Graduation Day

[normhill007]

In about a month, thousands of "communications" majors will start pounding the pavement looking for their first gig..and finding out there aren't any. They will be saddled with debt from Mommy and Daddy or the taxpayer. It's really sad because there is only 1 Ryan Seacrest (THANK GOD) And for every syndicated show, there are hundreds of local talent kicked to the street. The big chains are mostly saddled with a huge debt burden and pinch pennies until Abe Lincoln screams, so satellite is the only way to keep costs down. One thing college can't do is teach talent. One thing it doesn't do is teach the reality of the business. It used to be that you would move up because everybody was looking for a bigger audience and more money. Today, most are happy with what they have and the movement to a new gig is usually to take the place of somebody who was kicked to the curb. News isn't much better. Most stations that were once dominant in news cut their staff's because of budget restraints or stopped doing it altogether. Bottom line-Unless you're an all news station, news doesn't pay the bills. Sadly, the closest many will get to a microphone is the drive-thru at McDonalds.

 

[cowboy72]

i agree with you 100% norm. ive always told college students they are wasting money on commuication, save your money and become a attorney, or doctor..

 

[DaveWilliams]

but theres always the internet, lots of good stuff on there. I'd say about 85% of my listening is on an internet radio anymore, regular radio has nothing of interest to me anymore. And the internet stuff is free.

 

[emo474]

I remember when I first broke into radio... early 80's.. i was at a station that within a month or two decided that Satellite was the way to go.. I didn't see the writing on the wall. I thought that the use of satellites would expand our options and improve our sound, bring us resources that we never would have been able to afford before. Instead it was the beginning of the end. Overnights were the first to go, then late night (after 6 pm to 6 am).. then whole stations switched to the bird.

Now were stuck with entire markets dominated by canned formats and jocks who have no ties or cares about our area. Kidd Kraddock is on from 5 - 10 am.... five hours of crap promoting big dollar contests that have YOU competing against millions. A giveaway of a thousand dollars an hour sounds great, except you're chances of winning are almost the same as winning the mega-millions jackpot. Voice tracked stations are offering near poverty wages because your shift is tracked in only a few minutes, so why pay anything above minimum wage.

Can anyone on this board say that they would rather work in today's medium as opposed to the days of long ago?

 

[mevansrock]

I've actually had the rare opportunity to witness this from both sides -- TWICE. Let me explain.

The first time I was in college as an undergrad, it was the early 90's (I graduated in 1993). At the time, most of my fellow students had jobs in the industry. Not internships -- JOBS. Yeah, they were part-time but we were working in our chosen profession. Most of the guys worked in radio, and most of the ladies were crew at local TV stations (back when they ALL had local news broadcasts). I myself was on my THIRD job upon graduation. I was fired first (WSGD). And I quit the second job (WARM) to take the third job (ROCK 107).

But back then, if you showed enthusiasm and a little talent, you could go full-time eventually. There were enough positions out there. Maybe you went from part-time to overnights to evenings to...well, you get the idea. But what about today? I can't really speak for television, but the world of radio has little to offer. Chances are, if you got that part-time weekend gig now, you would be voice-tracking. So what would you be working? Three hours a week? Maybe? And then...where would you go? Overnights? Voice-tracked (if that). Evenings? Voice-tracked. Mid-days? 50/50 shot it's voice-tracked. Afternoon drive? If the guy doing it now, leaves. Mornings? Not without experience, or maybe the station is carrying a syndicated show anyway. That's the biggest problem. A part-time job doesn't necessarily lead to anywhere anymore.

I went back to school for my grad degree in 2007, and everything was different. Students could get internships (free), but jobs? Well, a lot of them were working -- IN RETAIL. From Starbuck's to Victoria's Secret. Now maybe a lot of that had to do with the students themselves. I attended a few radio meetings, and besides an enthusiastic FEW -- it was a sea of blank faces. I remember when radio meetings were passionate. Ours would sometimes end in a black eye or a bloody nose, but we had fun. Now, you were lucky if they stopped texting or tweeting long enough to acknowledge where they were.

But I just don't see the opportunities out there for getting your foot in the door. Maybe in sales -- but a communications degree isn't going to teach you how to sell. That's a different monster altogether.

 

[MCNDRWS]

Radio will never again be as radio was. Deregulation ruined everything.

 

[kewgardens]

After spending 100k to 200k on a college education with a degree in communications from what I can see one of the few entry level jobs left is that of a low wage "prize wheel spinner". This unique position, which you could have done right out of high school, prepares you to eventually be a low paid prize wheeel spinner at a bigger station, or maybe the scheduler of prize wheel spinners.
Oh but then there is the "cut and paster" for the station or cluster's web site.

Neither of these two jobs really have anything to do with actual broadcasting but from where I sit those seem to be the growth areas for young people with communications degrees these days. And as has been mentioned - sales - but that is indeed another animal completely - a job most peple do not want to do.

 

[jab5804]

When asked (I'm a 2008 graduate), I always tell students if you're willing to work hard and chase your career, you can be successful in the field. From what I've found in school, there's two types of students: Ones that are career-oriented who will chase success through their work, and ones that are life-oriented who will find success in other ways in life. In order to be successful and make great money in a media job today, you absolutely must be able/willing to let other parts of your life be less important than your career.

