CSB Closes Its Doors

The Connecticut School of Broadcasting abruptly closed its doors March 4th, shutting down its 26 locations in 16 states and filing for bankruptcy protection. My ties to the school go back to early 1974 as a student at the Stratford branch. Back then, there were only the Farmington and Stratford schools. Tuition was $800 for a 12-week course and veteran Hartford broadcaster Dick Robinson was its president. Since Robinson sold CSB, the deepening recession has taken its toll on the school, even with broadcasting hopefuls paying $12,000 tuition. My experience at CSB was a positive one, and my connection to it did not end with graduation. The man who became CSB's longtime director, Hank Tenney, broke into the radio business in 1977 when a very young program director at WCNX in Middletown - yours truly - hired him for the afternoon airshift. Hank has since moved on to media production and sales here in New London, and we are very overdue to do lunch. I have had many opportunities to teach at CSB in Stratford, Farmington and Pawcatuck. My co-host Rebecca on the Soft Rock 106.5 Wakeup Club went to CSB, as did countless other people I've worked with. My training in radio went beyond CSB's 12 weeks, to college radio in Keene, New Hampshire and a slew of part-time local radio gigs. I still think of 1974 as a pivotal year in my life, and my decision to pursue a path through the Connecticut School of Broadcasting was one big reason why.