RE: College radio talent

["Paul Hopfgarten" <paul@03038.com>]

Hey, that's what makes us human beings....

It'd be a pretty boring world if we were all good at the same things.

Paul Hopfgarten
East Derry NH 03041


> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-boston-radio-interest@bostonradio.org
> [mailto:owner-boston-radio-interest@bostonradio.org]On Behalf Of Aaron
> [Bishop] Read
> Sent: Tuesday, August 27, 2002 10:15 AM
> To: boston-radio-interest@bostonradio.org
> Subject: RE: College radio talent
>
>
> I believe it was Sid who mentioned that it's not too hard to pick up the
> basics of the technical aspect of radio.   My experience runs directly
> counter to this....I can't even begin to tell you the number of people at
> A-Bfree, WZBC, WBRS, WTBU and WMFO who just "didn't get it" when
> it came to
> anything technical.   Age, race, color, creed or sex didn't seem
> to matter,
> actually.  It was just that some people are naturally intimidated by
> technology...and when the slightest deviation happened in the technical
> setup they all had panic attacks.
>
> By the same token, some folks just aren't intimidated by technology at
> all.  I would say that I fall into this category, and I'd wager Sid (and
> many others on this list) do as well.    As frustrated as the
> "intimidated"
> folks find the technology, we get frustrated by the folks who get
> intimidated.  "IT'S NOT THAT HARD!!!" we're usually screaming...hopefully
> only in our minds.  :-)
>
> To be fair, the thought of accounting/finances gives me the
> heebie-jeebies...so the phenomena is not limited to technical
> stuff by any
> stretch.
>
> A college experience can give a good basis in technical skill that is
> required to do good radio.   However, you will rarely get this at
> anything
> but a "radio" college (Emerson and Curry are the only two around eastern
> Mass that come to mind, but feel free to correct me if I've
> missed one).  A
> "communications" college (like Boston Univ) won't cut it....there
> has to be
> a strong radio program specifically.   Either that, or go
> work/intern at an
> NPR station.  Most NPR affiliates have a lot of technical gear far beyond
> your average commercial radio station.
>
> Speaking of which, this touches on a huge pet peeve of mine....why is it
> that liberal arts colleges (Tufts & Wellesley come to mind as two of the
> worst - but definitely not the only - offenders here) that have radio
> stations insist that all focus be on the content and that since
> they are a
> liberal arts college - NOT an engineering school, they add
> haughtily - they
> refuse to teach their students anything about how to make that
> content.  ARRRRRGGH!!!  You can't possibly do good radio without
> understanding the tools to do it.   That's like saying we expect you to
> play in a symphony tomorrow even though you've never played an
> instrument...nor will we give you any training at all.
>
> And then they whine when nobody listens to their station...well duh, it
> sounds bad.  Grrrrrr....
>
> ____________________________________________
> Aaron "Bishop" Read     aread@speakeasy.net
> FriedBagels.com Technical Consulting
> www.friedbagels.com   AOL-IM: ReadAaron
>