Bartholomew County radio lacking in weather department.

[BobOnTheJob]

WIFE 1580 was indeed on day power during the above mentioned coverage.

 

[hipporadio]

WIFE 1580 was indeed on day power during the above mentioned coverage.

Sorry to report to you my friend... WIFE WAS NOT above five-watts at 3:45 this past Wednesday... Someone forgot to push the big-green button. I can prove-in Bob

 

[AndTheLambGoesBAA]

Re: Bartholomew County Radio lacking in weather department.

That's my 2 cents worth for you people who think you earn a pat on the back for doing your job!

Pats on the back for the past but what are you doing to help those affected in the present?

 

[Timewarp]

Sounds like the stations in Columbus were live. Wow! What an improvement over what we get
in Lafayette. The only station worth listening to here is WBAA.

 

[BobOnTheJob]

WIFE 1580 was indeed on day power during the above mentioned coverage.

Sorry to report to you my friend... WIFE WAS NOT above five-watts at 3:45 this past Wednesday... Someone forgot to push the big-green button. I can prove-in Bob

I believe ya...I also believe that a refresher course is being conducted as we speak. Thanks for the on-the scene report...living well oustide even the day coverage area, I would never have had a clue.

 

[hipporadio]

Since the WIFE AM 1580 facility was considered as “FULLTIME dependable local service” as a justification for Radio One to raid that community’s only and nearly-SIXTY-year FM assignment, the current 250-watt/CB night power - WIFE has the privilege of pressing the “high-power” button after sunset WHEN THEY WISH... A traffic accident on Park Road would be a justifiable trigger given the “circumstances”.

I’ve been there and done-it... My 140-watt nighttime AM regained its daytime vitality upon any excuse. “Charlie” knew about it and capitulated... We even called and fessed-up, and they said “OK”. During threatening times—it’s about LOCAL SERVICE!

Sidebar: R-1 sent WIFE's owner an 18-mil check - and now they're a PENNY STOCK

 

[BobOnTheJob]

Since the WIFE AM 1580 facility was considered as “FULLTIME dependable local service” as a justification for Radio One to raid that community’s only and nearly-SIXTY-year FM assignment, the current 250-watt/CB night power WIFE has the privilege of pressing the “high-power” button after sunset WHEN THEY WISH... A traffic accident on Park Road would be a justifiable trigger given the “circumstances”.

I’ve been there and done-it... My 140-watt nighttime AM regained its daytime vitality upon any excuse. “Charlie” knew about it and capitulated... We even called and fessed-up, and they said “OK”. During threatening times—it’s about LOCAL SERVICE!

Sidebar: R-1 sent WIFE's owner an 18-mil check - and now they're a PENNY STOCK

That sidebar breaks my heart....hehehe. Had a brush with that outfit once...spent a day with them, sent them a bill & they never paid it. What goes around comes around...

 

[hipporadio]

It’s no “breaking news” that I despise [some] circles of “corporate radio” – BTW, I have never been “drive-by” towards Emmis, Entercom, Bonneville, or a few others that continue to operate their properties responsibly and give due-credit to their employees and listeners. David Rogers IS NOT styled “corporate radio” by ANY means... He is savvy and interested in EARNING a profit – there is nothing wrong with that! I applaud him!

Radio One is another case... This is a Black-owned corporation - now at penny stock status - that has consistently “played their race card” before the FCC and earned favors from them. There is no better example than the approved move and downgrade of 100.3 to the “non-urbanized and underserved” city of Norwood, Ohio. What is most unfortunate, is that now WIFE is persona-non-grate on main street Connersville. Despite their exemplary effort, they have just a few minutes of ads on their air – and most are the result of a “combo buy” with their Richmond stations.

