.] Allcock argued that this characteristic could be related to the precipitation of positively charged solar particles that might produce the dawn chorus by exciting proton plasma oscillations in the outer ionosphere. These oscillations would then reach the earth in the whistler mode.

1965, Robert A. Helliwell, “History”, in Whistlers and Related Ionospheric Phenomena, Mineola, N.Y.: Dover Publications, published 2006, →ISBN, page 21:

Alvin Lucier's (US) Sferics (1980) is a recording ot electromagnetic "tweaks," "bonks," and "swishes" originating in the ionosphere, the result of self-immolating meteorites, the dawn chorus, and the Aurora Borealis.

2006, Nicolas Collins, “Circuit Sniffing: Using Radios and Coils to Eavesdrop on Hidden Electromagnetic Music”, in Handmade Electronic Music: The Art of Hardware Hacking, New York, N.Y.; London: Routledge, →ISBN, page 12:

(electromagnetism, radio) Radio interference sometimes experienced at sunrise.

aamukuoro

radio interference sometimes experienced at sunrise


top 40

top 40 (countable and uncountable, plural top 40s)

top 40s (plural)
Top 40 (alternative)
top forty (alternative)

I was listening to a top 40 radio station.

Nearly every history of Top 40 launches from an anecdote about how radio station manager Todd Storz came up with the idea sometime between World War II and the early 1950s, watching with friends in a bar in Omaha as customers repeatedly punched up the same few songs on the jukebox.

2014, Eric Weisbard, Top 40 Democracy […] , University of Chicago Press, →ISBN, page 4:

(music, radio, uncountable) A radio format for popular music, usually including the 40 most popular songs at a given time.


free to air

(television, radio, of a broadcast) Transmitted without encryption.


cume

Compare cume to the number of shoppers that go into a supermarket. Let's imagine that the station has no listeners and the supermarket has no shoppers.

2011, Gary Dahl, Advertising For Dummies
If a particular station has a cume of 250,000, but most listeners are women and only a very few are within your target demo, then this 250,000 figure doesn't help you.

(radio, television) Cumulative audience.


playlist

/ˈpɫæɪ̯ˌɫɪst/

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-playlist.wav

(radio) A list of recorded songs scheduled to be played on a radio station.


radio-frequency identification

(radio, telecommunications) The storage and retrieval of data using tags attached to individual packages, animals or people; the tags contain an integrated circuit to store and process the data, and an antenna to transmit and receive such data.


FAB

Coined by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson for the TV series Thunderbirds (1965-1966), from fab,
clipping of fabulous.

F.A.B. (alternative)
F. A. B. (alternative)
F-A-B (alternative)
F.-A.-B. (alternative)

"Okay, FAB. Over and out."

1986, Márcio Souza, The order of the day: an unidentified flying opus:

It was great to report back to Mike and Jason on this knowing they were eager to hear that everything was operational. F.A.B. Virgil!

2011, Norman Beech, The Atlantic Job - A Dad and a Lad, FilamentPublishing Ltd, →ISBN, page 69:

“Understood. F.A.B., sir.” Their pilot hung the microphone back on its hook.

2013, Andrez Bergen, Who is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa?, John Hunt Publishing, →ISBN:

(radio, telecommunications, humorous) Used to acknowledge that a message has been received and understood.


RCI

(Canada, radio) Initialism of Radio Canada International.


subchannel

(radio) A distinct division of a channel or frequency band.


QSO

en-verb

QSO (third-person singular simple present QSOs, present participle QSOing, simple past and past participle QSOed)

QSOs (present singular third-person)
QSOing (participle present)
QSOed (participle past)
QSOed (past)

The basic award is issued when 500 countries have been successfully QSOed on the three bands.

1993, CQ: The Radio Amateurs' Journal, volume 49, numbers 7-12, page 66:

(ambitransitive, radio slang) To communicate (with) by means of amateur radio.


silent key

(radio, slang) A deceased ham radio operator.


