What is "aircheck"

n. (context broadcasting English) A demonstration recording, often intended to show off the talent of an announcer to a prospective employer.

In the radio industry, an aircheck is generally a demonstration recording, often intended to show off the talent of an announcer or programmer to a prospective employer, but mainly intended for legal archiving purposes. A scoped (short for "telescoped" - by analogy with pressing the ends of a hand-held telescope to reduce its size) aircheck usually contains only segments where the announcer is actually talking, along with a bit of the music or commercial on either side. In an unscoped aircheck, all programming is left intact and unedited, including music, commercials, newscasts, jingles and other on-air events.

Another category of airchecks are those recorded "off-the-air" by listeners, using consumer or semi-professional equipment. These airchecks became more common with the advent of commercial cassette recorders.

One of the oldest known surviving airchecks consists of a 15-minute broadcast by Bing Crosby on Los Angeles station KHJ and the CBS network from September 2, 1931. It was recorded by the RCA Victor company of Hollywood and is fully documented in the Victor files at the National Archives. The recordings were made by RCA Victor at the request of rival network NBC, which apparently wanted to monitor the then-rising young singer. The sound of the recording suggests that it was made by placing an open microphone before a high-quality radio (a method known in the radio trade as a "mic-feed"). This recording is available online at Reelradio 1. __NOTOC__