A broad barricade by Buffalo blaze busters battling a four alarm fire near on the city's east side near Bailey avenue and Dingens street kept Citadel morning show personnel from reaching the studios of WGRF, WHTT and WEDG. As of 7:00 a.m. the stations were still set on "segue." Move over, Jack. Bet the PDs wished they had an all nite operator (like Paul Brennon) in the building from midnight til 6.
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Citadel Smoked Out
- Thread starter Element9
- Start date
How embarassing. No plan for an alternate studio location? Remote access? They can't plug in a Marti and go from a remote van?
So much for "creative solutions".
So much for "creative solutions".
If there was anybody creative in the house, they would pull out every song they have about fire, smoke, etc. Of course, Farid and Judy and their ilk would never understand that.
Get over what? Having complete disdain for the filth that had a major hand in destroying a once vibrant artistic medium so they could line their own pockets?
Get over what? Having complete disdain for the filth that had a major hand in destroying a once vibrant artistic medium so they could line their own pockets?
Debaser said:If there was anybody creative in the house, they would pull out every song they have about fire, smoke, etc. Of course, Farid and Judy and their ilk would never understand that.
Get over what? Having complete disdain for the filth that had a major hand in destroying a once vibrant artistic medium so they could line their own pockets?
I couldn't have said it better, DB. I wish I never started the other Citadel thread about Farid and his shares. There have been some good points made on that thread but to me it comes down to my belief that the majority of people on this board in this market would not line their own pockets at the expense of other people's jobs and well-being. Call me naive and living in the past but don't call me with shares of Citadel for sale.
Debaser said:Get over what? Having complete disdain for the filth that had a major hand in destroying a once vibrant artistic medium so they could line their own pockets?
No, Don - "get over it" means don't start silly threads about how a fire prevented employees from getting to their place of work and attaching THAT to the "disdain for the filth that had a major hand in destroying a once vibrant artistic medium so they could line their own pockets."
Silkie said:There are many people who would line their own pockets at your expense; they would just go about it differently.
Exactly.
Debaser said:Get over what? Having complete disdain for the filth that had a major hand in destroying a once vibrant artistic medium so they could line their own pockets?
Well stated, DB.
Good to know that nobody at Casey was injured and operations resumed as normal later in AM drive. WIVB-TV reports Edge morning guy Bull remained in the building which reportedly sustained $5 thousand damage. Bull told listeners he could breathe and taste the smoke in the building.
I guess as long as the commercials played, it really doesn't matter that 2 of 3 morning shows were shut out - even though there WAS someone in the building.
SRP said:Debaser said:Get over what? Having complete disdain for the filth that had a major hand in destroying a once vibrant artistic medium so they could line their own pockets?
No, Don - "get over it" means don't start silly threads about how a fire prevented employees from getting to their place of work and attaching THAT to the "disdain for the filth that had a major hand in destroying a once vibrant artistic medium so they could line their own pockets."
Sorry-I misunderstood what you were getting at.
Silkie said:There are many people who would line their own pockets at your expense; they would just go about it differently.
Exactly.
Agreed.
John C said:There have been some good points made on that thread but to me it comes down to my belief that the majority of people on this board in this market would not line their own pockets at the expense of other people's jobs and well-being.
Which is why people like you-know-who end up owning those companies, and everyone else becomes cannon fodder. If the people on this board would put together business plans and offer to buy the local stations, you wouldn't have this problem. But it's easier and less risky to let someone else do it. So you let the wolf into the henhouse. It's like the Germans electing Hitler to become Chancellor because they didn't like the previous guy. Bad idea.
In my career, I met a lot of people who grew frustrated toting that barge and lifting that bale for greedy radio owners. They got so frustrated that they quit, started their own business, and in some cases bought out or superceded the people who caused them to quit in the first place. It's not hard to do, and doesn't take a lot of start up capital. Hey if Farid can get himself into $2 billion of debt, you can do it!
Look: Business is ugly. I discovered that when I left the non-commercial world for the commercial world. It was far more innocent in public radio. But that was the risk I wanted to take at the time. If you're in business and it's your money, you treat people differently than if it doesn't matter. We live in a capitalistic country. People line their pockets at the expense of others. That's how the game is played. It's always been that way. Now that you know the rules, you have two choices: (1) You know that going in and know you're just a pawn in their game, or (2) You endeavor not to become a schlamazel. That takes work, because there are schlemiels everywhere, even in Buffalo.
