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Which Broadcasting school should I go to?

X

xchillix

Guest
the Connecticut School of Broad casting just opened a Campus in Charlotte and the Carolina School of Broadcasting is the other one I'm looking at, I heard about the Connecticut School on the radio but I've lived in Charlotte most of my life and didn't hear about the Carolina school until last night when I was surfing the web and found a link to they're home page on some obscure site.

any help would be appreciated.
 
None, don't do it just forget it.

I would have said that years ago but now it's even more true. How much do you want to make? $6, $7 an hour? You really want to pay money and go to school for that?

I had many years in the biz, worked for some major stations, made a little money and had alot of fun, all without going to broadcasting school. When it comes to talent to be on the air you either have it or you don't.

If you think you can play the music you want or say what you want forget it. You play what the station tells you to play and say what they tell you to say when they tell you to say it in as few words as possible.

Since computer automation and satellite networks have come on the scene there has been fewer people needed in radio stations. Read the posts here, some large stations have very small part-time staffs these days.

There are so many radio people out of work right now with many years of experience you wouldn't believe it.

So if none of this discorages you, follow the advice of the Nike campaign...."Just Do It" do not go to broadcasting school. If you know how to stop and start a computer you really don't need it.
 
Also if you really want to do radio, intern at a station. You'll get actual radio station experience without having to pay $10k or whatever it is to go to broadcasting school.
 
Why would you pay a thousand dollars or more to enter a career where you'll work for minimum wage? Radio is a dying business. Check the stock prices.

I owned 4 stations and sold them in 1985 for a large profit. Now, i'm retired and very happy. Broadast schools won't get you anywhere. They are ALL rip-offs, and you can find your job by yourself.

How well do you follow instructions? How well can you read?

Go to a REAL radio station. Drop in - say "hi." Get acquainted with the boss. Tell him what you'd like to do. Maybe, even offer to "pay the manager" or work for free for a pre-determinted time so you can get REAL LIVE training.

Maybe you can be Chrismas or vacation relief on some slow shift - just to get your foot in the door.

Good luck!
 
Countless college and non commercial stations are always looking for volunteers, and that hands on experience is worth much more than any of the broadcasting schools can even promise you. WSGE and WNCW would be good places to look at first. Some AM stations in the smaller towns would be the next place to go. You can always try making friends with some of the air personalities at the bigger stations around here as most will be more than happy to show you around, but don't expect to get behind the mic at any of those places immediately.

I volunteered late nights at WNCW for years just to get my radio fix while taking a more 'stable' career in TV. I had a blast doing it, but those 90 minute drives back home from Spindale with no sleep got a little bit scary sometimes.
 
What I really want to get into is TV production I'm not interested in being a On Air Personality in the least, I'll do Radio if I have to, but I want to get into Sports Television Production and hopefully work for ESPN some day soon. That is why I'm looking at Broadcasting schools so I can learn how to do things like Video editing and sound work among other things that a Television station would find more valuable.

I was posting here more to get a Idea of the opinion of the schools, just interning for free while I learn maybe one job or two really isn't an option for me at the moment.
 
If you're shooting for ESPN, I would give Syracuse a ring first.
If you go to a local broadcasting school, it would probably need to have a sports program, or you would probably need to REEEAALLY stand out.
Maybe Carolina or Maryland or one of the bigger state schools with a broadcasting program that does in-house cable tv productions of sports and dramas and such....
 
Try these...

Loyola Marymount University, School of Film and Television - California

Brown College - Mendota Heights, MN


The above are my personal best recommendations - I have contracted to ABC/ESPN, and Fox, in between radio gigs.
You may want to start out as an Utility and get paid major market scale (non union) to work a few productions a year.

Or even find a school and fast-track into an internship.

Take the degreed courses. The degree courses will help in the hiring processes.


Good Luck!
The Beave
 
LEARN at a local communityy access channel. Many folks here start there, and get into the local real channels. It's free! In the city where I live, you'd get great training.

I have produced several programs (today in history is one) and taught tv history and intro to production.
 
TV is a totally different animal. ESPN uses freelancers for the most part and there are a lot of them out there. TV production is full of ego driven people who can be very difficult to get along with. I've heard stories that were just unbelievable! Production people who have tantrums and give other people a hard time. Keep in mind what you do has to be 100% perfect there is no room for error and lots that can go wrong. It may look glamorous but it's not. A friend of mine is an EIC that's engineer in charge, he's away from home 200 days a year. He has a wife but no kids so it's not a hardship for him.

