| says Don Scott, Managing Director of Western Academy, "but it's got enough power so that if you're within a stone's throw, you can pick up the signal. Family and friends of students sometimes drive into the campus and have a listen. People with offices on campus tell us they also tune in occasionally."
The purpose of the transmitter is to simulate an environment for students that is as close as possible to that of a real commercial radio station. Says Scott, "knowing someone in the building is listening gives the students incentive to perform, and it also helps them get over stage fright. It's the difference between practicing & really playing the game of radio."
| The more time spent behind the mike, the better the announcer. |
Every day of the training program, students spend several hours daily in this radio broadcasting environment of seven studios, playing Top-40 songs, reading news and sportscasts, producing radio commercials and generally developing their radio skills. Scott says, "we've found that the more time spent behind the mike, the better the announcer. We make sure that each student gets about 350 hours in the studio. Other schools have tried to do it in less, but their failure rate says how ineffective they are. It's like playing a musical instrument - it's the daily practicing that makes the difference."
And the difference proves to be WABC's track record, with 90% plus of their students scoring jobs - now over 1000 WABC grads hired in the professional broadcasting industry over the last two decades. "Broadcasting schools have had a pretty bad reputation overall," Scott says, "but we're helping change that image. We get calls asking for our students from Ontario to Vancouver Island. Radio stations view us as a primary resource pool from which they draw their new up-and-coming talent."
| Being a broadcaster
might appear easy,
but there's a lot involved. |
In addition to several hours a day in Western Academy's studios, each student joins classmates for two hours of daily classroom time. According to Scott, "here's where much of the theory and how-to's of performing on the air are presented. To the layman, being a broadcaster might appear easy but there's a lot involved.
It's a complex of electronic equipment, timing, voice skills, information and personality all rolled into a package that hopefully the listener finds interesting, entertaining and maybe even humorous."
Also part of the classroom activity is the analysis of each student's previous studio session. "We record the performances daily," he says, "so the staff can monitor each student's progress and give them continuous guidance and one-on-one tutoring. It's an important part of the training process and one of the reasons for our high job placement rate."
The 200 hours of classroom time combine with the studio time for a 550-hour "dynamite-impact" radio course that's offered twice yearly, in September and again in February.
The staff referred to by Scott is a group of fellow broadcasters-turned-instructors, as he puts it "mostly from the big pro-leagues" headed up by Scott himself (having 15 years experience on-air in Montreal, Calgary & Saskatoon) plus a couple of decades of teaching. Co-teaming as Scott's senior instructor is Barry Drake (with 16 years on-air experience in Calgary and other Alberta markets) plus a decade at WABC Western Academy.
"You've got to have that major market experience to be a good teacher," he relates. "It's like the NHL coaches - the good ones were major-league pros themselves."
Scott and Drake first teamed up as a Morning Show duo in the start-up years of 102-FM Saskatoon.
"Those were fun times, busy though." Scott says of himself, "Imagine running a radio station as Program Director, plus doing a Morning Show, and at the same time running a broadcasting college! My day started at 3:45 a.m. and ran rapid-pace until sometimes midnight. But I loved every minute of it - what's not to like. Whether at the radio station or at the broadcasting college - we were all playing music and having fun!"
| People come through our doors
wanting to be a "star".
But it's not all glamour. |
Although radio is television's less glamorous sister, it draws people into the profession because of a prestige and glitter of its own. "People from all walks of life come through our doors wanting to be a "star". But it's not all glamour. To be successful you have to be ambitious & hardworking. You need a desire to succeed, to really love what you're doing."
In the broadcasting business that's a must, because in the beginning there can be a lot of long hours with modest pay while you learn the ropes and develop a professional polished sound. "It takes a special love for performing to stick it out. However," he says, "with the right amount of zeal and effort you can quickly climb up the ladder to bigger stations and better salaries," adding that he himself hit the airways in the major market city of Montreal in a little over two years.
The majority of the 28 students who arrive each program enroll in hopes of becoming a Top-40 dj, but often develop new interests as the course progresses. "Music is an important part of most young people's lives, and they're after the close contact with music that the role of dj provides.
But the WABC course is set up so students have opportunity to try all areas of on-air work, from being a deejay personality, to news & sportscasting, to voicing commercials - as well as interviewing, news & sports writing/ reporting, and basic journalism. Once they've tried all aspects of radio broadcasting, once they start to unearth their talents and abilities, they realize they have many on-air choices."
And then there's lots of other career options that make themselves available as you develop some experience. Scott emphasizes, "broadcasting is a steady stream of people moving upwards, with many moving into management, television, advertising, public relations, and of course the whole video explosion with music TV, sports TV, news TV and so on, with many other specialty channels on the horizon. Talented broadcasters are being sought for all these areas."
| With all of the new radio stations, plus satellite and cable technology, the time has never been better for a career in broadcasting. |
"Sure there are those who dabble in the media without a real career commitment and drop out," he says, "but with all of the explosion in the number of new radio stations plus satellite and cable technology, the time has never been more opportune for a career in broadcasting."
In fact, to meet the broadcast industry's demand for skills in TV, WABC's two different Television Training programs offer many more career options.
The TV STUDIO PRODUCTION course utilizes a 3-camera TV Studio & Master Control for training in basic TV operations like directing, video switching, camera operating, tv audio, plus the on-camera experience of anchoring news/sportscasts, hosting talk shows, performing interviews & television commercials.
The FIELD CAMERA VIDEO program utilizes camera shooting ''outside'' the studio, combined with video editing afterwards to create the finished video product ready for broadcasting.
Scott adds, "This program has been attracting people from all across Canada -- and now with our website, serious inquiries are coming from all over the U-S and around the globe."
"The WABC program is the hardest working Radio/TV course in broadcasting" says Scott -- because it was designed from day one by people who are obsessed with excellence.
Western Academy's reputation speaks for itself, and it's a lot to live up to. The success rate continues to be a phenomenal 90%+ job placement rate at several hundred radio and TV stations across Canada, the States, plus several international broadcasting stations.
As the interview ends, Scott heads back to the classroom quipping, "I've got some stars waiting for me, & you can't keep a star waiting!"
And WABC's tiny signal is on the air for another broadcast day...!
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