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Dispensing Tsunami info

G

Goldilocks94941

Catching the Japan earthquake coverage on the 3 cable TV channels that are providing fulltime coverage around Midnight PT, and while dialing around, happened upon EAS warning audio over the KOMO ch 4 feed of ABC's Nightline. Tsunami watch issued for the Washington and Oregon coast around 11:45pm. Saw nothing else about that, no crawl, no nothing, for the following hour or more on any channels.

Sure wish the hundreds of channels I pay KAbletown for would include some all news outlets like BBC, CBC, CTV, SKy, and the English all news channels from Al Jazeera, NHK, France, Germany, Africa One, Australia, etc. Would be nice to get direct feeds from Japan without all of the CNN graphics covering the screen, and to see how such a major story is covered by other sources without eating up internet bandwidth for people who need it to access it more than observers like me.

Coverage from MSNBC, CNN, and the Fox all seemed confused about the tsunami warning that was issued for Hawaii. If I was still working at a local station, and in the Seattle market, I'd simply check with the NOAA Tsunami Center in Alaska to get the facts straight. Even if I was the program director and at home, and had to pitch in for an unstaffed night shift. Because there aren't many other outlets for people who may be affected by the tsunami to hear something factual right now. TV hosts in New York couldn't get the time difference with Hawaii straight for its tsunami warning, and didn't mention anything about the watch on the US coast for at more than an hour after it was issued.

I'm fortunate, I guess, to live in metro Seattle and not on the coast, tho' close to Puget Sound. If I was on the coast, after today's gale force winds caused flooding and power outages, I'd sure want to be able to get some accurate info on the tsunami warnings and alerts without having to search the internet. Radio would be a nice way to learn about what's going on.

Anyone here know how many local radio outlets had the tsunami info for the Pacific coast, much less info on the alerts for the rest of the entire Pacific? Especially the high power signals that reach outside Seattle? Did anyone hear EAS activated? The KOMO-TV alert did NOT appear to be replicated live on the other channels, unless I just missed it scanning back to CNN. Found info later on KOMO-AM, as I would have hoped, but found the tone of the overnight announcer a bit alarming, rather than reasuring - sounding more like a "jock" than a reassuring journalist. ("We gotcha covered! Stay tuned!!")

Anyone know if other stations provided any helpful info by 1am? With the only local station in Forks WA being inoperable, from what it says elsewhere on this board, it seems the Seattle stations have a duty to get info out, so at least people could try to warn friends and family who live near the coast and may be asleep or unaware of the earthquake and its possible tsunami waves. This is the kind of service some of us got into broadcasting for. Am wondering which local stations I'd be able to count on here, day or night?
 
Does make a good case that Forks population needs THEIR station for "service" much more than the people of COVINGTON needed one.
The upside to all this is the delay to reach WA coast is such that most people CAN be on the ball for this ... but does make you wonder what happens on overnight coverage, esp. with NWCN being in repeat automated loop, almost everyone else in infomercials, etc. WOULD stations break in or is there no real plan in place to cover news until 4am+?
 
i hit the road at midnight, and turned away from my usual WLW/XM truckin talk show, for george noory, (KIROFM) who did have a few guests on about the quake/sunami, and took calls from all over,including japan, and hawaii. great live coverage by george and guests, on coast to coast AM, as the tragic event unfolded.

later when i get home, i watched a little of the TV coverage for a bit, but got turned on by the CNN penthouse centerfold eye candy anchors. that caused me to get mad, and turn off the "TV news sex sells ratings show" during a tragedy. screw TV news, which is why i never watch it!
 
Goldilocks94941 said:
Catching the Japan earthquake coverage on the 3 cable TV channels that are providing fulltime coverage around Midnight PT, and while dialing around, happened upon EAS warning audio over the KOMO ch 4 feed of ABC's Nightline. Tsunami watch issued for the Washington and Oregon coast around 11:45pm. Saw nothing else about that, no crawl, no nothing, for the following hour or more on any channels.