RQQ

(radio astronomy) Initialism of RadioQuiet Quasar.


talk radio

(radio) A radio program format consisting of discussions regarding topical or controversial issues.


radioland

The circus people might be a bit odd, but any discomfort along those lines tends to pale against being known in radioland as New York's version of Dogpatch.

1998 September 19, Glenn Collins, “A Little Town and the Big Top; After Months of Traveling, Circus Settles in New Home”, in The New York Times:

(radio, broadcasting) The radio broadcasting industry.

Hello, all my friends out there in Radioland—this is your friend Melba Melsing, here to sing melodious melodies from faraway lands just for you. . . .

1985, Gloria Vanderbilt, Once Upon a Time: A True Story, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, →ISBN, page 135:

(radio, broadcasting) The notional place where an audience is listening to a radio program.


variety show

(radio, television, theater) A type of entertainment featuring a succession of short, unrelated performances by various artistes such as (depending on the medium) acrobats, comedians, dancers, magicians, singers, etc.


very high frequency

(broadcasting, radio, television) The frequency area from 30 MHz through 300 MHz, commonly used for radio and TV broadcasting.


sporadic E

(radio) A meteorological phenomenon where radio waves above a certain frequency are reflected in the atmospheric E region, allowing these radio waves to be received in distances up to 1,200 miles.


QSL card

(radio) A postcard confirming a successful reception of a radio signal on amateur radio, usually sent via the QSL bureau.


intermediate frequency

en-noun

intermediate frequency (plural intermediate frequencies)

intermediate frequencies (plural)
IF (alternative)

(radio) A frequency to which a carrier frequency is shifted as an intermediate step in transmission or reception; generally associated with superheterodyne receivers.


daytimer

And, as you know, most of the black broadcasters and Mexican-American broadcasters and minority broadcasters in the United States have wound up with the dog stations in various markets, mainly daytimers. Very few of us are in the large markets […]

1979, United States. Congress. House. Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce. Subcommittee on Communications, The Communications Act of 1979: Hearings, page 339:

(US, radio) An AM radio station that is only allowed to broadcast during the daytime.


single-sideband modulation

single-sideband modulation (countable and uncountable, plural single-sideband modulations)

amplitude modulation
amplitude modulation

(radio) A modification of amplitude modulation that modulates the output signal on a single sideband only, as opposed to both sidebands.


effective radiated power

effective radiated power (countable and uncountable, plural effective radiated powers)

(radio) the energy of a radio frequency, determined by multiplying the transmitter power output with the antenna gain.


height above average terrain

height above average terrain (plural heights above average terrain)

(radio) The height of a radio transmitter, including the antenna, as compared to the average terrain height in the surrounding area between three and sixteen kilometers from the antenna site.


co-channel interference

co-channel interference (plural co-channel interferences)

(radio) interference caused by two stations transmitting on the same frequency


roger that

Extension of roger for received in radio traffic (by 1950), the pronoun referring to the last information received; in use by 1969, popularised at first by radio transmissions from NASA's Apollo missions, later in military fiction.

1969 "Capsule Communicator: '11, this is Houston. We've completed the trunnion zero bias setting. You can retrieve the computer and go to BLOCK.' Commander (Neil A. Armstrong): 'Roger that. Thank you.' ", Apollo 11 Air-to-Ground Voice Transcription (Tape 4/5, mission time 5h 16 min), 16 July 1969.

1974 "This is the book for everybody who ever groaned under the onslaught of trivia transmitted by the astronauts ('This sunset is really something, Houston...' 'Roger that...'). review of M. Collins, "Carrying the Fire", Flying Magazine, November 1974, p. 108.

1989 "'It's going to blow visibility to shit, too.' 'Roger that.'" Tom Clancy, Clear and Present Danger, p. 506.

