Radio Connection Scam? Adding It Up

The Radio Connection is a program that uses an ancient practice to teach modern concepts. Rather than using the traditional academic schooling methods, it uses the mentor-apprentice approach to learning, pairing students with working professionals in the real world, at a fraction of the cost of other radio schools.  Because of the lower cost and the alternative method, some have wondered whether the Radio Connection scam is true or not. However, there is plenty of evidence to cast doubt on that suggestion.

Here are a number of clear identifying characteristics of a scam.  See how the Recording Connection measures up to these markers.

1. A scam lasts for a brief period of time, then disappears. Although its web presence has expanded in recent years, making it look like a new program, the Radio Connection has actually been in business for 25 years, and most of the program’s graduates are still working in radio.
2. A scam claims to be the only viable solution to your need. The Radio Connection makes no such claim; it only claims to accomplish the same results that radio schools accomplish, only for less money and probably more effectively. In addition, in a recent interview, founder Jimi Petula freely admitted that students do not need his program if they are willing to do the footwork to make their own mentoring connections. “I give out a free video and we explain what we do, and what it costs,” he said. “At the end of the video we say, “Now, if you can’t afford to do this, go out and do it on your own.” A Radio Connection scam wouldn’t do such a thing.
3. A scam is desperate to get your money. As the above statements suggest, the Radio Connection has more of a take-it-or-leave-it approach.  If you do not feel you need their program, they do not pressure you to take it.
4. A scam does not do what it claims to do. There have been hundreds of testimonials from graduates of the Radio Connection program over an extended period of time, claiming that they have found meaningful and lasting careers in radio as a direct result of the program.
5. A scam gives partial or inaccurate information in an attempt to mislead you into giving them your money. The Radio Connection spells out their program and policies clearly on their website, and abides by those policies.

There is a tendency to classify something as a scam simply because it operates differently than its competitors, or because it uses an alternative approach.  However, neither of these things truly identifies something as a scam. The Recording Connection doesn’t even use a new approach; it uses an ancient one.  (Mentorship/apprenticeship has been around longer than schools have.) As far as the characteristics that truly make up a Radio Connection scam, the Radio Connection doesn’t add up to one.

Tweet This Post