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Broadcasting Schools
- Thread starter tony r
- Start date
XTalker said:
I agree. When I was a PD I would stay clear of hiring those who had graduated from broadcasting school. It didn't make sense to spend more time than it was worth retraining them to how things are in the "real world." Broadcasting Schools = Waste of time....yours and mine.
A
AKLes
Guest
Haven't done radio commercially since about 1970 but still vividly recall experiences in even auditioning "graduates" of so-called "broadcasting schools". After a few I identified a couple of schools which, when their names appeared in a resume, condemned the letter and the "applicant" to the trash heap. Some were worse than others; oddly, a few of the smaller ones run as moonlighting enterprises by people actually working in radio, produced the most usable product. Seemed like the bigger the "name" (of the school), the less likely the candidate.....
Hey wait a minute! I went to "broadcast" school. Of course I knew there were only about two of us in the whole class who would actually get a job in the business. Many others that I've met who've been to broadcast school didn't have a clue either. But I'm proof there are exceptions. I've been doing radio for over 30 years. I always knew it was what I wanted to do. The only reason I went to broadcast school was to get a piece of paper that said I could do radio, and then of course meet chicks!
I too went to one.
Not because I thought it would help but because you needed to be "in school" to get an internship.
I had already been thrown out of Framingham State.
...twice.
Apparently, you can't get up at 10:30, blow off classes, and kill the day at the campus radio station until they shut the transmitter off at 2AM.
So I went back. And graduated with a 4.0...which is no big achievement. Trust me. They weren't teaching me anything I wasn't already getting paid for at WZLX.
And yes...I am the only graduate of my class actually working in the business.
I wouldn't recommend it unless you need to be in school to get your internship.
Not because I thought it would help but because you needed to be "in school" to get an internship.
I had already been thrown out of Framingham State.
...twice.
Apparently, you can't get up at 10:30, blow off classes, and kill the day at the campus radio station until they shut the transmitter off at 2AM.
So I went back. And graduated with a 4.0...which is no big achievement. Trust me. They weren't teaching me anything I wasn't already getting paid for at WZLX.
And yes...I am the only graduate of my class actually working in the business.
I wouldn't recommend it unless you need to be in school to get your internship.
A
argytunes
Guest
What happens when a "broadcast school" becomes an accredited junior college? Do the same rules apply? ???
During the late 60s, I attended Cambridge School of Broadcasting in Boston...and by my senior year, it had become Grahm Junior College! [Of course...the entire school is no longer in existence and the classrooms ended up becoming dormitories for Boston University Students].
To be honest, I think broadcast schools are fine when it comes to "getting the basic information" about programming, sales, copywriting, etc. But I found that some the teachers I had (at Grahm) were somewhat idealistic in their opinion about the business and how it should be operated.
So when I got my first real radio job...I had to "unlearn" about 50% of the stuff I got in the classroom. I also learned that in a small or medium radio station, the "more hats you wear" (aka the more broadcast skills you have) will often give you the advantage over someone who can only perform on the air or do a little copywriting.
argytunes
During the late 60s, I attended Cambridge School of Broadcasting in Boston...and by my senior year, it had become Grahm Junior College! [Of course...the entire school is no longer in existence and the classrooms ended up becoming dormitories for Boston University Students].
To be honest, I think broadcast schools are fine when it comes to "getting the basic information" about programming, sales, copywriting, etc. But I found that some the teachers I had (at Grahm) were somewhat idealistic in their opinion about the business and how it should be operated.
So when I got my first real radio job...I had to "unlearn" about 50% of the stuff I got in the classroom. I also learned that in a small or medium radio station, the "more hats you wear" (aka the more broadcast skills you have) will often give you the advantage over someone who can only perform on the air or do a little copywriting.
argytunes
Most so called "broadcast schools" have little clue as to what happens in the real world of broadcasting. Those that are stand along are a complete waste of time. If you enroll in a college and take some sort of communications courses, you will have a little better feel, but even they have trouble understanding the real world.
