The Kansas Association of Broadcasters and its member stations are committed to the following goals as part of the KAB Broadcast Careers Program:
Promoting non-discrimination in all employment actions and diversity in the workplace;
Maximizing the pools of qualified applicants from various backgrounds, for all job openings at participating stations;
Promoting broadcasting as an exciting and rewarding career;
Expanding the availability of education courses and experience opportunities helpful for a career in broadcasting;
Providing user friendly, up-to-date information on all job openings at participating stations;
Insuring that all interested applicants have a convenient, rapid and inexpensive way to alert participating stations of their interest in a particular job opening; and
Educating stations throughout Kansas on the subjects of non-discrimination in employment and recruitment outreach.
To reach these goals, the KAB has evaluated current activities and identified possible new initiatives to consider.
Current Activities
KAB provides member stations free access to EEO1Source, an online recruiting, reporting and EEO compliance tool.
The KAB web site is interactive and allows member stations to post job openings (may be viewed by the public) and for job seekers to post their resumes (may be viewed by member stations). KAB Job Bank links to the career page of National Alliance of State Broadcast Associations (NASBA), and other national job banks.
Information about the KAB Job Bank online access is made available to educators, student members, participants at KAB Career Fairs and others who call regarding openings at Kansas stations. Information also has been mailed to those employment contacts listed on KAB EEO Referral Sources. These referral sources were compiled through a survey to Kansas broadcast stations. The Online Job Bank also has been promoted among members of the national organization, Broadcast Education Association. KAB is an associate member of BEA.
The KAB web site provides links to Kansas colleges and universities.
The KAB Education Task Force, comprised of broadcasters and broadcast educators, was formed to build stronger ties between the industry and academia and to discuss recruiting issues and other issues of concern to both. Out of this task force a Kansas Broadcast Education Association has formed.
Under the auspices of the Education Task Force and with the help of broadcast educators, the KAB undertook two statewide surveys of broadcasters. The first - Station Survey on Prospective Employees - identified and ranked those attributes Kansas radio and television station managers and department heads look for in prospective employees. The second - KAB Employment Survey - was undertaken to forecast anticipated employment trends at Kansas stations.
The KAB sponsors radio/television career fairs to provide a pool of applicants to participating KAB member stations, and a pool of prospective broadcast students to participating colleges.
The KAB awards scholarships to Kansas college students majoring in broadcast or a related field to encourage students of the highest caliber to enter broadcasting as a career and to seek the highest quality education.
The KAB sponsors paid student internships at member stations.
The KAB offers student memberships for $15 per year, to any student interested in pursuing a broadcast education/career. The membership provides students access to the KAB newsletter and other industry communiqués.
The KAB sponsors a paid faculty internship program to provide broadcast educators with real world broadcasting knowledge that they can take back into the classroom for the benefit of their students.
The KAB offers educational institutions a reduced associate membership rate of $75 per year to encourage their participation in KAB.
KAB has underwritten the production of a national award-winning video, Careers in Broadcasting, distributed free of charge to Kansas high schools, colleges, vo-tech schools and stations who wish to use it at job fairs and in other recruiting efforts.
KAB sponsors an annual student broadcast awards competition to recognize the work of students and provide them feed back from professionals on their efforts.
The annual KAB Convention provides networking opportunities and sessions of interest for broadcast educators and students interested in pursing a broadcast career. Educators and students may attend all KAB convention sessions free of charge.
KAB periodically conducts convention sessions on non-discrimination in employment and effective recruitment outreach. KAB legal hotlines are free to members and include a Washington attorney and a local attorney whom stations may call for answers to employment and EEO questions.