• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

Getting students interested in today's broadcasting

fybush

fybush

Administrator
Staff member
We've had some conversation back and forth here about the value of a college degree in broadcasting, and my take is what it's always been: I'm interested in hiring a person, not a degree, and I think it's a mistake either to require a degree for a job, or to rule out hiring someone because they have a degree in the field. (You're missing out on some great people either way.)

I bring this up now because I have a new episode of my Top of the Tower podcast this week, part of my new series of conversations with interesting broadcast folks at the NAB Show and at Radiodays North America over the last month or so.

In this episode, we chat with Andy Gladding of Hofstra University and Val Turco of SUNY New Paltz, who led a fascinating discussion at the NAB Show about how they're training their students to be ready for the challenges of today's engineering environment - and about how broadcasters can attract the new employees they'll need.

www.fybush.com/podcast-062/
 
I love this interview and this idea. I agree with everything your guests said. I recently got to visit WJPZ at Syracuse University. They have a very active alumni base, and they work at hiring their graduates. The most obvious graduate is Noah Eagle, class of 2019, who now does sports play by play for NBC. Of course he has a famous father Ian Eagle, who works at CBS. Syracuse has a sports broadcasting curriculum that's pretty unique. Their alums include Bob Costas and Marv Albert, to name just a few. The area of radio engineering is probably a bit tougher. I liked what Andy was saying about give them something fun to do. I agree.
 
It's no longer radio that is trending - it's streaming and some jobs in television. Networks are still always wanting new, fresh talent behind-the-scenes. That's why my backup plan if the teaching doesn't work is to go back to my other gift, which I have experience from church and doing HS sports for a small TV station - and that's operating cameras. I'd love to be the one that captures a game-winning Boise State touchdown in the 4th quarter :)
 
Funny you should mention WJPZ, BigA - one of the conversations I had up at Radiodays was with Alex Silverman, who just left as news director of KNX/KCBS. He's a SU alum and still very heavily involved as one of the trustees of WJPZ.
 
fybush said:
We've had some conversation back and forth here about the value of a college degree in broadcasting, and my take is what it's always been: I'm interested in hiring a person, not a degree, and I think it's a mistake either to require a degree for a job, or to rule out hiring someone because they have a degree in the field. (You're missing out on some great people either way.)

I bring this up now because I have a new episode of my Top of the Tower podcast this week, part of my new series of conversations with interesting broadcast folks at the NAB Show and at Radiodays North America over the last month or so.

In this episode, we chat with Andy Gladding of Hofstra University and Val Turco of SUNY New Paltz, who led a fascinating discussion at the NAB Show about how they're training their students to be ready for the challenges of today's engineering environment - and about how broadcasters can attract the new employees they'll need.

www.fybush.com/podcast-062/
Click to expand...

Given the current slow downturn in the broadcasting field, my advice (and experiences 40 years ago) would be the same as the advice for those athletes going to college on scholarships with the goal of becoming a member of a professional team: Make sure you get training for something else in case the broadcasting career doesn't pan out.
 
find students with technical interest and aptitude.. i said in a letter nearly 20 years ago when I was at KYYZ that we were going to be facing a shortage of engineering talent.. theyre still needed and will always be needed. Most engineers i know want nothing to do with programming and thats fine. i know several who couldnt careless about whats on the air. At the same time, I know several who are on the air and enjoy it. There was one in WY working for Legend, theres one in TN. Im sure theres a few others that we could come up with without much effort.
 
Thanks @fybush for posting this. I don't know Gladding personally, but am a huge fan of his for the simple fact he's taken on the ownership of WKZE, a very unique local station even within its format (AAA.)

It's a relief that station that Will Stanley cherished and nurtured for so many years is in good hands.
 
Since I am likely moving down to the Boise area, I wonder how I should go along with finding camera gigs? Would like to do them on weekends while I teach on weekdays. I know in Boise, we have Fox Sports/ESPN/CBS coming all the time for Boise State football and basketball, but they are traveling crews that I believe belong to certain video production companies (like Game Creek Video). KTVB-TV airs the Idaho Steelheads home games on its 24/7 subchannel (7.2). I have driven by the arena in downtown a few hours before a game in the past, and parked in the back was a video production truck that came from Salt Lake. Perhaps I should talk to THEM before KTVB?

I have previous freelance experience with 4-5 high school football/basketball games on KNDU's SWX channel; plus nearly 2 years volunteering at my old church directing and doing camera work for regular services + special services...VBS, etc. I'm actually going back to Yakima in late June to help out w/ their VBS. It's massive, usually 300-400 kids a night...and they film it too.
 
SomeRadioGuy said:
find students with technical interest and aptitude.. i said in a letter nearly 20 years ago when I was at KYYZ that we were going to be facing a shortage of engineering talent.. theyre still needed and will always be needed. Most engineers i know want nothing to do with programming and thats fine. i know several who couldnt careless about whats on the air. At the same time, I know several who are on the air and enjoy it. There was one in WY working for Legend, theres one in TN. Im sure theres a few others that we could come up with without much effort.
Click to expand...
The late Scott Mason comes to mind too, though I'm not sure how he got into engineering.
crainbebo said:
Since I am likely moving down to the Boise area, I wonder how I should go along with finding camera gigs? Would like to do them on weekends while I teach on weekdays. I know in Boise, we have Fox Sports/ESPN/CBS coming all the time for Boise State football and basketball, but they are traveling crews that I believe belong to certain video production companies (like Game Creek Video). KTVB-TV airs the Idaho Steelheads home games on its 24/7 subchannel (7.2). I have driven by the arena in downtown a few hours before a game in the past, and parked in the back was a video production truck that came from Salt Lake. Perhaps I should talk to THEM before KTVB?

