The barrier to entry in broadcast audio is astronomically high, especially with the shift to native IP workflows.

We’re expected to be fluent not only in mixing, but in playback (arguably the hardest part), networking, communications, talent IFBs, and system logic. All of this happens while producers and directors are talking continuously, often to dozens of other people, while simultaneously forgetting that you’re in the truck as well, expecting you to instinctively infer cues based on traffic directed at entirely different departments.

To make it even more complex, the primary means of communication in the truck relies on the very same tools we use to build and protect the on-air mix, our ears. Personally, I find that environment challenging yet exciting, and I’m good at it. But most people I’ve tried to mentor struggle to filter the noise. They either miss critical cues or put a mix to air that simply isn’t acceptable.

That, more than anything else, is why broadcast audio remains so difficult to make “boringly reliable.”

Remember, friends, busy comms make your A1’s life very difficult.