There is a program at North Carolina A&T State University (Greensboro) that does a better job than most. They bring in pros from the business as guest instructors, they encourage internships, and the do a mock interview day. At least the students get some exposure to real broadcasting.
Tbe best advice for someone who wants to get into the business is to start early, try to get a part time job - doesn't matter what the job is - just be around the business. Make yourself valuable to the PD and you will learn a great deal.
Go to college, learn the English language, take some creative writing courses, get real comfortable with a computer, learn marketing, study history and politics, and learn a skill that can pay the rent when you are between radio jobs!
There is a program at North Carolina A&T State University (Greensboro) that does a better job than most. They bring in pros from the business as guest instructors, they encourage internships, and the do a mock interview day. At least the students get some exposure to real broadcasting.
Tbe best advice for someone who wants to get into the business is to start early, try to get a part time job - doesn't matter what the job is - just be around the business. Make yourself valuable to the PD and you will learn a great deal.
Go to college, learn the English language, take some creative writing courses, get real comfortable with a computer, learn marketing, study history and politics, and learn a skill that can pay the rent when you are between radio jobs!
W
webcastboy
Guest
The primary problem with broadcasting schools, at least over the last ten years, is that the technology changed so fast that the schools couldn't afford to keep up. Nor could they teach it fast enough...what you learned your first year was outdated by your third year. As a result, these schools (and many broadcasting curriculums at regular colleges, too) end up teaching really out of date information and practices.
I mean...I've seen TV ads for the CT School of Broadcasting and they still show reel to reels and cart machines in the background. I imagine some places still use reels in a limited fashion here and there...but does ANYONE still use those hated carts? :-\
At this point the industry is so contracted (and still shrinking) that whether or not you have any kind of paper from any kind of communications school is practically irrelevant. It's all about persistence, networking and luck...or about who you know. ;D Really, you're better off setting up your own little podcast and trying to build an audience...you've got a lot better chance of impressing a hiring manager that way.
Still, I think we're mostly talking about the technical aspects of broadcasting being taught. There are lots of aspects of broadcasting that don't change much over the years. Journalism for example. Yes the methods have changed but the principles behind them have not. It's just that what we used to consider "bad journalism" has largely overrun the MSM. How to interview people hasn't changed much. How to talk on-air (both content & mic technique) haven't changed much. These are all valuable things to know...although all things you could learn just working (or volunteering) for a station rather than paying for the privilege of going to a school to learn them.
FWIW, there is one narrow avenue where having a piece of paper still matters...and that's if you're trying to get a job working for a college. Admittedly the value of a master's degree in broadcasting is less than the value of a good roll of two-play Charmin...but most colleges still require that you have a masters (or better) if you're in any sort of role where some kind of teaching to students might occur. I'll admit, I'm kinda bitter about this...such jobs are very rare and I've seen a few "manager of an otherwise student run college radio station" jobs go to people that I thought were really not qualified to run the station, but they had a masters so they beat out many other candidates. Granted, sometimes I was one of those candidates, but not always.
Of course, one can turn that around...if the college ignores real qualifications in favor of a useless piece of paper, methinks I wouldn't necessarily want to work for that college after all.
I mean...I've seen TV ads for the CT School of Broadcasting and they still show reel to reels and cart machines in the background. I imagine some places still use reels in a limited fashion here and there...but does ANYONE still use those hated carts? :-\
At this point the industry is so contracted (and still shrinking) that whether or not you have any kind of paper from any kind of communications school is practically irrelevant. It's all about persistence, networking and luck...or about who you know. ;D Really, you're better off setting up your own little podcast and trying to build an audience...you've got a lot better chance of impressing a hiring manager that way.