(radio telecommunications) Received (used in radio communications to acknowledge that a message has been received and understood)


quadrature amplitude modulation

quadrature amplitude modulation (countable and uncountable, plural quadrature amplitude modulations)

quadrature amplitude modulations (plural)

(radio) A modulation scheme that conveys data by applying amplitude modulation to two carrier waves at once. These two waves, usually sinusoids, are out of phase with each other by 90° and are thus called quadrature carriers. Commonly abbreviated QAM.


closedown

closedown (countable and uncountable, plural closedowns)

(radio, television) The point when a radio or television station shuts down transmission and goes off the air for a predetermined period, as used to happen overnight.

Sendeschluss

the point when a radio or television station shuts down transmission


skywave

(radio) An electromagnetic wave refracted back to the Earth by the ionosphere.


Q code

(radio) code used as a shorthand for common messages, consisting of sequences all beginning with Q

(radio) specific code from the aforementioned set


RST code

Standing for Readability, Strength and (for nonvoice communication) Tone.

(radio) A code used to express the quality of a radio signal being received.


DX

(radio) Long-distance contact with or reception of a distant radio station.


DX

en-verb

DX (third-person singular simple present DXs, present participle DXing, simple past and past participle DXed)

DXs (present singular third-person)
DXing (participle present)
DXed (participle past)
DXed (past)

(radio) To receive and identify a long-distance broadcast, such as one by a distant AM, FM, or TV broadcast station.


QRM

(uncountable, radio jargon) electromagnetic interference


makegood

makegoods (plural)
make-good (alternative)

(television, radio, advertising) A rerun of an advertisement to make up for previous cancellation or error by the broadcaster.


dish antenna

en-noun

dish antenna (plural dish antennae or dish antennas)

dish antennae (plural)
dish antennas (plural)


horn antenna

horn antenna (plural horn antennae or horn antennas)

horn antennae (plural)
horn antennas (plural)

(radio) A microwave antenna consisting of an open waveguide of increasing size towards the aperture


bandspread

(radio) A form of tuning control (especially on old shortwave radios) that spread all the stations of a particular band over the full extent of the dial.


maximum usable frequency

maximum usable frequency (plural maximum usable frequencies)

(radio) The highest frequency that allows radio waves to be reflected off the ionosphere.


zoo format

(radio) A radio programme format with several presenters chatting informally among themselves.


high frequency

high frequency (countable and uncountable, plural high frequencies)

(radio) The frequency area from 3 MHz through 30 MHz, commonly used for radio broadcasting.


base station

(radio) A radio transceiver permanently or semipermanently installed in a fixed location on land, typically used to communicate with mobile stations and/or other base stations


FRS

Family Radio Service
w:Family Radio Service

(radio) Initialism of Family Radio Service.


handy talkie

handy talkies (plural)
handie talkie (alternative)

(radio) a hand-held portable transceiver


base radio

(radio) A wireless communications station installed at a fixed location and used to communicate as part of a two-way radio system or wireless telephone system.


roger beep

(radio) A tone or tones added to the end of a radio transmission to indicate that the operator has finished speaking, usually added automatically by a power mic or transceiver.


citizens' band radio

citizens' band radio (countable and uncountable, plural citizens' band radios)

citizens' band radios (plural)
CB (alternative)
CB radio (alternative)

(radio) A publicly available system of short-distance radio communications, usable by individuals or businesses without a license.

(radio) A radio transceiver capable of operating on the band designated for this system.


radiogramophone

There was a bare wooden floor, and in one corner a large radiogramophone.

1952, Doris Lessing, Martha Quest, Panther, published 1974, page 195:

(radio, historical) A gramophone record player that incorporates a radio receiver.


guard band

guard bands (plural)
guardband (alternative)

(radio, telecommunications) An unused part of the radio spectrum between bands, for the purpose of preventing interference.


SWR

standing wave ratio
standing wave ratio#English

(radio) Initialism of standing wave ratio.