If you're still interested I think the internship at a cable access channel is a great idea. Time Warner in Charlotte trained people at one time. I don't know if they still do it. This might sound like I'm trying to talk you out of this field of work, actually I'm just telling you what you'll have to deal with.
 
RUN!!!! RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN!!!! WHAT are you thinking?! A "broadcasting school" certificate will be worth to your credientials what an on-line criminal justice "diploma" would be worth to your application to Harvard Law. i.e. when they stop laughing they will tell you to go away.
 
xchillx, if you want to break into TV, public access is definitely the way to go to get your feet wet on the basics. Time Warner does indeed still exist as Access 21. Log on here for more info. http://www.tvaccess21.com/

You can usually get into local sports by being a grip or utility for area sports productions. I knew some people who walked up to various trucks at ballgames and got tried out for the day. If they were good workers, they were invited to come back. I did that for a while and quickly moved up to camera. It was a very cool gig, but you worked hard and traveled a lot (and paying the freelance taxes can bite). It's a very nomadic lifestyle.

Go to my Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/profile.php?id=503653298&v=info&viewas=503653298 and drop me a line if you want to talk about it more.
 
Prais said:
Broadcast schools won't get you anywhere. They are ALL rip-offs, and you can find your job by yourself.
Click to expand...
An old mentor of mine used to refer to CSB as CSCCBS - Connecticut School of Close Cover Before Striking. ;D ;)

Full Disclosure: I'm a CSB Alum. :eek:
 
bub said:
Prais said:
Broadcast schools won't get you anywhere. They are ALL rip-offs, and you can find your job by yourself.
Click to expand...
An old mentor of mine used to refer to CSB as CSCCBS - Connecticut School of Close Cover Before Striking. ;D ;)

Full Disclosure: I'm a CSB Alum. :eek:
Click to expand...

The question is: What are you doing today? (no disrespect intended) Radio and TV stations are shedding staff like a dog sheds fur in July! Did you ever run into Edd Robinson? He used to teach at CSB. I always gave him a hard time about leading our youth astray. ;D
 
Mr. Sheridan asked, "The question is: What are you doing today?"

Smart question. I'm glad you asked.

interested in radio since 1960 (11 years old)
Grew up in Chicago /often visited wind, wls, wcfl, wxfm, wfmf, wfmt, wclr,

1965 worked w/Two Ton Baker and Bruce Newton at WCIU TV (channel 26) puppeteer, stirred Bosco during tv ads.
1966 part time Saturday classical announcer WXFM, Elmwood Park, IL
worked in 3 small town radio stations during college
BA in Communications 1971
1970 Program director/morning drive one of those small stations
1971-73 only English language announcer on all-Spanish station, WCRW, Chicago /board op WEDC, Chicago
1973 WIND, Chicago; production
1974 found/sold freq for what is now WGLM, W Lafayette, IN
1974 bought rimshot Ft Wayne station for 25k down payment (my partner was killed in car ax) Bought his shres from his wife.
1976 bought college town awash in red ink 1kw day am station/morning dj/sales, news. Turned it around.
1977 married
1978 bought college town fm competitor; changed format. Doubled billing.
1983 found frequency for am in Portage, IN
1985 sold Portage freq
April 1985 sold 3 radio stations. permits and freqs for 1.3 million
September, 1985 first daughter born
1986 took a year vacation
1987 helped sell am for a friend near St. Louis, MO
1989 second daughter born
projects at ksiv, kstl, kxen
dj KGLD, St. Louis /producer, all-sports KASP, St. Louis
1992 producer, Great American Sports Trivia Show on KMOX, and syndicated by satellite (by me and 2 partners) on 100 stations in US
1993 purchased Chicago Tribune stock
1993 PR/development for St. Louis Archdiocese and adoption projects
produced "Adoption, the Option of Love" video and guide in 300 markets
1993 bought 2 funeral homes
1994 ordained Catholic deacon
1995 sold 2 funeral homes for 1 million plus
1996 moved to Michigan to do PR for Catholic diocese
1999 sold funeral pre-arrangements for funeral home group, then on my own
2000 got out of stock market (except Tribune) thanks to brainy accountant.
2005-now Certified Nursing Home Chaplain
2006 got offer and sold Chicago Tribune stock to Mr. Zell

NOW and Next; happily ever after

Chaplain job is very easy for me. Keeps me occupied. I run a part 15 Catholic radio station at my church, a closed circuit info 40's music channel at nursing home, preach monthly in my Parish, and help with what the Pastor doesn't want to do.... and also try hard to run my daughter's lives.

