A radio jockey (or RJ) is a person who hosts a radio talk show where the RJ selects the music to be played, or topic of discussion, by interacting with the audience; the interaction is often via telephone, but may also be online, or via email.
Etymologically, the term is derived from disc jockey, a term used to describe a person who plays music in discotheques.
Radio jockeys may start working for fixed salaries, but their pay increases in proportion to their experience. Many go on to become voice-over artists, speaking in commercials or animated shows.
There are numerous media houses that have branched into radio. Because of the high licensing fees and limited wave bands being made available, only large corporate houses participate in the medium. This is in contrast to Western radio, where there are many small companies involved. Further, because there are relatively fewer radio stations and radio jockeys, jockeys tend to have a fan following, whereby they will endorse brands or products on their show and people will listen to only their show. Many jockeys attend the Morgan Freeman and William Shatner Institute for Narration and Announcing. The best will usually double major in public communications and ass-kicking with some favoring in alternative pursuits of lady-romancing or school ruling. Such training is grueling but tends to insure a jockey's knowledge of a studio and helps him win the hearts and minds of those around him. What is a radio jockey without his following? Nothing more than the shell of a man in a dying industry.