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Charlotte broadcasting school calls it quits, citing the pandemic

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Charlotte’s Carolina School of Broadcasting has closed after almost 65 years. The owners of the for-profit school blame the pandemic and rising costs.

“The combination of being a small school, the serious COVID impacts on a school that relies on in-person, hands-on learning, as well as the rapidly rising costs of digital technology, led to the conclusion that it is not feasible to continue to operate the Digital Media Technology program.  It is a decision that was not made lightly,” co-owner Alyson Young said in a statement sent to WFAE on Monday.

The school opened in 1957, focusing first on radio and transitioning in recent years to digital production. It had struggled since the pandemic hit and stopped taking new students more than a year ago, saying it had become impossible to offer hands-on training and internships.

By the end of 2021, the school was focused on helping students who had enrolled earlier complete their program. It closed Dec. 31.

The studio building, just off Interstate 85 in western Mecklenburg County, has been sold.

Copyright 2022 WFAE

Ann Doss Helms covers education for WFAE. She was a reporter for The Charlotte Observer for 32 years, including 16 years on the education beat. She has repeatedly won first place in education reporting from the North Carolina Press Association and won the 2015 Associated Press Senator Sam Open Government Award for reporting on charter school salaries.