HOWARD STERN IN THE MAKING - NOT; VALLEY COLLEGE STUDENTS LEARN THERE'S A LOT MORE TO RADIO THAN ON-AIR ANTICS.

Byline: Fred Shuster Daily News Staff Writer

Not everyone can be Howard Stern or Rick Dees. That's the first thing students must contemplate when entering radio production class at Los Angeles Valley College.

Nonetheless, the industry is big enough that bright, ambitious students eventually can make a living in the medium.

A first step is Broadcasting 10: Radio Programming and Production, taught in day and evening sections each semester at Valley College, the last local community college campus offering hands-on radio experience.

The class, which has no prerequisites and is open to anyone, teaches how a radio station functions from both a technical and operational perspective, and discusses federal broadcast guidelines and ratings. Grades are based partially on aircheck or audition tapes created at the campus station on Fulton Avenue in Van Nuys.

``Students can take the class twice,'' explains instructor Scott Mason. ``The first semester is mostly didactic - the broadcast tower, the Emergency Broadcast System. The second semester is 85 percent hands-on - putting together audition tapes. In the second semester, the basis of a student's grade is mostly improvement on their own aircheck tape.''

Thanks to a state grant, Valley's radio department was able to obtain state-of-the-art equipment in January.

``Radio is changing so fast,'' said Mason, who also is operations manager at popular new-rock station KROQ-FM (106.7). ``There's very little razor blade and audiotape left in this business and, unfortunately, most schools still teach that. I want to make sure that when my students walk out of here, they're employable.''

Mason, an alum of both Valley College and California State University, Northridge, wrote the grant proposal that resulted in the department acquiring an Orban eight-channel multitrack digital editing system, plus the software for Selector, which most large radio stations use to program music.

Students thus become acquainted with industry-standard equipment little-known outside radio stations.

Only the basics

Instructors stress that the Broadcasting 10 class can only give the basics, and the rest is up to each student, along with a little input from Lady Luck.

``The problem with most of the young students is they want to be disc jockeys and think they'll knock Rick Dees off the air,'' said Jack Sterk, chairman of the Speech Communication and Broadcasting Department at Valley College.

``We don't ever say to a student, `You'll get a two-year degree and you'll make a solid living in the industry,' '' Sterk said. ``We tell them that they'll get some skills here and at that point they must sell themselves.''

Radio jobs usually depend on the quality of audition tapes. And travel generally is part of the bargain.

``You make an aircheck tape, send it to local stations in Santa Maria and Lompoc and maybe you get hired to do something at one of those stations,'' Sterk said. ``You start making minimum wage and maybe you get to Santa Fe, N.M., or Santa Rosa and so on. I always say the road to Los Angeles is through St. Louis and Albuquerque and Las Vegas, and it will probably take 10 to 15 years if you get here at all.''

But if you love the medium, you'll put up with anything. Just ask Howard Stern, whose grueling tour of duty was portrayed in the movie ``Private Parts.''

Some Broadcasting 10 students view radio as an adventure.

``I'll go anywhere,'' said future disc jockey Todd Alter, 21, of Van Nuys. ``I'm learning the basics, then I'll get some experience and, hopefully, one day I'll get to work on a big station somewhere.''

Behind-the-scenes goal

Another of Mason's students, 21-year-old Vanessa Zapata of Van Nuys, wants to work in more of a behind-the-scenes capacity: promotions or marketing.

``The students that stick it out do well,'' said Mason, who teaches the class on Wednesday evenings. ``Then, there are those who think the whole class is playing on the equipment.''

At KROQ, Mason is responsible for the technical operation of the station. For example, he traveled to Las Vegas prior to the opening of U2's PopMart '97 tour to lay the groundwork for KROQ's broadcast from the site.

``Based upon the number of internship applications I get at KROQ, plenty of young people are interested in radio,'' Mason said. ``It's a big-money industry, and there's much more to it than being a disc jockey. Sales people are making money, programmers, marketing people, promotions. Everyone doesn't have to be Howard Stern.''

But in Los Angeles, it's next to impossible to learn about radio at the state or community college level. The University of California offers little hands-on experience, while public-radio KCSN-FM (88.5), the campus station at Cal State Northridge, is run by professionals with a token amount of student help.

At Valley College, radio students operate the tiny campus station, KVAL, and devise their own programs. The station broadcasts throughout the immediate area at 830 on the AM dial from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on school days and provides programming for TCI cable subscribers at the same time.

When Mason got out of high school in 1977, Pierce College, Los Angeles City College and Valley College all offered a radio broadcast curriculum. Valley is now the only local community college with the program.

``There are a number of ways to get into radio,'' Mason said. ``The best one is to get a baseline education and go after a job in a small market.''

The basic education Valley offers is unique, partially due to having an instructor such as Mason who works within the industry, and because the program can familiarize students with state-of-the-art equipment such as Selector. Ads in trade magazines often ask for Selector experience as a prerequisite even for entry-level positions.

`Supposed to be employable'

``I want these kids to walk out of school and into the industry,'' Mason said. ``That's what school is supposed to be for. You're supposed to be employable when you get out.''

The next semester at Valley College starts Aug. 16. Enrollment in the radio production class alone costs $39. For more information, call [phone].

``The school doesn't have a marketing budget,'' Mason said. ``They have no way of telling people that they offer this radio broadcasting course. ... I have people coming up to me all the time asking, `Should I go to one of those radio schools I saw on TV?' But they cost something like eight grand a semester when you can go to Valley for a lot less.''

Another way to learn about radio is through internships at the stations themselves. But internships are often open only to students earning college credit and, besides, not every commercial station has internship programs.

``The kids who are trying to get into a radio station on an internship have to learn by sponging up what knowledge they can,'' Mason said. ``You can't teach a whole lot during an internship.''

Mason has been at KROQ for 18 years, and during that time has worn a number of hats, including assistant programmer, on-air announcer and engineer.

``In the early days of KROQ, you had to do everything,'' he said.

If a student lands that first job at a small station, chances are ``everything'' will be part of the job description. That's the sort of information Mason is sure to impart, along with everything else.

``They think they'll be able to be a disc jockey on their favorite station,'' Mason said. ``The ones that love the medium will do the best. As you get good enough, you can be selective and work at the stations that play the music you like.

``But that probably won't happen at the beginning unless you're very, very lucky.''

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos

Photo: (1--Cover--Color) On the Air

At the last local outpost for hands-on radio experience, Valley College students learn the broadcasting facts of life

(2) KROQ operations manager teaches Broadcasting 10: Radio Programming and Production at Valley College. A state grant has enabled the school's radio department to obtain state-of-the-art equipment.

(3) Jana Przebieda takes notes during one of Mason's classes. Valley College is the last local community college campus offering hands-on radio experience.

Gus Ruelas/Daily News