Yagi-Uda antenna

Yagi-Uda antenna (plural Yagi-Uda antennas)

Named after Japanese engineers Hidetsugu Yagi and Shintaro Uda.

(radio) A type of directional antenna with one driven element and one or more parasitic elements; a directional radio or TV antenna consisting of two or more dipoles in the same plane with all dipoles parallel to each other.

Hidetsugu Yagi
Shintaro Uda
Yagi-Uda antenna


parasitic element

parasitic element (plural parasitic elements)

(radio) An antenna element that receives and re-emits energy from the driven element, which has an effect on the performance of the antenna.


driven element

(radio) An element of an antenna that receives power directly from the transmitter.


dipole antenna

dipole antenna (plural dipole antennas or dipole antennae)

dipole antennas (plural)
dipole antennae (plural)

(radio) An antenna with a single, linear element, so energized that the RF current has a node only at each end.

dipoliantenni

antenna with single, linear element, so energized that the RF current has a node only at each end


antenna switch

antenna switch (plural antenna switches)

(radio) A switch allows one to select which antenna to use with a transmitter, receiver, or transceiver


autopatch

(radio) A device that allows users to make telephone calls via a repeater


NRAO

National Radio Astronomy Observatory
w:National Radio Astronomy Observatory

(astronomy, radio astronomy) Initialism of National Radio Astronomy Observatory.


numbers station

numbers station (plural numbers stations)

The most common numbers station features a young lady reading the numbers in Spanish. Other stations have both male and female voices reading numbers in Spanish, German, English and Chinese. So far, nobody has been able to decode any of the messages!

October 1986, William O'Connell, “Get On The Air”, in Boys' Life, volume 76, number 10, page 35:

Naturally enough, no government has actually admitted to operating a numbers station, but the suspicion is there.

2012, Ripley's Believe It Or Not! (compiler), Ripley's Unbelievable Stories For Guys:

(radio, espionage) A shortwave radio station characterized by unusual broadcasts, often of artificially generated voices reciting streams of numbers, words, etc., supposedly of coded messages.


angertainment

Here in the media, meanwhile, much of what used to be called journalism has morphed into "angertainment," which is to say a bunch of shouting over who's to blame for this future of less.

2009 December 23, John McCarron, “Solutions for a nation stuck in low gear”, in Chicago Tribune:

The resulting anger makes for yell radio and TV angertainment.

2012, Wayne Roberts, “Thank you, Rob Ford”, in Now, Toronto, 5 January - 12 January 2012, Volume 31, Number 19:

“We’re doing a lot better on this planet than the angertainment industry would have us believe. But Rush Limbaugh and Bill Maher don’t want you to think that way. And they are very good at it. It’s very profitable for them. […]

2013 February 18, Tim Krohn, “Big Ideas speaker says change doesn’t require new laws”, in Mankato Free Press:

(radio, television, derogatory) A type of programming, especially talk shows and talk radio, which is characterized by anger or which provokes anger in its audience.


voicer

This is a news report from the scene of the event. When a voicer and an actuality are combined into one complete story, it's known as a wrap.

2005, Alan R. Stephenson, David E. Reese, Mary E. Beadle, Broadcast Announcing Worktext, page 164:

These reports usually come in the form of voice reports, or voicers, and voice-actuality reports.

2015, Carl Hausman, Frank Messere, Philip Benoit, Modern Radio and Audio Production: Programming and Performance:

(television, radio) A spoken report to be broadcast.


radio star

From radio + star; see star (“celebrity”).

(radio) A celebrity famous for appearances in radio broadcasts.


diplex

en-verb

diplex (third-person singular simple present diplexes, present participle diplexing, simple past and past participle diplexed)

diplexes (present singular third-person)
diplexing (participle present)
diplexed (participle past)
diplexed (past)

(radio) To simulcast the same signal on two frequencies.

(radio) To combine two signals using two frequencies onto one cable.


graveyard slot

From graveyard + slot, from the analogy of death to absence, see also dead air, dead silence/dead silent.