Get in bed on a one-night tryst with the Devil – and you get painted in an undesirable hue... Lesson for life beyond silly radio

 

[hipporadio]

BTW... I called them with a request [for Connersvile native Bill Chase's] "Get It On". The receptionist answered the phone - the “studio line”... She was delightful and promised to pass-on my request and that I would hear my song... It was AIRED NEXT! WIFE is a diamond in the rough... They sound AWESOME in every respect. On my visit, I have run into DOZENS that listen and love them. Tomorrow I’ll exit their small coverage area with some sadness—there is no equivalent where I live.

 

[flakunkel]

WHUM made three live announcements about this tornado before it got to Edinburgh. I even told the
people the direction it was going. I am a licensed ham and our spotters chase these things. But,
I also get weather infomation from the Indy TV channels with their color radar and the National Weather Service.
Listeners in Columbus called and thanked me for the warning.

Unfortunately, there is another licensed LPFM on WHUM's frequency that knocks us out at Edinburgh. The above
poster could not hear us. We hope to change this.

I have never failed to get a tornado warning on the air even if I had to get out of bed to do it. That's a broadcasters
responsibility.

Best illustration I've heard yet of the evils of LPFM. Just a bunch of automated pea-shooters inhibiting real public service. There's one going in soon that will interfere with one of the very few locally-owned community commercial stations in the San Francisco Bay area in the heart of its COL, but the owners have basically been told by their own FCC attorney that the application has been politically greased and protest will be futile.

 

[gr8oldies]

Does this mean that, honestly, in every weather situation like this every station on the dial must go wall to wall with no exceptions? Hmm, I can remember being on the air in Celina, OH and Lafayette, IN during tornado warnings and guess what, as the onlyone there when exactly was I supposed to check the wire and call the police department if I have to be on the air continuously? By the way, I am talking the pre-consolodation era. By the way, TV in my area went wall to wall and how many people called to complain about the missed LA Law episode? Hmm.

 

[Flying-Dutchman]

You just do your very best to save the lives of the people who count on you. I remember doing a live tornado warning
in March 1989. As we were warning our listeners, the tornado showed up and took the top out of the tree in the station"s
front yard. We were telling people to get out of mobile homes. Suddenly the trailer we were broadcasting from was lifted
up and crashed to the ground. We had a great deal of trouble keeping our cool. We had only been on the air three days.
The station was new.

 

[radioindy]

Best illustration I've heard yet of the evils of LPFM. Just a bunch of automated pea-shooters inhibiting real public service. There's one going in soon that will interfere with one of the very few locally-owned community commercial stations in the San Francisco Bay area in the heart of its COL, but the owners have basically been told by their own FCC attorney that the application has been politically greased and protest will be futile.

Quite the contrary. When the tornado hit in northern Hendricks County near Brownsburg two weeks ago, the COL station was not there for them. It was in Castleton.

There should be a LPFM license available in Brownsburg because the commercial license is being used for profit and not the public safety the law was intended to provide.

So if it were not for some of the LPFMs, some communities would be trying to watch the metro news to find out what's happening in their community 40 miles away because their PUBLIC service station is playing oldies on automation (in a studio 40 miles away).

If the FCC cannot police it's COL laws, then at least it can allow the little people who are actually broadcasters to serve their neighbors and communities.

Religious LPFM should be required to air this service as well.

 

[BobOnTheJob]

Anyone who doubt's QMIX's weather/emergency commitment needs to turn their radio on now(10PM Saturday)...

 

[gr8oldies]

First of all, this "stations should serve their city of license and not one inch further than the corporation limit of their city of license" line of thinking is a little ridiculous, exspecially for a bedroom community that would have no independent existence if Indianapolis wasn't right there. Oh, I forgot, Brownsburg is an island in the middle of no where..in fact there' something called the Brownsburg curtain, and no resident of brownsburg is permitted to work, shop, or play anywhere else but Brownsburg. WIBC's excellent coverage certainly couldn't have mattered to people who live in Bronsburg, dammit, they weren't going to isten to WIBC, they were glued to 101.9 because they were waiting in unison for this one station to tell them a tornado was coming! WIBC just wasn't going to do at all!