But the sweeping generalization that radio used to be a "vibrant artistic medium" is fiction and ignores the history that radio has always been a sales vehicle for big companies to make profits. There may have been a few exceptions to that rule, and there may have been places where employees could work without a lot of interference from their employer. But usually those periods were shortlived. If there was a chance at profit, as happened in the rock boom of the 70s, usually the artistic freedom that built it got trounced by the primary motivation, which is the making of money. It happened in station after station during the 80s.
TheBigA said:If the people on this board would put together business plans and offer to buy the local stations, you wouldn't have this problem. But it's easier and less risky to let someone else do it.
And it's also easier and less risky to continually rant about it on a radio message board.
Someone wiser than us once said the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect the outcome to be different. So your repeated ranting on the same subject won't bring Larry Levite back to ownership or make radio a so-called "vibrant artistic medium" again.
"Vibrant Artistic Medium"? I never worked anywhere, including my first station in a town of less than 10,000, where there weren't restrictions on "artistry". Never worked anyplace where I could bring in my own records and say and do what I wanted. Everyone who became personalities had management to fight at every turn.
I did like the 20-20 News take on the fire.
I did like the 20-20 News take on the fire.
With all due respect to The Big 8, readers here will attribute it to the Golden Age of Irv, Channel 7 Eyewitness News, 1967-78.gr8oldies said:I did like the 20-20 News take on the fire.
Yeah, 9, but out-of-towners wouldn't get that. And, they're bent on promoting their own POV, whether it's applicable here or not.
I'm not sure how the failure to either have or implement an emergency plan in case of problems at the studios became ANOTHER discussion of Citadel's greater malfeasance, but there it is. They can manage to get on air from a Bills game, but they can't get a remote up and running in the case of an emergency, even though they appeared to have at least one competent broadcaster in the building. It simply seems strange to me.
I'm not sure how the failure to either have or implement an emergency plan in case of problems at the studios became ANOTHER discussion of Citadel's greater malfeasance, but there it is. They can manage to get on air from a Bills game, but they can't get a remote up and running in the case of an emergency, even though they appeared to have at least one competent broadcaster in the building. It simply seems strange to me.
SirRoxalot said:I'm not sure how the failure to either have or implement an emergency plan in case of problems at the studios became ANOTHER discussion of Citadel's greater malfeasance, but there it is.
You're "not sure"? Go back and re-read posts 1 and 2 in this thread. If that doesn't work, hold up a mirror.
The thing about the term "malfeasance" is it would more likely be brought up if the company forced its employees go to work during some kind of emergency. Requiring employees to travel to a facility that perhaps isn't intended for live broadcast. Suppose someone gets injured during the process? THAT would be malfeasance. It's far safer, legally, for a company to simply segue music for a few hours, until the area is safe for its employees to return. That's probably what other businesses in the area did.
But a company like Citadel is damned regardless of what it does. If it does the legally prudent thing, it's called a failure to impliment an emergency plan. If it continues live programming overcoming an emergency in the area, they're putting their employees at risk. Their greed was more important than the safety of their employees. It's a no win situation, which is another reason why they're best to get out of town and let some local owner deal with all the negativity.
But a company like Citadel is damned regardless of what it does. If it does the legally prudent thing, it's called a failure to impliment an emergency plan. If it continues live programming overcoming an emergency in the area, they're putting their employees at risk. Their greed was more important than the safety of their employees. It's a no win situation, which is another reason why they're best to get out of town and let some local owner deal with all the negativity.
