The Top Broadcasting Schools are Determined by Your Learning Style

Compare BMG with the others…

Top Broadcasting Schools

The top broadcasting schools in the country are really determined more by your learning style, budget and availability than arbitrary rankings. If you’re a hands-on, learn by doing type of person, then a broadcasting apprenticeship, such as BMG offers, would be the best fit for your learning style.

However, if you’re the type of learner that does best in a classroom lecture setting, a more traditional brick and mortar broadcasting school would be a top broadcasting school for you to consider.

The same common sense principles apply to your budget and availability when trying to determine what the top broadcasting schools are for you. If you have a rigid schedule, and a broadcasting school offers classes at times you’re not available, at prices you can’t afford, that’s not likely to be the top broadcasting school for you.

Here’s what you should be looking for to determine the top broadcasting schools for you:

• Do they offer you the ability to make insider contacts?
• Are you being trained on and around modern equipment?
• Are you being trained by someone currently in the business?
• Are you strategically positioned to be hired when openings arise?
• Do you have access to a network of influential industry contacts?

“How does BMG compare with Internships?”

Internships are generally only available to currently enrolled college students. Most TV & radio stations won’t even allow you to work for free in an internship if you’re not enrolled in college and receiving college credits for the internship. Due to National Fair Labor Laws and previous lawsuits against broadcasting companies, this has pretty much become the industry norm.

Strengths of Internships

• Able to make insider contacts
• Opportunity to prove yourself to decision makers
• Exposure to many facets of broadcasting (on-air, production, promotions)
• Some may be paid positions (rare)

Weaknesses of Internships

College students only: If you’re not currently enrolled in college, you generally CAN’T do an internship. However, you can do a broadcasting apprenticeship. Regardless of how old you are, or where you live, if there are radio stations nearby, you can become a broadcaster through BMG’s apprenticeship training program.

Highly competitive: You’re one of 10-20 other interns at a given station hoping to be selected if or when a job becomes available.

Lack of specific job training: You won’t be trained for on-air work in broadcasting as an intern. Most interns are placed where the radio station has the greatest need for free labor.

Few personal references: You’ll usually have difficulty developing personal references since you’re rarely working one-on-one with anyone or learning specific job skills. Most broadcasters won’t hazard a recommendation on someone’s on-air skills they’re unsure of.

“How does BMG compare to traditional broadcasting schools?”

You’ve heard the saying; “It’s not what you know, but WHO you know?”

Broadcasting is one industry in which having already established contacts inside the business puts you at a major advantage. On the other hand, not having insider contacts creates a disadvantage for you. After all, you may have the greatest broadcasting skills in the world, but if nobody knows you, what good will your broadcasting skills do you?

By design, traditional broadcasting schools aren’t structured to create these insider contacts. The owners of these schools aren’t bad or evil people. They simply designed their broadcasting schools with a critical component missing – contacts.

BMG’s radio broadcasting apprenticeships are specifically designed to develop these all-important relationships from day one, by placing you on the inside of the broadcasting industry for your training.

Upon completion of training, the broadcasting school student from a brick-and-mortar school is usually scrambling and looking for ways to get their foot in the door to make those all important job contacts.

By then, it’s generally too late, as no relationships have been built during training. Cultivating important contacts occurs when there’s a relationship involved with others in the business.

Conversely, BMG’s radio broadcasting apprenticeship students are looking to leverage their already-established relationships into broadcasting jobs, the minute employment becomes available.

Brick and Mortar Broadcasting Schools Strengths

• They do a good job of teaching broadcasting skills
• Easy to get admitted (if you have the money)
• Multiple financing options (if you qualify)

Brick and Mortar Broadcasting Schools Weaknesses

• Extremely difficult creating industry contacts
• Only available in certain cities (usually large ones)
• Inflexible training schedules (set class times and semesters)
• Costly (Generally run between $9,000-$14,000)
• Nearly impossible to transition into real radio or television broadcasting
• Competitive (usually 15-30 students seeking the same jobs as you)

BMG Apprenticeship Strengths

• Convenient – You choose the nearby radio station in which to train
• Affordable – $4000-$8000 less expensive than traditional broadcasting schools
• Practical – Hybrid of broadcasting schools and internships combines the best of both models
• Doable – Available to people of all ages
• Logical – Training conducted in real radio stations – by real broadcasters
• Sensible – Mentors (teachers) are local broadcasters
• Teachable – Hands-on training makes learning easier and more fun for most people
• Reasonable – Learn at your own pace (one-on-one training)
• Successful – Easier to develop skills and make industry contacts (from day one)
• Huge job placement advantage (you’re already in the station…with contacts)

BMG Weaknesses

• Can work against students who don’t take training seriously
• Only offered in the U.S. and Canada
• Finite mentor pool in each market (harder to get accepted)

The bottom line comparison … apprenticeships START you on the inside of the business, while traditional broadcasting schools start you on the outside, and leave it to you to figure out how to get on the inside and make those all-important broadcasting contacts.

“How does BMG compare with other broadcasting apprenticeship programs?”

Some of the best advice we all likely received when younger was to “let others speak highly of you, but don’t brag about yourself.” Given this, we’ll let our Better Business Bureau rating speak for us.

• BMG’s “A+” Better Business Bureau Record

BMG’s philosophy towards you is “a student today, a partner for life.” You receive continuing education, networking opportunities, and job placement services through our private job board – for life.

BMG’s job placement services are also second to none. Before starting, you’ll know exactly what BMG’s job placement services include. The “other companies'” idea of job placement services is to just tell you they offer job placement without showing you exactly what that entails.

Through BMG, you’ll also be hosting your own radio show or calling games, while the other mentorship programs will just teach you about the need to acquire those necessary skills.

“How does BMG’s cost compare with other broadcasting schools and regular apprenticeships?”

You won’t find a more practical and higher quality broadcast training program anywhere than what BMG offers. Oh, and our prices are far more reasonable, as well. BMG is able to keep your tuition costs lower than others simply because your tuition doesn’t pay for buildings to be maintained, faculty salaries, or employee healthcare costs.