(television, radio) A time period, especially very late at night, during which the audience is very small compared to other times of the day.


daypart

Prime time is the daypart with the most viewers.

(television, radio) A part of the day in which a type of radio or television program apropos for that time period is aired.

műsoridő

part of the day in which a type of radio or television program is aired


daypart

daypart (third-person singular simple present dayparts, present participle dayparting, simple past and past participle dayparted)

dayparts (present singular third-person)
dayparting (participle present)
dayparted (participle past)
dayparted (past)

Much like TV and radio, programming on the Station will be dayparted. Mornings will contain more music news, afternoons will have a heavy promotional focus on Streamland's and SonicNet's Addicted to Noise Web sites, and nights will focus on live entertainment.

1998 March 14, Ed Christman, “Trans World Earnings Set Record in '97”, in Billboard, volume 110, number 11, page 111:

A lot of Top 40 stations were heavily dayparted, so softer stuff only got played in the daytime, or harder stuff only got played at night.

2005 June 2, Florence Henderson Had A Mullet [username], “Re: Billboard top 100 of 1983”, in alt.culture.us.1980s (Usenet):

(television, radio, transitive) To divide the broadcasting day of (a station) into periods airing different types of material.

Like most R&B stations, rap is dayparted after 6 p.m. but shunned between the hours of 9 p.m. and midnight, when the station runs its quiet storm show.

1994 June 25, Phyllis Stark, “Community Involvement Sends WCKX To Top”, in Billboard, volume 106, number 26, page 106:

WMGI's new format, of which I heard a mere 20 minutes last night around 8, seemed to be brighter and much more uptempo. I imagine they've got the youngest stuff (i.e., the rap) dayparted into evenings only, and are being much less adventurous mornings.

1995 January 4, Jim Grey, “Terre Haute Radio News 1-1-95”, in rec.radio.broadcasting (Usenet):

(television, radio, transitive) To assign (material) to such a period.


dayparting

(television, radio) The practice of dividing the broadcast day into several dayparts.


CTCSS

(radio) Initialism of continuous tone-coded squelch system.


groundwave

groundwaves (plural)
ground wave (alternative)

(radio) A signal that propagates along the surface of the Earth.

Bodenwelle

signal propagating along the earth surface


superregeneration

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-superregeneration.wav

(radio) The superregenerative technique.


TRF

(radio) Initialism of tuned radio frequency.


step on

step on (third-person singular simple present steps on, present participle stepping on, simple past and past participle stepped on)

steps on (present singular third-person)
stepping on (participle present)
stepped on (participle past)
stepped on (past)

(radio communications, transitive) To interrupt, overpower, or override (another transmission on the same frequency) with one's own transmission.


AFRA

An upcoming problem to be thrashed out at a meeting of diskery reps and execs of the American Federation of Radio Artists (AFRA), is the degree of AFRA's jurisdictional claim over singers on records. AFRA has claimed the jurisdiction generally, and for some months has been having exploratory talks with diskeries.

1950 October 28, “Diskers, AFRA Puzzle Singer Jurisdictions”, in Billboard, page 13:

American Federation of Radio Artists
w:American Federation of Radio Artists

(historical, radio) Initialism of American Federation of Radio Artists.


voice wrap

For example, one radio bulletin may feature one central issue, like a state election, and will focus on that issue. The bulletin might contain only a few voice wraps but many grabs, leaving the focus firmly on the newsreader.

2008, Melissa Agnew, Here is the (Australian) News:

A voice-actuality report is constructed in the manner of a voice wrap, the editing and production structure explained in Chapter 5.

(radio) A spoken segment by a single narrator that surrounds other material.


talkover

en-noun

talkover (countable and uncountable, plural talkovers)

(film, radio, television, broadcasting) An instance of commentary or narration in a broadcast, film, piece of performed music, etc.


jockless

Then CBS fired them outright this summer as part of a national purge. The station now features a bland, jockless eighties-heavy playlist.