Sure wish the hundreds of channels I pay KAbletown for would include some all news outlets like BBC, CBC, CTV, SKy, and the English all news channels from Al Jazeera, NHK, France, Germany, Africa One, Australia, etc. Would be nice to get direct feeds from Japan without all of the CNN graphics covering the screen, and to see how such a major story is covered by other sources without eating up internet bandwidth for people who need it to access it more than observers like me.

Coverage from MSNBC, CNN, and the Fox all seemed confused about the tsunami warning that was issued for Hawaii. If I was still working at a local station, and in the Seattle market, I'd simply check with the NOAA Tsunami Center in Alaska to get the facts straight. Even if I was the program director and at home, and had to pitch in for an unstaffed night shift. Because there aren't many other outlets for people who may be affected by the tsunami to hear something factual right now. TV hosts in New York couldn't get the time difference with Hawaii straight for its tsunami warning, and didn't mention anything about the watch on the US coast for at more than an hour after it was issued.

I'm fortunate, I guess, to live in metro Seattle and not on the coast, tho' close to Puget Sound. If I was on the coast, after today's gale force winds caused flooding and power outages, I'd sure want to be able to get some accurate info on the tsunami warnings and alerts without having to search the internet. Radio would be a nice way to learn about what's going on.

Anyone here know how many local radio outlets had the tsunami info for the Pacific coast, much less info on the alerts for the rest of the entire Pacific? Especially the high power signals that reach outside Seattle? Did anyone hear EAS activated? The KOMO-TV alert did NOT appear to be replicated live on the other channels, unless I just missed it scanning back to CNN. Found info later on KOMO-AM, as I would have hoped, but found the tone of the overnight announcer a bit alarming, rather than reasuring - sounding more like a "jock" than a reassuring journalist. ("We gotcha covered! Stay tuned!!")

Anyone know if other stations provided any helpful info by 1am? With the only local station in Forks WA being inoperable, from what it says elsewhere on this board, it seems the Seattle stations have a duty to get info out, so at least people could try to warn friends and family who live near the coast and may be asleep or unaware of the earthquake and its possible tsunami waves. This is the kind of service some of us got into broadcasting for. Am wondering which local stations I'd be able to count on here, day or night?
Click to expand...

Who wrote this, Charlie Sheen?

Calm down. It's clear that you don't know the first thing on emergency operations of this magnitude. I'm not going to pretend that I know, but I will say I have learned more from the sources you assail in your post than any kind of "solutions" or observations that you offer.

If you have better solutions to those companies and government bodies you mention, I'm sure they would love to hear from you.
 
Interestingly Portland TV was going wall to wall with Japan live coverage during and after their 11pm news casts last night.

Nada thing on Seattle TV after 11:30.
 
Well, Forks is NOT on the coast. It is inland and is not subject to a tsunami.

On the other hand, we are on the coast, and my five radio stations (KSWW, KJET, KANY, KLSY, KBKW) were staffed and had tsunami information on the air all night beginning around 11:45 pm. We did at least two updates per hour until maybe 5 am, then numerous updates as the stations all had live shows. As we speak, we still have a tsunami advisory and are still updating once per hour waiting for the advisory to end.

Throughout the morning we propagated our updated information via the airwaves, streaming (kbkw.com) facebook and twitter. We answered hundreds of phone calls, educating listeners and callers as to the difference between a watch, advisory, and warning.

In spite of that, we still had residents in unaffected areas panicking and driving to high ground when not necessary, while others on the coast refused to take it seriously and did not evacuate when given the option.

And we constantly had to tell our listeners when the Seattle TV stations and national network sources had it wrong.
 
I've been watching/listening to NHK Japan online just about the last 24 hours.

mms://nhk-world.gekimedia.net/nhkw-highm

When you REALLY want your news as hot as it can get. And fresh from the SOURCE. Without the spin, gossip and BS of commercial media, PUBLIC broadcasters, like NHK in Japan RULE.

