VA Vocational Rehab

For VA’s Voc Rehab training benefits, you need to meet these qualifications:

• A discharge that is other than dishonorable
• Less than 12 years from either separation from the service or notice from the VA of a service-connected disability
• A service-connected VA disability rating of at least 10%
• Application to the VA for Voc Rehab services

To become a working broadcaster, train with a working broadcaster

Of course, your success in radio broadcasting will ultimately depend more on the quality of your training than on who pays for it. There are a number of radio broadcasting schools.

Most are the type where you travel to a possibly distant campus, sit through lectures on their schedule, begin on a specific semester start date, practice broadcasting in simulated situations, and graduate, perhaps never having been in a real working station.

Here at Broadcasting Mentoring Network, a VA approved vendor for vocational rehab, we believe that the best place for you to learn broadcasting is inside the industry.

So you are paired up for training with a real working broadcaster in an actual radio station. You learn broadcasting in a hands-on environment by training one-on-one with a professional broadcaster. We call this the mentor-apprentice training model.

Here’s how it works:

• When you apply, you give us the names of four or five actual stations right in your area, along with your choice of specialty: DJ, sportscaster, newscaster, or talk show host.
• We then match you with a working broadcaster in your specialty at one of these stations. You meet, and if the arrangement works for both of you, he or she becomes your mentor.
• You meet weekly right at the station (no traveling to a distant campus), and are taught how the job is done by seeing professionals do it, and by practicing on the same kind of equipment they use. No simulations here.
• You set the schedule, so there’s no need to give up your present activities. We can train you evenings, weekends, part time, whenever you’re available. The program runs about three months.
• A big part of your training is creating your own weekly radio show. At each meeting, your mentor listens to it and gives you constructive feedback. As time passes, your shows become more and more professional.

What skills do you learn? Depending on your specialty, here’s a partial list:

Studio Equipment and Procedures:

• Radio Studio
• Microphones
• Working with a Microphone
• Mic Fright and Why Broadcast Performers Get it
• The Audio Console
• Music Playback Sources
• Recording Equipment
• Digital Audio Equipment
• Copy Marking

Voicing to Radio Standards:

• Key Elements of Vocal Development
• Volume
• Pitch
• Rate
• Tone
• Articulation of Sounds
• Pronunciation
• Common Vocal Problems
• Maintaining a Healthy Voice
• Avoiding Amateurish and Inept Delivery

Handling Commercials:

• Commercial Forms
• Basic Structure of the Commercial
• Importance of Timing
• Energy: Hard Sell versus Soft Sell
• Ad-Lib Commercials
• Commercial Voice-Over

Interviewing Skills:

• Types of Interviews
• Structure of the Broadcast Interview
• Preparation and Research
• Preparing Guests and Topics
• Developing Interviewing Skills
• Keeping Control

Job Placement Skills (includes lifetime job placement assistance)

• Writing Your Resume
• Electronic Resumes
• Adding a Cover Letter
• Making Your Audition Tape/Demo
• Develop a Contact List
• Interviewing for a Job
• Responding to a Job Offer
• Unions, Agents, and Contract

You’ll learn many more skills specific to your specialty: DJ, sportscaster, newscaster, or talk show host. We have separate programs for each.

When you complete any of the programs, you get a certificate telling the industry that you’re ready to go on-air. However, there’s an even more important way we help you land that first gig.

Contacts land you most of the jobs, so WHO you know counts!

As you train, your mentor and others at the station will watch your skills grow. Show some of that “can-do” spirit that so marks the U.S. military as you train and they’re going to develop a very favorable opinion of you.

Every experienced broadcaster, including your mentor, has loads of contacts in the industry. Those contacts have contacts of their own.

When a job opens up somewhere in that network, your mentor will not only let you know about it, he or she will also recommend you for the job if you’re training showed you to be worthy of their recommendation.

Because nearly two-thirds of broadcasting hires come through industry contacts, that recommendation, plus today’s favorable attitude toward hiring vets, is likely going to get you in the door … and on the air.

It’s the inside track to landing your first job.

First Step: Call us for the VA Facility Code

But none of this happens until you take the first step. That’s calling us at BMG to get the VA Facility Code needed to use our services under the VA Voc Rehab program.

Then call the VA and complete your application. You’ll be assigned a counselor, unless you already have one. Just give that person the BMG facility code and tell them you want to be trained in broadcasting at Broadcasters Mentoring Group.

Your mission is to begin the new career you’ve dreamed of. Accept it by calling BMG at 818-879-0858 to get the VA facility code today.

Good luck in the world of broadcasting. And, on behalf of all of us at BMG, thank you for your service.