2006, Chicago, volume 55, numbers 10-12, page 30:

Unfortunately, there is now a trend for large station conglomerates to run “jockless” stations—music preprogrammed and run by computer with only a single person providing station-imaging announcements.

2006, Marjorie Eberts, Careers for Culture Lovers & Other Artsy Types, page 85:

When a station voice-tracks or employs a jukebox format like Jack or Bob or John or any of the dozen or so jockless formats now popular in the industry, it strips the one thing that radio has over the alternative digital formats... it strips away the personality.

2014, John Allen HEndricks, Keith's Radio Station: Broadcast, Satellite, and Internet:

(radio) Without a live disc jockey or host.


full service

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-full service.wav

WXYZ used to offer full service to listeners in the region, until it was bought out by a conglomerate and converted to become all corporate country and commercials, all the time.

(radio) A radio format consisting of a mix of music with locally produced programming and segments focusing on local issues.


upcut

en-verb

upcut (third-person singular simple present upcuts, present participle upcutting, simple past and past participle upcut)

upcuts (present singular third-person)
upcutting (participle present)
upcut (participle past)
upcut (past)

(television, radio) To cut (audio or video) too short, so that a small portion is lost or overlaps the adjoining item.


upcut

(television, radio) A cutting too short, so that a small portion is lost or overlaps the adjoining item.


inherited audience

en-noun

inherited audience (plural inherited audiences)

(radio, television) The section of a broadcast's audience who had no specific intention of viewing or listening, but who continued doing so after the immediately preceding broadcast.


phasecal

phase cal (alternative)
phase-cal (alternative)

(radio astronomy, attributive) A system that injects a frequency comb signal in order to disambiguate phase in multiple basebands downconverted from the input signal.


subchanneled

(radio, electronics, zoology) Divided into subchannels.


airshift

Announcer respondents most frequently worked a daily four-hour airshift (M = 4.23, s = 1.28; Mo = 4) , as either a morning daypart announcer (n = 60) or as an afternoon daypart announcer (n = 34)

1988, Steven Owen Shields, Creativity, Climate, and Creative Control in the Work of American Music Radio Announcers, page 113:

Canty's daily hour-long airshift on WQMC does not involve control over any other WQMC programming nor any of the station's policies.

1992, FCC Record: A Comprehensive Compilation of Decisions, Reports, Public Notices and Other Documents of the Federal Communications Commission of the United States, volume 7, numbers 9-12, page 2577:

My first gig at KMPX was a six-hour airshift each night.

1997, Michael C. Keith, Voices in the Purple Haze: Underground Radio and the Sixties, page 100:

(radio broadcasting) A block of continuous broadcast time, often four or six hours.


outcue

(radio, television) A cue indicating that a portion of broadcast material will shortly end.


topless radio

Similar to much of today's “adult talk” radio and TV, topless radio was a format in which audience members called in to discuss graphically sexual issues with hosts who tried to titillate the audience by teasing every explicit detail out of a caller.

2004, Christopher H. Sterling, editor, Encyclopedia of Radio, Routledge, →ISBN, page 2326:

(radio, dated) A radio talk show format, popular in the 1970s, focusing on intimate sexual discussion with callers.


dog station

Again, available evidence indicates that fewer than one percent of all radio and television properties are controlled by minority persons. […] Minority owners claim that only the so called "dog" stations are offered to them.