Students/graduates must also be mulch-faceted, and cannot just be competent with one type of media. A person who can run a control board in radio who can also write well and shoot video will get a job before someone who can do only one of those things.

Today, because of the scarce availability of part-time work for people to work their way up in the business, choice of school also matters. I went to a large school with a nationally known J-school and an extremely strong internship program. One of my classmates just won a Pulitzer, another is a writer for the NYT, one ended up at Fox News Channel and another one made his way through local radio and is now doing well at a multi-media company. Those are just a few of the examples. Internships are absolutely key, and are a must if you want any type of decent career in the field.

I have friends/colleagues that went to other schools who haven't been so lucky. Those schools had a lack of internships available, and some of them didn't even help direct their students with internship placement.

I've tried myself to break in part-time into radio, but the going has been tough and it isn't getting easier.

 

[kewgardens]

Internships seem to be the key in most fieds. You can make an impression and connections. Glad to see you know of some people who are getting their feet in the media door in a meaningful way. However my observation on radio at least is that even with internships most of those starting out are assigned jobs in the low wage promotions department doing things they could have done right out of high school - or before! Setting up a tent, blowing up a mascot and signing people up to win station key chains is not going to prepare you for anything meaningful either in the industry or outside of it.
Often times, promotions peple are sought by management to go into sales. I have yet to see any of them take the bite.
Getting involved with the station's web sites in a variety of ways can pay dividends as one can use this as a stepping stone to do similar activities at better companies - major corporations outside of radio.

 

[trixter]

Radio will never again be as radio was. Deregulation ruined everything.

Absolutely! The beginning of the end! I was in radio from the late 70s to the early 90s and I would say those were some of the best times in radio. You could develop your talent many ways in smaller markets. I've seen on-the-air talent hold several positions including sales, programing, promotions and taking out the trash! Those were the days when only one ownership per communication outlet was allowed. Mom and pop stations were the rule, not satellite or big corporate giants owning 3 or more stations in one market. My suggestion to many of the college students today is broadcast engineering with a minor (or dual major) in computer tech. There will always be a need for someone keeping all of the equipment on the air. AND....for the egos, a little voice tracking that can go along with the ride!

 

[cowboy72]

well put kewgardens..ive worked with interns from college who spent 15 to 20 thousand dollars for commuications , who didnt even know what a sound bite was.. ive told them to go into a different field, first because they werent being taught how to work in communications, and most important theres no money in it, unless your in sales or a g.m. the most qualified people ive known in the business didnt go to college, they got in the control rooms of radio and tv stations by taking out the trash, and going for coffee for the jock,then sitting in the control room listning, and watching the pro... not by blowing up balloons, or driving the station vans all over town, and handing out pens with the station logo on them.if you listnen to radio, or even tv today, its a shame.

 

[jab5804]

Internships seem to be the key in most fieds. You can make an impression and connections. Glad to see you know of some people who are getting their feet in the media door in a meaningful way. However my observation on radio at least is that even with internships most of those starting out are assigned jobs in the low wage promotions department doing things they could have done right out of high school - or before! Setting up a tent, blowing up a mascot and signing people up to win station key chains is not going to prepare you for anything meaningful either in the industry or outside of it.
Often times, promotions peple are sought by management to go into sales. I have yet to see any of them take the bite.
Getting involved with the station's web sites in a variety of ways can pay dividends as one can use this as a stepping stone to do similar activities at better companies - major corporations outside of radio.

Very good points.

In the media market I live/work in, there may be some (note: some) opportunities for radio in the coming years. It's a small, rural area which isn't infested with major national conglomerates (too small for them to care). There's some regional ownership here, but no group of stations is ruled by penny pinchers (quite yet). The GMs in this area are nearing retirement age, as is the air talent. There's some voice tracked time slots, but, most of it is still live. So, when those people retire, young(er) people are going to have to step in to fill their shoes. This is not what I hear of most markets though. I'm a NEPA native and have/had some family members/friends in radio (hence why I read this board), and from what I understand, the NEPA market is much different than mine.

I also second your comments about getting involved with stations' websites. My own personal story is similar. I had some good things happen to me when I was a student and some great opportunities available, but I didn't want to take the "big internship" far away from home because of other commitments and because I couldn't afford it. So, I started as a web content intern and assisting the sales team at a local radio station (doing mostly PSAs online but also helping with copy, transcribing commercials, making coffee, etc). Eventually, I stayed on part-time after my internship ended. Since then, I've done board-op, a few air shifts, but mostly PSAs and news writing. But, again, all of it is part-time. Full-time work has been an interesting journey, especially recently, but my part-time wage is far from being able to sustain a family. There have been sales openings from time to time at the station, but I never really wanted them.

 

[kewgardens]

Re: Graduation Day 2013

Might be time to revive this topic. Here is the latest facing communications grads. Several people shown the door at Jersey Shore stations this month, Hubbard eliminates 6 jobs in Chicago back in january, in December Clear Channel cleans house at WOR - news department gone, December - Clear Channel fires hundreds in small to medium markets, July Entercom jettisons weekend air talent at WAAF, Boston, April 2012, Dial Global fires 30 people - and more in April of 2013.

Good luck