The campus I attended no longer exists-however the other school locations are run by the same company. After reviewing the other testimonials here it brought back memories. I attended the school in 1989. The school was run by a man named Bob Mills who now owns and operates The Ohio Center for Broadcasting which has had no shortage of complaints itself. I also had to perform an "audition" to see if I had what it took. I did. I had $5000.00 and a heartbeat. After classes started I realized that there were several individuals there that obviously had not the talent nor ability to perform in the radio industry. The equipment was junk. Which was probably the most accurate depiction of what the radio business is really like! Placement was guaranteed at 85-90%. Let's think about that for a minute. You have scores of these schools across the country churning out hundreds of alumni every few months. However you also have a decreasing number of jobs, due to broadcasting conglomerates, networks and computer automation. Here are some examples of "placement". Your placement director calls you and says "RRED* needs a promotions assistant intern." You say "YES!!! MY big break!". You show up at RRED and get your first assignment. Wear a chicken head and carry a sign that says "Don't Be Chicken to Kiss The RRED Head. 97.5 Big RRED" It's 98 degrees outside the speedway and you pray for sweet death to come. But you are paying your dues. At the end of the day you get your spiff, a 97.5 RRED tee shirt. Congratulations. According to CSB you have just been "Placed". You exist forever and always in their "Successfully Placed" folder and your picture will be proudly displayed on their Wall of Fame for future potential students to view. "John Doe. 1989 CSB Grad. Promotions Assistant RRED 97.5." Let's say that you decide to maybe forgo this spectacular opportunity. Uh-oh... You have just turned down a rare and coveted shot at the big time. No soup for you. It's not likely that CSB's number will appear on your caller ID again in the near future.
Another example: Your placement director calls. "Hey, wanna do some voiceovers for a local TV show?" YES... MY BIG BREAK!!! Call this number and get the info. You're in. Soar high. You are on your way. You frantically call the number and get the following message. "Hi, thanks for calling Schmergesberg Public Access. If you know the extension of the party you are attemping to...". Anyway, it turns out that Skippy and Scooter Schmeck are thinking about doing a Friday Night High School Football cable show and they need someone to work the studio cameras. They are gonna go huge with this. After all, they both graduated from The Connecticut School of Broadcasting. Geez... Schmergesberg is 60 miles from the house. I dunno... Well ok. "John Doe 1989 CSB Grad. Executive Producer "Skippy&Scooter Friday Nite Sports Show". Another CSB grad successfully placed!
People simply do not graduate from a broadcasting trade school (or a well respected college broadcast journalism program for that matter) and immediately obtain a six figure on-air gig at a 20,000w radio station. It does not happen. Dues must be paid and nowadays, to be quite honest (which CSB does not) looks are a big part of being successfull in the radio biz. If you are going to be hired as a morning show host you must look good in a 15'x30' billboard. Just something to think about.
Admittedly, I did work in the radio business for a short time. However it was not for many years after I graduated from CSB and by then the placement person there was reluctant to provide any decent leads.in other words any info at all he was willing to provide were leads to such nonsense as described above. The school does indeed provide sources from time to time which are actual radio jobs but there is no secret fountain of tasty job leads to which only a "Placement Director" has access. Any person who can read the hot sheet from "R&R" has the same access to this info as the Placement Director at the school has. I obtained my first job from volunteering at a local hole in the wall AM and from there recieved a lead about a potential opening at another 1000 watt AM. It was 8 hours a week. I never made any money in the business but it was fun.
Moral of the story is for the "education" you recieve from CSB, and the money you shell out you can certainly do much better for much less. This is just another predatory sham trade school that lures folks in with promises of quickly obtained access to a high paying, glamorous industry. For every Howard Stern making millions of dollars a year, there are thousands of struggling humps working long hours in nicotine coated ill equipped production and or control rooms with cart machines (yes, they still use those) and reel to reels and these guys usually are juggling on-air shifts with promotions and other duties. Plus they also have their second job at McDonalds. CSB never tells you about these folks. If you want to make money in radio, go into Sales. But if you just want to have fun and make twelve bucks an hour call your local stations and offer yourself as an intern. That's a foot in the door. Meanwhile, hone your skills by starting a webcast from your own house. Buy Adobe Audition and learn to use it and you will have better editing equipment than they have at some of these schools. I know... I recently took the introductory tour at the similar school here in my area, just for kicks. They are up to the same nonsense as they were 20 years ago. Of course the CSB here in Cincinnati closed so I don't even have usage of the promised "lifetime studio access" I was guaranteed years ago.interesting thing is the school here now is using the prior schools positive alumni testimonials and job placements to sell their program, but they deny CSB grads access to current placement and studio time. * Of course there is no such station as RRED. However there is an WRED and in no way did I wish to implicate them in this tirade. RRED is a fictitious station and was used for comedic effect. However you get the point... Good luck.
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