1978, United States. Federal Communications Commission. Minority Ownership Task Force, Minority Ownership in Broadcasting, page 9:

And, as you know, most of the black broadcasters and Mexican-American broadcasters and minority broadcasters in the United States have wound up with the dog stations in various markets, mainly daytimers. Very few of us are in the large markets […]

1979, United States. Congress. House. Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce. Subcommittee on Communications, The Communications Act of 1979: Hearings, page 339:

(television, radio) A minor television or radio station with little chance to succeed.


continuous wave

continuous wave (countable and uncountable, plural continuous waves)

(radio, historical, uncountable) An early method of radio transmission in which a sinusoidal carrier wave is switched on and off, and information is carried in the varying duration of the on and off periods.


police scanner

(radio, law enforcement) A scanner that is tuned to receive the frequencies used by police for their communications.


block upconverter

block upconverter (plural block upconverters)

(radio communications) An electronic device that converts a band of frequencies from a lower frequency to a higher frequency, used in satellite uplinks.


dual-frequency

(radio communications) Able to receive and operate on two different radio frequencies.


back anno

Back annos may take a very simple form such as a name check of the last voice heard on the package and stations have been known to ban their use on the basis that anything in the radio text that looks back at what has been said is redundant communication.

2002, Pete Wilby, The Radio Handbook, page 136:

The 'landing' is the back anno, which is the follow-up to the item, and which leads the listeners smoothly from the item and back into the rest of the programme ready for some more signposting, an ident or some music, perhaps, […]

2013, Guy Starkey, Radio in Context, page 131:

(radio, informal) An announcement at the end of a broadcast item and relating back to that item.


autodyne

(radio, historical) A circuit that improved radio signal amplification by means of an audion.


diagonalizer

(radio) A device that diagonalizes the branches of radio antenna in order to reduce fading


programme-maker

programme-makers (plural)
program-maker (alternative)

But there are, of course, TV programme-makers who see beyond the easy opportunities to show conflict and false jeopardy.

2021 June 30, Tim Dunn, “How we made... Secrets of the London Underground”, in RAIL, number 934, page 46:

(television, radio, British spelling) A person responsible for the creation of television or radio programmes.


talkgroup

(radio) A group of users communicating over one or more channels.


jovicline

From Jove + -cline. From Latin Jovi (“Jupiter”) (Iove, Iuppiter) + clino (“incline”) (gradient). Coined in reference to thermocline and halocline.

(planetology, radio astronomy, astrometeorology) The separation between two different depth layers of the planet Jupiter, where the microwave emission characteristics of the bands (light stripes) and belts (dark stripes) are reversed. Bands have low levels of microwave emissions compared to belts at the surface, while below the jovicline, they have higher emissions comparatively.


radio edit

From radio + edit. First use appears c. 1982 in Billboard. See cite below.

The contest calls for a 15 to 17 minute mixed program (on cassette or 7½ ips quarter-track tape reel) of West End material only, and a five minute radio edit, marked with the DJ's name and address on the box.

July 3, 1982, Brian Chin, Billboard, page 40:

(music, radio) A modified version of a song, typically truncated or censored, intended to make it more suitable for airplay.


decollimation

(optics, radio) Any mechanism in which rays either diverge or converge from parallelism


autoalarm

(nautical, radio) An automatic radio receiver on a ship, for picking up distress calls.


slant range

slant range (usually uncountable, plural slant ranges)

From it being the distance measured along the usually-slanted line connecting two points in space, rather than purely the horizontal or vertical distance between the two.

(radio, communication) The distance from one point to another in three-dimensional space.


LBC

“No, I wouldn’t approve of it. And no, I don’t think it would get through parliament,” he told LBC.

2022 October 3, Damian Green, quotee, “Tory MPs plot to avert welfare squeeze after humiliating U-turns”, in The Guardian:

(UK, radio) Initialism of London Broadcasting Company, a British phone-in and talk radio station.


cone of silence

cone of silence (plural cones of silence)

(radio) A hypothetical device or instrument which prevents eavesdropping on a private conversation.


CHR

Commercial stations with a CHR or revised AOR format also jumped on the metal bandwagon in the late 1980s by integrating some metal songs into their general playlists.

