Your career in radio broadcasting can start inside your favorite radio station in Los Angeles
Here’s a quick summary of what’s on this page:
- The two things you need to break into Los Angeles radio.
- What makes BMG’s program superior to brick and mortar broadcasting schools.
- Why BMG costs so much less than traditional schools.
- How to get a free radio career consultation, with no obligation.
When you decide to break into radio in Los Angeles, you’re opening a huge opportunity. There are dozens of radio stations that could hire you, broadcasting in all the popular formats. But no matter where you apply, here’s what you’d better bring with you:
Two Things You Need to Succeed in Los Angeles Radio
Any station that you choose to break into L.A. radio will likely look for these two things in your background:
- Radio skills. These include vocal and presentation training and familiarity with station operating procedures and equipment.
- Influential industry contacts. These are people already in the industry who you know and who know you, and who are willing to recommend you for a job opening or hire you themselves.
Two Resources to Teach You What You Need to Know
Los Angeles offers two kinds of resources that teach what you need to know to work on-air in Boston radio:
1) Brick and Mortar Broadcasting Schools. These are housed in traditional school buildings, sometimes on college campuses like USC or Pepperdine, and they teach in the traditional way: You attend classes on a set schedule, listen to lectures and take notes and tests. The teachers may be retired broadcasters or former broadcasting executives from the business side of the industry. You also practice broadcasting, but it’s in the school’s simulated radio station, often on older equipment.
Brick and mortar schools are usually located in the city of L.A., so if you live out in the Valley or the outer suburbs, expect to spend a lot of time on the freeways.
2) Radio Apprenticeship Programs. Apprenticeship is a time-honored way to learn a business or trade by working under a professional already in it. Broadcasters Mentoring Group (BMG) has adapted this very effective one-on-one technique, for radio broadcasting training.
How BMG’s Apprenticeship Program Works:
- When you apply, you are paired with a working broadcaster (your mentor) in a radio station you choose right in your area. No need to travel or relocate.
- The broadcaster is in your chosen specialty: DJ, sportscaster, newscaster or talk show host.
- You meet with your mentor weekly, on a schedule that fits your availability. No need to quit a present job while you learn. And you can start whenever you wish. There are no set semesters.
- Your meetings are right in the working radio station, with broadcasting going on all around you, and you practice on the same equipment the broadcasters use every day.
- You follow a carefully thought-out curriculum, including producing and hosting your own radio show.
- Over time, with your mentor’s feedback and encouragement, your skills grow and grow.
- You can choose either a three-month or six-month program. At completion, BMG certifies you to potential employers as ready to go on-air. And we operate a lifetime job placement program to help you keep your dream going, long after training is completed.
The Power of Contacts
But what about that second thing you need to break into Los Angeles radio … influential industry contacts. How important are they?
Well, here’s a fact to think about: An industry study found that six of every 10 new radio hires happen through contacts. Somebody in the industry who knows you tells someone else in the industry how good you are on the job. That’s a big reason you’re hired. With so many others after the same job, wouldn’t you want that kind of help on your side?
Apprenticeship Programs Build Contacts Almost Automatically.
You’re in a real radio station, working side-by-side with the professionals there. You get to know them, and they get to know you, but more importantly, they get to see your skills develop.
If you work hard at your training and follow your mentor’s advice, at some point, they hear about a job opening from contacts they have. They recommend you to those contacts, or if they can, they hire you themselves. Either way, you’re in! Isolated from the world of real working radio, brick and mortar schools can’t begin to build contacts the same way.
No wonder California radio host Jona Denz Hamilton wholeheartedly recommends going the apprenticeship route. “Mentoring will put you on the fast track into radio,” she says. She could have added that it’s also the inside track.
A Note About Fees
Should you choose apprenticeship, there’s good news about fees: BMG programs are up to 20 times lower than those of typical brick and mortar schools, when part of a college course of study. So the most effective program is likely to also be the most affordable one.
What to Do Next
A BMG apprenticeship program may be the fast and inside track into broadcasting, but you’re not going anywhere until you get on that track. It’s easy to do, and finding out more won’t cost you a dime.
Simply read the rest of this website and especially the FAQ pages.
Or even easier, click on the radio specialty that interests you below or fill out the contact form on this page. Or simply call BMG at (818) 879-0858, right here in the Los Angeles area. Speak to one of our counselors who will give you more information and answer all your questions.
Los Angeles listeners look forward to hearing from you. We do too. Get your broadcasting career rolling by contacting BMG today!