Kudos to the hard working folks at WIBC for this morning's flood coverage. I was driving from Springfield OH to Terre Haute and appreciated them as the trip got to be quite an adventure. I guess following some of you folks' logic or lack of same, they shouldn't have covered anything outside the 465 beltway, because dammit their COL is Indianapolis, not those damn outlying areas!

 

[radioindy]

First of all, this "stations should serve their city of license and not one inch further than the corporation limit of their city of license" line of thinking is a little ridiculous, exspecially for a bedroom community that would have no independent existence if Indianapolis wasn't right there. Oh, I forgot, Brownsburg is an island in the middle of no where..in fact there' something called the Brownsburg curtain, and no resident of brownsburg is permitted to work, shop, or play anywhere else but Brownsburg. WIBC's excellent coverage certainly couldn't have mattered to people who live in Bronsburg, dammit, they weren't going to isten to WIBC, they were glued to 101.9 because they were waiting in unison for this one station to tell them a tornado was coming! WIBC just wasn't going to do at all!

Kudos to the hard working folks at WIBC for this morning's flood coverage. I was driving from Springfield OH to Terre Haute and appreciated them as the trip got to be quite an adventure. I guess following some of you folks' logic or lack of same, they shouldn't have covered anything outside the 465 beltway, because dammit their COL is Indianapolis, not those damn outlying areas!

Get off your high horse. No one on here has EVER said a radio station cannot serve its ENTIRE listening area. But IF the FCC is going to continue with this JOKE of a law that licenses stations in a CITY - then it should AT LEAST have to SERVE THAT CITY, as well as the entire listening area.

If you are LICENSED (granted something available to only ONE area) to a COL, then you should at least not be able to locate a studio over 20 miles away adn completely IGNORE your COL.

NO ONE has implied here that you cannot take money from Indianapolis advertisers, or that Brownsburg people do not drive to, work in, and recreate in Indianapolis.

But if a Tornado comes through Brownsburg, wasn't the original INTENT of a COL to have the COL station alert it's community, and BE THERE for ITS commuinity.

After all, without the COL's in Shelbyville, Brownsburg, Fishers, etc., NONE of these stations would have MONOPOLIES WITH license to print money as they do.

EITHER GET RID OF THIS ANTIQUATED SYSTEM OR CALL IT WHAT IT IS - WELFARE FOR THE WEALTHY! AND STOP PLAYING THIS STUPID GAME OF HAVING COLs THAT ARE NOT ENFORCED! DAMN THE PUBLIC. THOSE AIRWAVES BELONG TO US, NOT MILLIONAIRE LOTTERY WINNERS.

It's a joke and the FCC NO LONGER is there to serve the INTEREST of the general public. ONLY TO PAID THE WALLETS OF MILLIONAIRES THAT THE FCC DETERMINES WILL HAVE MONOPOLIES!

 

[gr8oldies]

How areyou going to have the FCC "Enforce" COL's? There is no regulation that states that radio staations must go to wall to wall coverage if a tornado threatens the COL. I'd agree that the COL is antiquated, with having to prove that you are serving the "independent community of West Podunk". Obviously you would favor returning all of these stations studios to their COL. How is the public really served better if some broadcasting companies have to lease three or four office suites instead of one? Are staffs really expected to drive between Fishers, Noblesville and Indianapolis, or communte from their homes to Shelbyville and Greenfield at $4 plus a gallon every day? Who actually visits station studios flr any reason but to pick up prizes. By the way, I'm not aware of any company in the Indianapolis area that has a monopoly. Russ Oasis certainly doesn't.

 

[radioindy]

How areyou going to have the FCC "Enforce" COL's? There is no regulation that states that radio staations must go to wall to wall coverage if a tornado threatens the COL. I'd agree that the COL is antiquated, with having to prove that you are serving the "independent community of West Podunk". Obviously you would favor returning all of these stations studios to their COL. How is the public really served better if some broadcasting companies have to lease three or four office suites instead of one? Are staffs really expected to drive between Fishers, Noblesville and Indianapolis, or communte from their homes to Shelbyville and Greenfield at $4 plus a gallon every day? Who actually visits station studios flr any reason but to pick up prizes. By the way, I'm not aware of any company in the Indianapolis area that has a monopoly. Russ Oasis certainly doesn't.