BTW, The programming alternates from English to Japanese and back......
 
I would hope that the major news operations in Seattle will be discussing their plans for providing coverage in the event of something similar happening, because
many think the Cascadia fault is capable of doing the same thing that the Japan quake did. If not that, there are other smaller faults that are located right under the Seattle metro than can, and will fail in the future.

A major thrust Pacific tsumani in WA would mostly effect one significant population area, Aberbeen/Hoquim/Ocean Shores. Yes, add Long Beach. But after that, very little, unless the waves moved into the straight of Juan De Fuca and continued then we would be talking about a different scenerio. A tsumani that would greatly effect the Puget Sound would probably have to be generated in that area, as opposed to a major thrust Cascadia quake. This isn't to say there would not be damage in the Puget Sound region with a major Cascadia fault failing. However, I tend to think Seattle would act much like Tokyo, as applied to today's Japan quake in this scenerio.

Either way, I don't think the region is prepared for either scenerio. I hope the Japan quake is a reminder of how much work needs to be done in both construction methods, and alerting low-lying residents what to do.
 
KOMO radio had three people in Hawaii reporting all morning and two reporters on the Washington coast most of the day. Add to that the lineup of local and national earthquake and tsunami experts made it practically nonstop coverage with just enough time to throw in the fact the Huskies won their ball game, that wall street wasn't selling off on the news, the usual reliable traffic info and the fact that we were going to have rain this weekend. Add to that the fantastic pictures on the website and the Tv coverage too made for what I would call "complete coverage!. I have no idea what other stations were doing, there was no reason to punch the button.
 
Goldilocks94941 said:
Catching the Japan earthquake coverage on the 3 cable TV channels that are providing fulltime coverage around Midnight PT, and while dialing around, happened upon EAS warning audio over the KOMO ch 4 feed of ABC's Nightline. Tsunami watch issued for the Washington and Oregon coast around 11:45pm. Saw nothing else about that, no crawl, no nothing, for the following hour or more on any channels.
Click to expand...
Interesting. In Oregon, all four network affiliates went wall-to-wall local coverage. Given, it was struggling, not so good coverage, but those people at the Oregon coast who are part of the Portland DMA did not have to be afraid and had four local sources to turn to for information. Apparently in Seattle that is not the case. I noticed NWCN was simulcasting CNN.
Coverage from MSNBC, CNN, and the Fox all seemed confused about the tsunami warning that was issued for Hawaii. If I was still working at a local station, and in the Seattle market, I'd simply check with the NOAA Tsunami Center in Alaska to get the facts straight. Even if I was the program director and at home, and had to pitch in for an unstaffed night shift. Because there aren't many other outlets for people who may be affected by the tsunami to hear something factual right now. TV hosts in New York couldn't get the time difference with Hawaii straight for its tsunami warning, and didn't mention anything about the watch on the US coast for at more than an hour after it was issued.
Click to expand...
OPB Radio was running BBC World Service and as E.A.S. notifications came though, they were airing, even on KOPB-FM, licensed to Portland.
 
EAS may be useful in airing the initial message, but not so much after that, nor was it intended to be. Local Emergency Management Agencies are connected to the media and provided ongoing updates.

On the Washington Coast, we had some low-level evacuations, but not much more. We were under an Advisory, while Oregon was dealing with a Warning.

Seattle media made the situation on the coast appear to be much worse than it was. A bit of sensationalism. But then what else is new?
 
On the morning of one of the most significant news stories of the year, I turned 97.3 KIRO on and heard a liberal whining Bill Radke comparing Muslim hearings from earlier in the week to Salem witch trials, or some other ca ca kind of drivel. I turned my radio off after being stunned that he was so out of touch. Linda Thomas does a great job. He's pulling the show down. I share KIRO's fascination with liberal, NPR has beens.
 
