Radio Broadcasting Schools In North Carolina

Here are your two primary options to begin your career in radio

If you’ve decided to seek a broadcasting school to train you for a radio career in North Carolina, you’ve picked a great state in which to do it. The state has nearly 500 stations, operating in all the popular formats, and especially country, urban, and religious.

Two Things You Need to Succeed in North Carolina Radio

You’d do well to start your career at any North Carolina station. And you’d stand the best chance of getting hired if you have these two items in your background:

1. Radio skills. These include professional-level vocal and presentation, and a full understanding of station procedures and equipment.
2. Insider contacts. These are people already in the industry who know you and are willing to recommend you for the job.

Two Kinds of Broadcasting Training Programs

Radio Skills are readily available in North Carolina, through these two kinds of programs:

1) Brick and mortar schools. These are housed in traditional school buildings, sometimes as part of a college campus. They teach in a traditional way: You attend classes, sit through lectures, take notes, pass tests. You practice broadcasting, but often in simulated stations not actually on the air, and on older equipment donated by radio stations that no longer need it.

There are other factors to consider in deciding on this kind of training: The schools are usually in large cities like Raleigh, so if you’re not, you’ll have to travel or relocate. Rigid class schedules and semester start dates can conflict with a present job or other life activities, and the costs can be as high as $50,000, when part of a college degree program.

2) Radio apprenticeship training, such as offered by Broadcasters Mentoring Group (BMG). This is a time-honored approach to learning a trade in which a working professional trains you, one-on-one, right in the workplace. BMG has adapted this concept to broadcasting training.

Here’s a brief look at how BMG’s program works:

• When you apply, you (the apprentice) are linked with a working broadcaster (your mentor) in a radio station you select 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 actual radio station, and you practice on the same equipment the broadcasters there 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 as being 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.

Contacts: The Make or Break Factor in Breaking In to North Carolina Radio

If you’ve ever tried to break into radio, you know you’ve got lots of competition for any opening. Why should a hiring manager choose you?

Often it’s on a recommendation from an insider contact, already in the business. How do you develop such contacts?

Apprenticeships Build Contacts Automatically

As you train in an actual radio station, you’re going to get to know the professionals working there and they’re going to get to know you. More importantly, they’ve got a front seat for watching your skills develop.

Do a good job in your training and they’ll likely be willing to help you advance. When they hear of an opening (often through their own contacts), you’ll be told before any outsider, and when you apply, you’ll carry their recommendation. How often does this help?

An industry study showed more than six of every 10 new broadcasting hires happened through contacts.

Separated from day-to-day broadcasting in their own world, brick and mortar schools can’t build current contacts in this way.

California radio host Jona Denz Hamilton recommends 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.

Works Best, Costs Less

Apprenticeships have another major advantage: Because BMG does not have to pay for the buildings and staff of traditional schools, we can pass the savings to you. BMG programs cost up to 20 times less than brick and mortar schools, when part of a college degree program.

Your First Step is Free

You can decide to start a BMG apprenticeship program at no cost. Just read the rest of this website and especially the FAQ page, and then contact us. 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. One of our counselors will answer all your questions and provide a free radio career consultation. There’s never a cost or obligation to learn more.

Launch your radio career in North Carolina by contacting BMG today!