The initial post was intended as a news item with a supposition that an all-night operator might have been able to help the radio stations in the building cope with the need to modify the automation systems of three highly rated radio stations and secure the servers and HVAC. The four alarm fire appeared to pose imminent danger to the building and staffs. But this brings up a few more questions. Events of the day as reported by people on all three Citadel radio stations, as well as WBEN (Entercom's news-talk AM) and three television stations covering the story have shed more light on the issues. WIVB-TV first reported that "morning personnel could not get to work," yet the following day, the 97 Rock morning show said personnel from two of the three Citadel stations already were in the building when the order to evacuate was issued and outlined what happened: 97 Rock morning sidekick Rob Lederman recorded "we were forced to evacuate" announcements, a 97 Rock news person and a morning show producer set up the automation to air those announcements. Larry Norton, 97 Rock's long time morning host frequently mentioned that he was "away from the station and safe" when the 97 Rock returned to live operation. Quite far away. Most people associated with the business know he does the show from Florida where he's caring for a member of his family. WHTT did not offer pre-recorded evacuation announcements, nor apparently were adjustments made to its morning drive automation as music and jingles played in succession, but news and weather beds and feature productions played out leaving occasional dead air.
Who ordered the evacuation? Was it the police-fire department or station management? The announcements that aired on 97 Rock didn't indicate. Bull, the Edge morning guy, stayed in the building. Why did the Edge morning guy defy the evacuation order (especially in the face of imminent danger) and remain in the building while the 97 Rock morning show evacuated? Does the layout of the building offer a more secure, fire proof studio for WEDG?
What automation system does Citadel use? AudioVault, MediaTouch and Profit automation systems allow for remote control of studio automation by keyboard and cell phone. All three stations might have been better able to handle this challenge had their automation system been remote control capable. All three stations have well-equipped remote vans and remote transmitter buildings. After 9/11 (respectfully mentioning this), CBS, Clear Channel and many other radio companies established policies and built remote studios so their broadcast operations could continue as normal in the event of mass power/water/infrastructure failures. It's said that the CBS Buffalo cluster, which was sold to Regent-Town Square, built a doomsday studio and control center for its four FM stations at its AM station site, WECK Cheektowaga. When posters ask if the Citadel evacuation might have been better handled, it's a fair question because there is a precedent for such procedure in Buffalo. Save for WEDG, Entercom's WBEN offered better coverage of a news story in Citadel's back yard. But why did WEDG remain live? Who ordered the evacuation? Did the police/fire authorities, or management, allow the WEDG morning man to remain in the building while others were forced out? Legitimate questions.
Who ordered the evacuation? Was it the police-fire department or station management? The announcements that aired on 97 Rock didn't indicate. Bull, the Edge morning guy, stayed in the building. Why did the Edge morning guy defy the evacuation order (especially in the face of imminent danger) and remain in the building while the 97 Rock morning show evacuated? Does the layout of the building offer a more secure, fire proof studio for WEDG?
What automation system does Citadel use? AudioVault, MediaTouch and Profit automation systems allow for remote control of studio automation by keyboard and cell phone. All three stations might have been better able to handle this challenge had their automation system been remote control capable. All three stations have well-equipped remote vans and remote transmitter buildings. After 9/11 (respectfully mentioning this), CBS, Clear Channel and many other radio companies established policies and built remote studios so their broadcast operations could continue as normal in the event of mass power/water/infrastructure failures. It's said that the CBS Buffalo cluster, which was sold to Regent-Town Square, built a doomsday studio and control center for its four FM stations at its AM station site, WECK Cheektowaga. When posters ask if the Citadel evacuation might have been better handled, it's a fair question because there is a precedent for such procedure in Buffalo. Save for WEDG, Entercom's WBEN offered better coverage of a news story in Citadel's back yard. But why did WEDG remain live? Who ordered the evacuation? Did the police/fire authorities, or management, allow the WEDG morning man to remain in the building while others were forced out? Legitimate questions.
TheBigA said:Which is why people like you-know-who end up owning those companies, and everyone else becomes cannon fodder. If the people on this board would put together business plans and offer to buy the local stations, you wouldn't have this problem. But it's easier and less risky to let someone else do it. So you let the wolf into the henhouse. It's like the Germans electing Hitler to become Chancellor because they didn't like the previous guy. Bad idea.
So why don't WE actually do something? Lets find some investors and make it happen. I feel we really all do 'talk the talk' but rarely 'walk the walk'. I don't have much $$ but I know a few folks that could possibly help out. Would anyone else go in on it? Hell, think of all the local stations that are in the crapper these days, many frequencies to choose from. Maybe I'm just a dreamer and not a realist but sometimes, it all starts with an idea, a plan and the courage to see it through...
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