This bothers me, and always has. In the Northwest, and especially the Puget Sound area, EAS, its mother EANS and great granpa EBS have all been a bit of a joke as far as any kind of quick access information source. When the inaguration day storm hit in 1991, winds in the 100 plus area were beating the crap out of everything and nothing came down the pipe. It seems that no one wants to flip the switch and create panic. I've always thought that a major overhaul should be taken to task. But, on second thought, why not just let it die and let the major news outlets as well as local radio stations do the coverage. THese notification systems were created back when there was only a handful of sources to get crises level information. We have a few more now..some credible, some just like to make it Hollywood...97.3 just continues to make itself a joke as a credible news source. To listen to Bill Radke ramble on about irrelevent muslum nonsense was a button pusher. Gawd, I feel for Linda Thomas. How that woman walks into that CR every damn morning and rides it out with that clown is beyond me. I thought the days of "Time and Temp" jocks were long gone..
 
KOMO Radio was all over it as Street mentioned. Two reporters on Coast, one at Earthquake Center and three in Hawaii and ABC updates. I stayed with them all morning. They have had good followup coverage as well. Pretty much when a crisis hits KOMO has become the radio station to follow with live local lineup 24/7. Is any other station live around the clock anymore in Seattle? KIRO does syndicated talk, KTTH is all syndicated talk for the most part. Music stations seem to be voicetracked. Just curious if anyone else is live around the clock.
 
Good to know there are still a few radio "professionals" in the room who, whether or not they're on the air at a local station, know the difference between a well-functioning EAS system, and "better luck next time." I'm not whining for wall to wall coverage on all stations, just for reasonably accurate information presented in a timely manner - in other words, someone checking the facts on, say, a Pacific-wide tsunami alert, when they're confused. And knowing how many hours time difference between Honolulu and New York.
Glad Bill W's stations were on it, and that KOMO eventually was.
Truth is, most people are watching TV, if their power's not out, and with the biggest cable system like Comcast offering few, if any, all news channels, you've gotta hope the locals pre-empt once in awhile when there's something this big, even if the part of the news that would directly impact most "Americans" is just over the horizon. Glad it didn't cause much damage in Washington - Saddened to hear about the person swept away in Crescent City CA. Scared to see the families walking on the ocean beach in the morning in the background of NWCN's coverage when the alert was active.

As for some of the other postings that seemed to veer off course of analyzing breaking news coverage, or the lack thereof:

AQH - and who are you, Don Rickles?? Thanks otherwise for what I think was a defense of another snarky Tweet from notalent. (?)
Guru - why do I always see a posting from you in LA right after there's one from AQH, or vice-versa? Hey wait a minute, are you the two guys I saw standing in the rain in front of Whole Foods last weekend with the "Impeach Obama" poster with the Hitler moustache on it?
Or was it talkndjdude and notalent doin' their missionary time for Mr LaRouche??
LPB - As for Comcact providing NHK w/o a subscription on the "TV Japan" channel -- I caught that too, and was glad to see that. Had different pix than the ones that got repeated over and over on the other channels, tho' I don't understand Japanese. Not sure who's call that was, if by Comcast or whoever provides that channel, which is otherwise not really an NHK outlet. It was the least they could do, and they did it. Would appreciate seeing NHK in English fulltime, as well as several other all-news channels that you'll get on cable in Canada, France, and many other places that Comcast doesn't control.

As for local TV in Seattle, I'm finding the swirling red lines "Target earthquake" graphics the Belo TV stations have pulsing behind their anchors to be in poor taste. And last night KOMO-TV edited the oft-repeated visuals of the Japan tsunami in action, into micro-second clips swirling inside a cube - like a rock video behind the announcer. Wonder who thought that was necessary, or appropriate? Is it more "Entertaining" for people who like shiny objects dangled in front of them?? Seems like the graphics departments are getting in the way of some real reporting with their dancing visuals commanding attention from the viewers. Whose idea is that stuff, anyway?
 
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