Who needs radio anymore?
 
More than you probably want to know!

Wow looks like quite a career. Not many of us could take a year off!

I had a good run but a few bumps in the road:

1972 WAXY Fort Lauderdale, part-time automation operator/ News/Sports/ Public Affairs
1974 WFTL Fort Lauderdale, all night show
1978 WGBS Miami, evening jock
1978 WQAM Miami, weekends & vacation fill
1979 WGMA Hollywood, FL Production Director/Copy
1979 WFTL-again all night show
1979 WCKO Fort Lauderdale, Production Director
1980 WRMF/WJNO Palm Beach, Production Director
1980 WNGS Palm Beach, production & on air
1981 WSOC-AM Charlotte, Afternoons & production
1985 WBT Charlotte, Weekends and vacation fill
1990 WEZC (lite 102.9) Afternoons
1994 Left radio for technician job at call center
1997 Worked for computer reseller building systems and repairs
2000 Computer Tech for Scott Health and Safety
2004 first time I ever collected unemployment! (also did computer contract work)
2005-2007 WKQC (K-104.7) Charlotte weekends/vacation fill (probably my last radio job)
2005 Computer Helpdesk at American Tire (hope to stay awhile)

I probably took some jobs that were not a good fit just to stay employed. My resume shows so many jobs in a short time span. My first two jobs were great experiences but some that came after were very tough. I put up with disrespect that I would not tolerate today. Still, I enjoyed the work, didn't complain, always showed up and did my best. Sometimes I had to leave to find a job that paid more. Sometimes it was a case of the wrong place at the wrong time. I learned never to backtrack and work someplace I worked before. The place wasn't the same and neither was I.

I'm very thankful to someone who helped me get my first full time on air gig and also helped get me out of radio when it was time to leave. Without a degree or experience other than radio it was very hard to change careers even though there are other things I can do.

People in other fields actually thought that I would leave them to go back into radio! ::)
 
Re: More than you probably want to know!

I thought I knew the call letters WJNO, but I was thinking of WJNA. Anyone know if that area has pop standards now? It's a shame, in a place like Florida, if they don't. You'd think in Florida they'd WANT old people.

I did some fixes on the WJNO Wikipedia article while I was there and some articles related to it.
 
I agree there should be a standards format there. It would seem that a station could bypass the agencies and sell direct to sponsors who want to reach that audience. There also might be sponsors who would like to support the format.

They changed calls to WMEN "Man Talk 640" and then changed to all sports. 640 WMEN, 850 WFTL and 1400 WFLL are all referred to as WFTL on the air except for the legal ID. 850 is news/talk and 1400 (the original WFTL) is ESPN Sports, I think 640 is Fox Sports.

All three are owned by the James Crystal company. There have been stories about some bad money issues.
 
I recall back in the early 70's when I attended the University of Florida's Broadcast and Journalism School, those jokers were teaching splicing tape with sissors and splicing blocks..The TV production studio was fairly up to date, but the radio section sucked..I worked at WDVH at the time and when I showed up to class, quite a few times the Professor would take off and let me teach the class..Needless to say, it wasn't Uof F Curriculum.. Anyway, back to the Schools, the recall most of the PD's I worked for, if they saw a Broadcast School like Columbia School of Broadcasting (What a ripoff) on their resume, it immediately went into the trash..The same held true for Armed Forces Radio experience..So, the answer to your question as most of my esteemed colleegues have said "NONE"!

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAY'S FROM THE BIG APE!!!
 
Mike Sheridan said:
The question is: What are you doing today? (no disrespect intended) Radio and TV stations are shedding staff like a dog sheds fur in July! Did you ever run into Edd Robinson? He used to teach at CSB. I always gave him a hard time about leading our youth astray. ;D
Click to expand...
Well, believe it or not, I'm still in this racket, uh, I mean business. ;) ;D But, as I've mentioned in previous posts in previous threads I've lurked, this business is just a part of my life and not my life. I have reached the point where I can parachute out, go to work in a different industry (provided the economy improves ;)) and be completely at peace with my decision. If this does not answer the first part of your question...sorry. :)

In answer to your 2nd part...No, never heard of him.
 
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