Radio station trains people with disabilities for broadcasting jobs
By RON FAIG
AccessLife Newswire
(Posted Sept. 29, 2000.)
It took more than a year and a half. But Brad Saul's dream finally
became a reality. The Radio Center for People with Disabilities (RCPD)
officially took to the Chicago airwaves recently on WAUR-AM.
RCPD is a non-profit agency that recruits, trains and places people
with disabilities in off-the-air jobs in the radio industry.
Programming on the station -- in the third largest radio market in the
nation -- includes nationally syndicated talk shows hosted by Ira
Fistell, Doug Stephan, Deborah Ray, Dennis Prager and Oliver North.
Sports programming includes Notre Dame basketball, limited Fighting
Irish football and coverage of Seton Hall sports.
"On a Roll Radio" with Greg Smith also is carried on the station.
Employment Logo
"By having a radio station, we can train more people and create a
revenue stream for the organization," said Saul, founder and executive
director of the center. "We're training people in the context and
construct of the radio syndication business."
Support from industry readers
Support within the industry has been overwhelming. The board of
directors for RCPD reads like a who's who in broadcasting. It
includes: Pierre Bouvard, vice president and general manager for
Arbitron, the primary ratings research firm for the radio industry;
Erica Farber, editor and publisher of the industry publication "R &
R;" Jeffrey Smulyan, chairman and chief executive officer of Emmis
Communications Corp.; and Smith.
"Arbitron is proud to be a part of the team launching this exciting
concept," said Bouvard. "Forty-eight million people with disabilities.
Of these, two thirds are unemployed. What's needed is a training
program to provide marketable skills. Saul's involvement in this
project will demonstrate radio's leadership and innovation in helping
people in our communities."
The head of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) also is
excited about the potential for RCPD.
"I am thrilled by the launch of the RCPD," said William E. Kennard,
FCC chairperson. "I am also pleased of the affiliation with the radio
program "On a Roll" and have confidence that groups supporting RCPD
will use that show to help the center recruit people with disabilities
with an interest in radio."
Students will be trained in three areas: production, sales and super
sales. The curriculum was designed so that each section must be
completed satisfactorily before advancing to the next. When all three
areas are completed, Saul said, the student is virtually guaranteed to
get a job. Training is free.
Groomed for future job placement
Five students are part of the center's initial program. One student
who recently completed the program is now working at a radio station
in Chicago. Two of the other students are expected to be placed soon.
A major part of the center's initiative is to create a path back to
the mainstream for those with disabilities. It is the first industry
initiative of its kind.
"What we hope to do is help the broadcast industry help itself," said
the 49-year-old Saul. "And people with disabilities can go to work
instead of staying home to watch Oprah. If we can train 15 to 25
people a year, that will have an effect. They will be new taxpayers."
Bitten by the radio bug as a teenager
Saul has been in radio for 26 years and received numerous awards. He
has produced documentaries, musical entertainment and various sports
programming for radio.
The radio bug bit Saul when he was a teenager. He was thoroughly
enamored and enthralled and had to be a part of it. He started as a
reporter for a radio for kids show in Chicago. He has spent most of
his career in that city.
In 1991, he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. He believes that
things happen for a reason.
"All I know is radio," said Saul. "I thought if I could do something
good, why not justify why God gave me this disease? I made a deal with
God that I will do this in this life, but if she does this to me in
the next life, we will have a problem."
Ron Faig is a freelance writer for AccessLife in Tampa, Fla. He can be
reached at [log in to unmask]
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