I have previous freelance experience with 4-5 high school football/basketball games on KNDU's SWX channel; plus nearly 2 years volunteering at my old church directing and doing camera work for regular services + special services...VBS, etc. I'm actually going back to Yakima in late June to help out w/ their VBS. It's massive, usually 300-400 kids a night...and they film it too.
Click to expand...
I know for a fact that in the past ESPN's crews pulled from colleges and the one I dealt with when I was in college was VERY disorganized. I can't remember if they paid or how much. I was supposed to assist with a game on the sidelines (running cables, etc.) and they never got back to me on who to meet with or where to go.

If I were you I wouldn't waste time trying to work with national crews. If your church can pay you something, do that.
 
It's volunteer work. I'm doing it in tandem with visiting family. I haven't seen them since Christmas.
I hope Fox Sports and CBS Sports are a little different in terms of their organization. I know full-time cam ops can make $60K a year or so. But that means they are traveling around the US...
 
Preamble: I was was a high-school dropout in my Junior year; I left school to build my first radio station. After a decade of station ownership and management, I became a consultant with the well known Lotus group and was based in Phoenix.

I thought I could take early morning and late afternoon/evening courses and get a degree. So I took the absurd GED and was admitted to ASU. I looked at the curriculum for broadcasting and realized that it was very basic so I decided to do a split major in Business and in Social Sciences & Sociology including social dynamics, social stratification, research methods as well as accounting, management structure and the usual business subjects.

I found that not taking the broadcasting courses was the best thing I could do. I took classes about things I didn't like (accounting) and things I knew nothing about (everything in sociology).

Today, were I in the same situation (I was 26 and wanted to continue in management positions) I would add a lot of computer related material to the curriculum, particularly in the areas of newest technology.

But with advertisers doing deeper and deeper targeting of their campaigns, both social sciences and basic business practices are essential unless the person never wants to move above content creation. And it should be remembered that "radio" (however we define it) is a mix of art and science. You can't teach a person the qualities needed to be a good programmer or content creator; you can teach techniques but the art is not teachable.
 
Last edited:
SomeRadioGuy said:
Most engineers i know want nothing to do with programming and thats fine.
Click to expand...

Funny you should say that right now. Don Davis, who owns the stations in New Mexico that I consult and/or program, just told me a couple of days ago that he's a terrible programmer (which is why he keeps me around).

But he is well-known in Albuquerque as a broadcast engineer, and has been for decades.
 
tall_guy1 said:
I got a broadcast Bachelors degree from an accredited university, but never found a job...work in a warehouse.
Click to expand...
Were there just no openings, or was it that none that existed were available to recent grads with no work experience in radio?
 
DavidEduardo said:
Were there just no openings, or was it that none that existed were available to recent grads with no work experience in radio?
Click to expand...
Don't know. Had dozens of interviews, none hired. This was 2016. Had a "B" average in school, so maybe they went with the kids who had an "A" average, but beats me.
 
SomeRadioGuy said:
Most engineers i know want nothing to do with programming and thats fine.
Click to expand...

Funny you should say that right now. Don Davis, who owns the stations in New Mexico that I consult and/or program, just told me a couple of days ago that he's a terrible programmer (which is why he keeps me around).

But he is well-known in Albuquerque as a broadcast engineer, and has been for decades.
 
I have an Associate's in Telecommunication from Miami-Dade College and Technical completion from the Connecticut School of Broadcasting... still waiting to get into the industry.
 
tall_guy1 said:
I got a broadcast Bachelors degree from an accredited university, but never found a job...work in a warehouse.
Click to expand...

This is why it is *so* important to get a second degree in another field while you're at college like David Eduardo did (see above). Broadcasting is losing people, not gaining them. While getting those additional degrees assisted Mr. Eduardo in staying in the field, they could have assisted him very well if he found himself after graduation being unable to find work in radio or television. (I know you're already out of college so this post is really intended for those who are currently looking for careers in the broadcasting field and considering their options.)
 
The fact is that we live in a time when you don't need a degree to get a job, and you don't need a job to do the work.

There are people right now making a very good living, raising families, buying homes, using money made from doing home videos and posting them on YouTube or TikTok. They didn't send in a resume to do that. They also aren't receiving health insurance doing that. But the tools required to do radio or TV are available to anyone. The platforms to present that content are available to anyone. You don't need towers & transmitters or an expensive studio. All it takes is a good idea and the willingness to invest your own time in doing it. The fact that such a thing exists dilutes the job pool. Because basically anybody can do it.

I compare it to the music industry. At one time, you needed a record deal and radio airplay to be an artist. Not anymore. People enter TV talent shows and become multi millionaires. Or they post videos of them singing on YouTube or TikTok. They completely bypass traditional systems. The same is true with radio & TV.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom