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Del Tech drops radio production

DonTheTrucker

DonTheTrucker

Not sure if the College Radio forum or the Delaware forum is the right place for this, but I figured I'd try it here.

I'm a Communications major at Del Tech Owens (Georgetown was the only campus that offered the major, but I live in Wilmington. Willing to do the drive for a while, since this is something I've always wanted to do.)

Big problem is that after my first semester I find out that the radio production classes (along with the college station) have been put "on the back burner". I'll have plenty of newswriting, photography and video editing experience, but radio is what I want to do.

Is it going to be possible to get the experience I need (particularly engineering stuff) from an internship? Will stations around here even take a Comm major without radio classes?

Any tips? (I mean tips besides "don't go into radio".) :)
 
A couple of thoughts. You might want to check out the U of D, they used to have a communications degree, granted its more expensive than Del Tech, but it might offer you more options later. Wilmington University offers something like that too, but they are even more expensive than the U of D.

Learning more isn't a bad thing. It's always better to be able to do more things rather than less. So you're learning news writing, photography, video editing, etc, could land you a job some day at a local cable station, etc. You also might want to consider adding Television to your resume where there would be more opportunities to do production work for spots and local news, etc, which brings me back to the U of D. I believe most TV stations today require a 4 year degree so your Associates from Del Tech won't get you work in today's TV market unless you completed your Associates at Del Tech and then went to a 4 year college and completed the other two years (Del Tech is accredited so you could transfer your first two years to another college to complete your Bachelors Degree) .

You don't say whether or not you want to be a DJ or a news reporter in radio. Breaking in as jock may be more difficult as so much of that is voice tracked today. The big ad money is on FM and those stations may not be as willing to bring in new untried talent, even for free. Maybe some small town FM like Vineland NJ's Oldies station, WVLT might be willing to give you an internship as a jock.

You might be able to get an internship at a news/talk station (WDEL, WDOV, WILM, and WMGD-FM, which means getting some experience while working for free). If you're willing to go to Philly, I believe WHYY-FM (NPR) offers internships. Possibly WVUD at U of D, also WXPN at U of Penn, and WRTI at Temple (these college stations probably do require you be a student, but I don't know that for a fact, so you could check it out and find out for sure).

Hope that is helpful.
 
That's all VERY helpful actually! I'd actually prefer the internship at a news or talk station. I'm a bit old to be spinning Britney Spears records (though my 14 year old daughter would probably be more proud than if I were the traffic guy on an NPR station!)

The 4 year degree thing was more of a future goal, actually. I'm hardly an old man, but I'll be 38 by the time I finish at Del Tech. U of D would probably be my next stop, but I'd ideally at least find an entry level position in some sort of media capacity to get the work experience while finishing the 4 year degree. My main concern with the dropped classes is that I won't have a good technical base to start off with, going into an internship. I know how cutthroat the business is, so going in with some skill would definitely be a big plus when it comes time for evaluations and possible hiring.

Of course if I'd listened to everyone when I was 16 who told me "with a voice like that you should go in radio", I'd be 15 years into the career by now. :p
 
I remember wanting a full time career in radio at one time many years ago. I was in the Air Force during Viet Nam as an Aircraft Electrician (while stationed in Alaska at Eielson AFB I worked part time on AFRN- Alaskan Forces Radio Network), and while stationed in Portsmouth NH I worked part time at WBBX (the station was owned by ABC Wide World of Sports sportscaster Kurt Gowdy, whom I met one time when he was in town and dropped in for a quick visit). I met some great guys. A couple of them had actually worked in the Wilmington / Philly markets at WDEL, WIP, and some other Philly area stations, and yet were in a small market of Portsmouth NH. They all told me that they've been all over the country up and down the dial over the years (remember most don't get pensions as they don't stay at a station long enough to earn one). A majority of them were divorced. They said radio hadn't been a good thing for their marriages due to the lack of roots as they moved every time a station changed its format, it changed it jocks. Also depending on how large the radio market is will determine whether or not you'll be able to make ends meet with your radio salary. I knew many radio guys who worked in one market during the week and another one on the weekends or some other part time job to supplement their weekday radio pay check.

Later, after I had gotten out of the Air Force, and was thinking about getting married, I decided that moving all around the nation wouldn't be a great life for a family. It was then that I decided to go work in industry as a Lab Technician and did radio part time, which I did for the majority of the past 36 years (today I have earned a pension from my day job that I've been doing for over 36 years - haven't retired yet).

I'm telling you all this, because you do have a family and you might find that working in radio part time and still keeping your "day job" might be a better route for the stability of your family. This way you get the best of both worlds, the stability (as much as there is in today's economy) in some other field that actually pays the bills, and part time in evenings or weekends in radio where you get to have fun. Sort of a hobby that you get paid to do. Sure beats belonging to a bowling team.

I produced numerous spots, jocked an Oldies format, an 80's format, Big Band - Nostalgia, CCM (Contemporary Christian Music), was a News Anchor/Reporter (I had the opportunity to interview Christiann Almanpour (sp) from CNN, Dr. Robert Ballard (undersea explorer who found the Titanic), and Rev. Desmond Tutu, and had my own talk show for three years. Not too bad for a weekend part timer.

I've met some great people along the way ( I apologize for any names missed as there were more and I can picture the faces, but can't remember the names):

Jim Hicks, Susan Duffield, and Ed Paolini (sp) at 1260 WNRK;

Frank Gerace at both 101.7 WNNN-FM/ 1510 WJIC-AM, and 1380 WAMS (today at WDEL),

Scott Graham (former voice of the Phillies later after his stint at WAMS), Kevin Fennessy(today at WMCA), Bob Charger(today at WOGL), and Todd Halliday all of those folks at 1380 WAMS;

Mark Fowser, Mark Eichmann (today at WHYY-FM), John Lewis (today at WCBM Baltimore), Ted Efaw, Allan Loudell(today at WDEL), Sharon Middleman (today at CBS radio), Matt Cherry (today at WTOP), Tom Byrn (today at WHYY-FM), and John Watson all of these folks at 1450 WILM newsradio.

So even though I didn't go full time into radio, I've had a great experience of doing a large variety of fun things in my favorite medium at numerous stations in the Wilmington area. I worked with some very talented people (see above). My "mini radio career" was a lot of fun, I learned a lot as each person listed above at some point in time while working at their respective station worked with me, assisted me or taught me something I needed to learn, etc. All treated me with respect as a professional even though I was only a weekender.

This might be an avenue for you to consider. In either case, whether you go full time or part time, best of luck.
 
Not to knock Del Tech, but I would advise anyone getting into broadcasting NOT to major in communications. What you'll learn is mostly the technical stuff that you'd pick up on the job anyway. Major in in one of the humanities or social sciences, something that'll make you a more interesting person... ::)
 
Thanks for that advice, Jim. I do like the newswriting, photography and video production stuff that the Comm program offers, even if I don't use them in radio. The newswriting stuff in particular would come in handy. Trust me, if I thought this weren't the best path, I wouldn't be doing the 88 mile commute from Wilmington to Georgetown. :)
 
I also enjoy radio but see it in a different perspective as I own a small radio network in Southern New jersey.

I would strongly recommend you contact Dan Gaffney as he will offer great advice and who knows maybe even an internship of sorts. >>>>Dan Gaffney at WGMD 92.7 Rehoboth Beach, DE 302-945-2050


The Rehobeth Beach area is nice. We were planning to add an FM translator at 104.3 in Rehoboth but it didn't pan out.

Sincerely, josh - LIFT FM RADIO NETWORK
 
jimwalsh2001 said:
Not to knock Del Tech, but I would advise anyone getting into broadcasting NOT to major in communications. What you'll learn is mostly the technical stuff that you'd pick up on the job anyway. Major in in one of the humanities or social sciences, something that'll make you a more interesting person... ::)
Click to expand...

Yeah, back when I was about to graduate high school 20 years ago, I was advised by the VP of Programming of the radio group that I was doing weekends for to major in business if I wanted to go far in radio. Sometimes I wonder why I didn't take that advice. The mechanics of putting together a show can be picked up along the way, but not that many people have the business skills to take the creative part of radio and turn it into dollars. So if you can get your foot in the door with a local station, learn the radio part from them and go to school and learn business.
 
johndavis said:
jimwalsh2001 said:
Not to knock Del Tech, but I would advise anyone getting into broadcasting NOT to major in communications. What you'll learn is mostly the technical stuff that you'd pick up on the job anyway. Major in in one of the humanities or social sciences, something that'll make you a more interesting person... ::)
Click to expand...

Yeah, back when I was about to graduate high school 20 years ago, I was advised by the VP of Programming of the radio group that I was doing weekends for to major in business if I wanted to go far in radio. Sometimes I wonder why I didn't take that advice. The mechanics of putting together a show can be picked up along the way, but not that many people have the business skills to take the creative part of radio and turn it into dollars. So if you can get your foot in the door with a local station, learn the radio part from them and go to school and learn business.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice. There's always room for a bachelor's degree in business or even an MBA. :) Having seen the story of the 98 year old lady that just earned her master's, I don't feel so old. Even if I did just get put on hypertension meds. :eek:
 
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