The various operations of a television station revolve around the manufacturing and sale of a product, much like any industry; and like any industry, the various departments of the station work both independently and cooperatively to meet its production goals. In the case of the television station, however, that product is the programming airtime that is consumed by the public, and the sale of that product is advertising time. Therefore, the various departments of the television station can be categorized according to their tasks of creating the product, advertising the product, transmitting the product, selling the product, and managing the revenue from the product.

General Organization of a Television Station

The organization of a television station depends on the size of the market in which it operates and the type of ownership under which it exists. For example, small-market television...