2009, Deena Weinstein, Heavy Metal: The Music And Its Culture, Hachette UK, →ISBN:

(radio) Initialism of contemporary hit radio.


copy that

Lamin: "Please, listen to me carefully. We are not proceeding – the ship to go to Malta. But the situation is very bad. […] We are 19 women, 12 children. Please help us."
 AFM: "Copy that, sir."

2021 March 26, Dialika Neufeld, “Three Teenage Refugees on Trial in Malta”, in Der Spiegel, archived from the original on 2022-04-26:

(radio or colloquial) Used to acknowledge receipt and understanding of a message; understood, got it.


rgr

(radio telecommunications) Abbreviation of roger.


VOV

(Vietnam, radio) Initialism of Voice of Vietnam.


buzz track

(film, television, radio) A background audio track containing room tone.


ICW

(radio) Initialism of interrupted continuous wave.


multicoupler

(radio, television) A device that splits the signal from an antenna into many receiver connections.


seelonce

Borrowed from French silence. Doublet of silence.

seelonce mayday

(radio, used in fixed interjections) Pronunciation spelling of French silence.


boat anchor

Suggesting that it would only be useful as a weight to be thrown overboard to moor a vessel.

(slang, radio, computing) A cumbersome, useless piece of equipment.


LUHF

(radio) Initialism of lowest usable high frequency.


LAA

LAA (countable and uncountable, plural LAAs)

(radio, uncountable) Initialism of license-assisted access.


time lady

the time lady (canonical)
Time Lady (alternative)

(radio, telephony) A female voice that is heard on a speaking clock that a person could dial to find out the current time, down to the second, before the age of the Internet and other options for finding out the time existed.


equal time

equal time (countable and uncountable, plural equal times)

(US, radio, television) A policy stating that radio and television licensees are required to offer opposing political candidates an equal amount of airtime.


time spent listening

(US, radio, communication) The amount of time that an average listener that is surveyed spends listening to each radio station at one time, before changing the station or turning it off.

(US, radio, communication) An estimate of the duration of time that the average listener is exposed to a particular station for a specific time period.


aircraft station

aircraft station (plural aircraft stations)

(radio, aeronautics) A radio station broadcast from an aircraft.


time diversity

time diversity (countable and uncountable, plural time diversities)

(radio, telecommunications) The process of sending the same signal or components of a signal through a communication channel where the same signal is received at different times, used in order to compare, recover, or add to the overall quality of the received signal.


pulse repetition time

pulse repetition time (countable and uncountable, plural pulse repetition times)

(electronics, radio) The elapsed time from the beginning of one pulse to the beginning of the next pulse.


repetition time

repetition time (countable and uncountable, plural repetition times)

(radio, electronics) The amount of time from the application of an excitation pulse to the application of the next pulse.


capture effect

(radio) A phenomenon where two FM signals of unequal strength at or near the same frequency are received simultaneously within the FM reception, in which the modulation of the weaker signal is suppressed at the demodulator output, and thus only the stronger is demodulated.


back-timing

(radio, television, media) A technique used in radio, television, and mass media to calculate the amount of remaining time before an event or task ends, by counting down backwards from the end of the program, in order to ensure that the event concludes on time or within a specific time limit.


TTSL

(radio) Initialism of total time spent listening.


clear-channel

(US, radio) Of or relating to those AM radio stations having the highest level of protection from interference from other stations, particularly from nighttime skywave signals.


pirate radio station

pirate radio station (plural pirate radio stations)

(radio) An illegal radio station that broadcasts without a license.


tell story

(radio, television) A report read out by an announcer, without additional audio or video footage.


signal tracer

(electronics, radio) A piece of electronic test equipment used to troubleshoot radio and other electronic circuitry.


liner card

(radio) A card bearing schedule information, slogans, quips, etc. for use by the disc jockey or announcer.


ROSR

(radio) Acronym of radio on-scene report.


Internet radio

Internet radio (countable and uncountable, plural Internet radios)

(Internet, radio) A digital radio service that is transmitted by means of the Internet.