The Broadcast Clock
99% Invisible
00:00
The Clock Is Your Master for Two Hours
The clock is your master for the two hours the show rolls out. Everything has to be ready. Segments can't run long by even a second because most of the local stations are automated to cut off the national program where the clock says they can. These times are called posts. You have to hit the post. But of course, things go wrong every day. Someone reads too long and an interview runs too short. Or someone rushing at the post. Then listeners can hear the clock. And then the spell is broken.
Play episode from 05:16
Transcript