Still, I think we're mostly talking about the technical aspects of broadcasting being taught. There are lots of aspects of broadcasting that don't change much over the years. Journalism for example. Yes the methods have changed but the principles behind them have not. It's just that what we used to consider "bad journalism" has largely overrun the MSM. How to interview people hasn't changed much. How to talk on-air (both content & mic technique) haven't changed much. These are all valuable things to know...although all things you could learn just working (or volunteering) for a station rather than paying for the privilege of going to a school to learn them.
FWIW, there is one narrow avenue where having a piece of paper still matters...and that's if you're trying to get a job working for a college. Admittedly the value of a master's degree in broadcasting is less than the value of a good roll of two-play Charmin...but most colleges still require that you have a masters (or better) if you're in any sort of role where some kind of teaching to students might occur. I'll admit, I'm kinda bitter about this...such jobs are very rare and I've seen a few "manager of an otherwise student run college radio station" jobs go to people that I thought were really not qualified to run the station, but they had a masters so they beat out many other candidates. Granted, sometimes I was one of those candidates, but not always.
Of course, one can turn that around...if the college ignores real qualifications in favor of a useless piece of paper, methinks I wouldn't necessarily want to work for that college after all.
I recently had to show an Emerson grad how to thread a reel-to-reel deck. I'm not kidding.
Eli Polonsky said:
Really though, how often do you use a reel to reel these days? I might have used it 3 times (if that) in the last 2-3 years (probably longer than that).
there's tons of information on reel-to-reel tapes. Tons. Amazing how many (not all) of the current crop of "producers" are so helpless if they can't call it up on google, cut and paste.
Since the reel was state of the art for a good number of decades it stands to reason not everything has made its evolution to the digital format. Wonder if they know what the shiny side of the tape does? Hilarious.
Back in the day you could cut a bad note out of a 2" tape if it was going at 30 IPS. Many want to go back to the world of analog tape, just as vinyl is making a huge comeback in England. Just the knowledge of analog vs. digital gives us veterans a bit more of an edge. We can navigate the new world, but they are like ships without sails when the only format with the information is...a cassette! "What's a cassette" we're going to hear soon from some of these (not all) hip radio studs.
Since the reel was state of the art for a good number of decades it stands to reason not everything has made its evolution to the digital format. Wonder if they know what the shiny side of the tape does? Hilarious.
Back in the day you could cut a bad note out of a 2" tape if it was going at 30 IPS. Many want to go back to the world of analog tape, just as vinyl is making a huge comeback in England. Just the knowledge of analog vs. digital gives us veterans a bit more of an edge. We can navigate the new world, but they are like ships without sails when the only format with the information is...a cassette! "What's a cassette" we're going to hear soon from some of these (not all) hip radio studs.
Eli Polonsky said:
A number of years ago I had to show an Emerson grad how to edit a reel-to-reel. She got a job that REQUIRED that for phone calls. She told me the instructor for the class liked her so she never showed up. Got an A in the class as well. Go figure
On the other hand I worked with some Emerson grads that knew what they were doing. They even decided to supplement their 2 figure salary by teaching at a broadcast school.
I taught at CSB for a while. and I will tell you this about reel-to-reel editing - the purpose of teaching it is to teach the concept of editing. too many digital people edit with their eyes, and not their ears. I hear it on the radio all the time - the natural rythym of what they are editing sounds chopped because they're looking for the exact same mark to edit instead of listening for the exact same sound. the exact same mark is often a different sound completely.
god forbid if their computers crash in the production and they have to -gasp! - edit tape to keep their show and production going. You'd be amazed how many stations in the 90's blew out incredible image prodution on two half-tracks mixing down to the dreaded cart machine.
okay, wait a minute. I am NOT defending the cart machine. please TNT those things whenver you want.
but yes, I do support teaching people who have no idea how to edit sound to start first with a reel-to-reel machine. once you develop the art of hearing your edit before you even edit it, you'll move ahead very quickly in the world of production.
god forbid if their computers crash in the production and they have to -gasp! - edit tape to keep their show and production going. You'd be amazed how many stations in the 90's blew out incredible image prodution on two half-tracks mixing down to the dreaded cart machine.
okay, wait a minute. I am NOT defending the cart machine. please TNT those things whenver you want.
but yes, I do support teaching people who have no idea how to edit sound to start first with a reel-to-reel machine. once you develop the art of hearing your edit before you even edit it, you'll move ahead very quickly in the world of production.
