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John Higdon[_2_] · April 18th 10, 04:03 PM posted to rec.radio.broadcasting

In article ,
(David Kaye) wrote:

But you yourself have dissed the idea of getting an education many times.

For myself. I always included the disclaimer that anyone who chose
formal education as a path for himself had my deepest respect.

Radio broadcasting is a mature industry. There aren't that many different
ways to do things. There are some interesting used of soundscapes, however.
I suggest you listen to "Radio Lab" on KQED Radio. It's a documentary series
that mixes some very clever sound collaging with the meat of the topic. It
comes from WNYC.

With all due respect, that is spoken just like someone who is not in the
business. I am days off the NAB convention floor, and even I was a bit
overwhelmed by some of the new tools for production and transmission
that have come out in just the past year. I can't imagine anyone
currently in the business saying that "there is nothing new under the
sun in broadcasting".

I'm told that the commercial broadcasting schools were to varying degrees
shuck and jive. Sure, they might prepare one for a ticket, back when those
mattered, but that was about it.

I never went near one of those schools. But I cannot imagine that such
schools did not teach production, broadcast management, script writing,
technical basics, and the various performance techniques. If they didn't
teach all of those things, they not only should have failed when they
did, but they should never have been in the business in the first place.

Why do we need broadcasting schools now? The industry is 1/10th the size it
was, and is likely to shrink even more. Sure, there will be a need for
broadcasters just as there's a need for blacksmiths, but I suggest that it's
not a wise use of resources to dedicate school curricula to it.

Even leaving local broadcasting out of the discussion, are you saying
that not a single talented human being is utilized in syndication,
satellite and Internet audio services? That's truly incredible.

--
John Higdon
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