I'm not concerned that employees have to drive from their homes to where the radio station WAS LICENSED, they should be hired from the local COL and they wouldn't have commute problems, and would be able to be in the LOCAL studio when bad weather pops up. Thousands of people drive 40+ miles everyday to and from work, why should board ops be any different. You go where the work is.

Used to be radio stations and it's employees actually LIVED in the SAME community they served - imagine that!

You seem to forget that radio stations were not originally designed as simply profit centers and lottery windfalls for those lucky enough to be awarded a license. The ORIGINAL intent was for PUBLIC SAFETY and PUBLIC SERVICE.

Playing Neil Young and Lynyrd Skynyrd was not the original intent of serving the public. While music is the major force of radio formats, the ORIGINAL intent was to SERVE THE PUBLIC. How is WKLU and the like doing that with automation at night and not even paying attention during the day - get that Moody Blues song in there though because THAT is what the public needs when a tornado is ripping through the COL!

As I stated, no problem serving your ENTIRE listening area, whether it be a 50-mile radius from Brownsburg, or 100 miles, etc. But the STUDIOS and PUBLIC SERVICE should take place in the COL.

And since that is NOT going to happen anymore, there should be LPFMs allowed STRONG coverage of these counties.

All I'm saying is these stations abandoned their original COLs. If they want to spend millions on studios in Indy, and sell advertising, go for it! But I'd LOVE to see the actual COMMUNITY SERVICE programming WKLU, WZPL and the like are airing for the COLs.

Isn't that STILL the law? Or have they been allowed to completely blow that off too?

I'm just going by the FCC licensing policy. Whether they enforce it or not is their business. But WHY do they still call these stations COLs if they aren't enforcing it? It's a farce and smacks of good ol' boy politics and lobbying by the fat cats to the FCC.

Shame.

 

[gr8oldies]

I am not aware of any FCC rule that these stations are violating. If you're pressing for each station building studios in each of their COLs, as impractical as it may be, then I guess OK, if you think the public is being better served if broadcasting companies eat up their budgets by leasing multiple office suites when one will do, OK, glad it makes sense to you. I guess we have to up and build a whole new radio station for WASK-FM in the hamlet of Battle Ground, which probably doesn't even have any commercial office space available. Its not always practical to locate studios within corporation limits. The fact that there was the requirement to provide "first aural service" to a community that barely exists is a little ridiculous.
I worked in places like Celina, Ohio and Frankfort, Indiana, and workled with people from Minnesota, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Chicago and gosh knows where else who moved to town to cut an aircheck and get the hell out to the next bigger town. Very rarely did local residents work there.

 

[gr8oldies]

Just continuing since I had to leave...How many Indianapolis-quality talents actually live in Shelbyville? As far as the COL issue, in the early days of FM radio, when it was considered this high-fidelity band that would have very limited appeal, I have no idea why the potential of 50000 watts existed in Greenfield and Shelbyville. For all I know, it was so they could broadcast classical music from what was then farmland south of Indianapolis to the north edge of Jeffersonville, or to fill the gap between Indianapolis and Richmond. The idea of a COL is that at least one strong signal is there. The FCC has not stated specific programming requirements for each COL (Swap Shop and Tradio I guess?). I read a lot on boards like this about "radio not serving the public in its COL!" but no one can give me a programming grid or any specifics. The Brownsburg City Council meeting? I really don't believe that everyone in Hendricks County was sitting around saying "I'm not going to the basement until the Brownsburg station tells me to. I don't care if it's all over WIBC and the TV, I'm waiting for the Brownsburg station". Give your neighbors a little more credit than that!