B
burnedout guy
Guest
Well as a former director of the famed "CONnecticut School of Broadcasting, I saw there demise awhile ago. Although it seemed CSB was more interested in tuition than education. I wouldn't want to be starting in broadcasting today and glad I am out of the studio and on the back end of my career. Technology is killing the need for a DJ, and those stations that do have them, are so heavily formated that to say you want to do twenty years of the exact same thing everyday boggles my mind. (In fact that is what I asked myself one day and stopped being a DJ). Consolidation, tight formats, and new technology has taken the some of the shine off the glamor of the job. Unless you are one of the fortunate few with loads of natural talent and can make it to one of those morning gigs, (and somebody dies and lets you take over), in the near future you are somewhat doomed. Commute some morning by the T and see how many have IPODS as opposed to radios! The pay is not that great either. I had a friend of mine say that he used to do weekends at WHDH-AM when it was a music station and he made enough in two days to take care of him the other five! Voice-overs, and other media work should be anybody's focus now. Behind the scenes, cable TV and network production should be the aim. Want stardom and fame, don't wear underwear, adopt lots of kids and be Jennifer Aniston's ex!tony r said:
I can't speak about your area, 'cause I'm in Ohio.
But, I am a 35 year radio vet (currently employed in radio) teaching radio in an area "broadcasting school". It's a 2 year Associates Degree program. I graduated from their 6 month "quickie" course in 1974, and have been in radio since.
Some of the things that have been mentioned here are true. The business changed faster than the school could keep up with the changes. At least, though, our program is teaching production on waveform editing programs. (Cool Edit/Adobe Audition - SAW Plus and Sound Forge) I hope in the next year or so, we will find a practical way of being able to teach voicetracking and am advocating that we do so. In my classes, I do
teach from the perspective of what the students need to know to deal with "today's" radio. Students haven't changed, though. I start first semester with a class of 15...and usually it's down to 3 or 4 really bright students by the time they get to fourth semester.
We're also planning on teaching a version of the S.B.E.'s operator certification course. (since broadcast stations generally do such a lousy job teaching the rules...we figure it might help to have a broadcasting
school grad who knows how and when to take a transmitter reading and perform an EAS Test.)
But, I am a 35 year radio vet (currently employed in radio) teaching radio in an area "broadcasting school". It's a 2 year Associates Degree program. I graduated from their 6 month "quickie" course in 1974, and have been in radio since.
Some of the things that have been mentioned here are true. The business changed faster than the school could keep up with the changes. At least, though, our program is teaching production on waveform editing programs. (Cool Edit/Adobe Audition - SAW Plus and Sound Forge) I hope in the next year or so, we will find a practical way of being able to teach voicetracking and am advocating that we do so. In my classes, I do
teach from the perspective of what the students need to know to deal with "today's" radio. Students haven't changed, though. I start first semester with a class of 15...and usually it's down to 3 or 4 really bright students by the time they get to fourth semester.
We're also planning on teaching a version of the S.B.E.'s operator certification course. (since broadcast stations generally do such a lousy job teaching the rules...we figure it might help to have a broadcasting
school grad who knows how and when to take a transmitter reading and perform an EAS Test.)
burnedout guy said:Well as a former director of the famed "CONnecticut School of Broadcasting,tony r said:
You were one of them! ;D I knew someone who did that job for a bit. (don't think it is you) And if it is.. "Let 'em roll"
I've worked with a few CSB grads. Some were good. Others had egos writing check their talent could not cash.
All in all I don't think I'd trade the time I "did" in radio. It was fun and I made a few good friends.
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