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Good Job KAHI !

C

ChiefOperator

On Sunday, my friend called me to ask him move things from his home, which was threatened by the Auburn wildfires. As we did, we turned on the local station KAHI (950 AM) to hear updates. I was glad to hear that KAHI had dropped the regular programming and had gone live, giving evacuation orders, road closures, and other emergency information. They stayed with the non-stop reporting until about 10pm. In fact, several times they announced that they were staying on the station's daytime pattern because of the emergency.

I also turned on the the other "local" Auburn station, KHYL. Not surprising, they just continued to play music and never even mentioned the issue. Of course, that is to be expected when the studios are in Sacramento and serve that market.

Good job KAHI ! Thanks for truly being local. Thanks for serving the community the way it should be done. Thanks for being the station with the fewest resources giving the most....
 
ChiefOperator said:
On Sunday, my friend called me to ask him move things from his home, which was threatened by the Auburn wildfires. As we did, we turned on the local station KAHI (950 AM) to hear updates. I was glad to hear that KAHI had dropped the regular programming and had gone live, giving evacuation orders, road closures, and other emergency information. They stayed with the non-stop reporting until about 10pm. In fact, several times they announced that they were staying on the station's daytime pattern because of the emergency.

I also turned on the the other "local" Auburn station, KHYL. Not surprising, they just continued to play music and never even mentioned the issue. Of course, that is to be expected when the studios are in Sacramento and serve that market.

Good job KAHI ! Thanks for truly being local. Thanks for serving the community the way it should be done. Thanks for being the station with the fewest resources giving the most....
Click to expand...

I hope that the FCC sees this and let's them stay on the air. They're on the air by the grace of an STA to put a stay on them turning in their license due to the expanded band 5 year mandate.
 
Chief Operator,

Total agreement here.....how refreshing it is to see a local station doing what local stations are supposed to do - in "The Public Interest"......

And, yes, shame on Clear Channel Sacramento for not, at the very least, simulcasting KFBK on KHYL during this emergency.....

Using "city of license" as just a means to acquire frequencies instead of serving the public at a time when radio can be a major help - in fact, a life saver - well, I guess no matter how much Clear Channel is sliced and diced down to size, that management simply can't be bothered with non-profitable ventures like the coverage of local/regional emergencies.

I sure hope some true radio fans and listeners would consider writing letters for the KAHI & CC public files, as well as to the FCC....only when public reaction is palpable does The FCC or modern corporate radio management ever act responsibly.
 
BurnedOutOnTheBoards said:
Chief Operator,

Total agreement here.....how refreshing it is to see a local station doing what local stations are supposed to do - in "The Public Interest"......

And, yes, shame on Clear Channel Sacramento for not, at the very least, simulcasting KFBK on KHYL during this emergency.....

Using "city of license" as just a means to acquire frequencies instead of serving the public at a time when radio can be a major help - in fact, a life saver - well, I guess no matter how much Clear Channel is sliced and diced down to size, that management simply can't be bothered with non-profitable ventures like the coverage of local/regional emergencies.

I sure hope some true radio fans and listeners would consider writing letters for the KAHI & CC public files, as well as to the FCC....only when public reaction is palpable does The FCC or modern corporate radio management ever act responsibly.
Click to expand...

Quite honestly, most people in Auburn listen to other Sacramento stations. Look at the demographics of the audience makeup of KHYL. Auburn is about as anglo as it gets in the region. Most people in Auburn have probably forgotten about the old KHYL. KGBY or KQJK probably have more of influence in Auburn than the "R&B and Old School station" does. I also see KNTY, KNCI, KSEG, and KYMX being more of a factor as well.

Too people in Auburn, 101.1 is just another frequency serving the greater region with a music format.

When I last worked in Sacramento, I became sad when I saw KAHI getting very small numbers in the Auburn zip codes when looking in maximizer. It closely echoed what most people in Placer County would listen to.

Many oldtimers probably still listen to KAHI out of habit. People that lived in the area back when AM was king, and stations like KCRA, KFBK (with that old horrible null), KROY, KXOA/KNDE and KRAK didn't come in to Auburn that well.
 
MRK -

You make great points about how Auburnites listen to other stations, but that doesn't relieve KHYL of some responsibility in this issue.

Besides the obvious "in the public interest" arguments, at a time of crisis like this fire, those people in their cars wondering where to go or who to call might just think "Auburn radio station" rather than most Sacramento stations.
Yes, KFBK would be a first choice for many, but wouldn't FM coverage of BK's news on KHYL expand the coverage and give frantic people more options for vital info?

My first thought would have been KAHI, too - but KHYL is licensed to Auburn, and in a time of real emergency, where thankfully human lives and much injury was avoided, KHYL has a responsibility here, too - especially as the sister station of KFBK.

And if KGBY or KQJK have more Auburn listeners that KHYL, would it have destroyed KGBY & KQJK to insert a liner about turning to their Auburn sister station KHYL for pertinent emergency info and updates? Then have KHYL simulcast KFBK with news? That would have been a simple patch or flip of a switch - and good PR for CC, which is drowning in bad news.

To Bob W.....

Thanks for giving us a sample of reader comments to ponder...it's been a long, long time since I've read praise for a radio station in the letters to the newspapers. This emergency reminds us all that radio has an important role to play in our everyday lives and during incredible challenges.....
 
Hopefully the people of Auburn will stand up for them.This is what radio is suppose to be about.They came to the aid of their community in a crisis.To bad many so called radio companies have forgotten this.Takes a small kid on the block to teach the big bully what life is all about.If there is a petition to sign I will gladly sign it.Keep KAHI on the air!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
BurnedOutOnTheBoards said:
This emergency reminds us all that radio has an important role to play in our everyday lives and during incredible challenges.....
Click to expand...

I remember being in the Santa Cruz Mountains, staying at our cabin, when the Loma Prieta Quake hit in 1989. The only information we could get, because power was knocked out, was through radio. What a comfort it was to have the information supplied by radio stations. Granted that was a widespread disaster, and deserved much coverage, but whether it is something like an earthquake, or a regional fire, it is good to know that radio is there for us. Kudos to KAHI.

I also remember working at a Kalispell, MT radio station when Mt. Saint Helens blew. When the ash started tumbling into the area from the west, I was on the air, and alone at the station. That didn't last long. Station staff came pouring in, and we had our county emergency official at the station and in the field, relaying information for us to put on the air. This is what radio excels at. Quickly getting information to the public that is needed in times of emergency. I only wish more stations would operate in the public interest, or certainly turn it up a notch.
 
I am curious? When KHYL-101.1 was a locally owned radio station in Auburn (Ironically They Were KAHI's FM Sister Station For Many Years), years ago, did they do local reporting of emergencies or not? How about when they were KAFI back in the 1970's?
 
I don't know much about the operations when KAHI and KHYL were both locally owned. l got to the foothills well after KHYL was in Sacramento.

As a follow-up to my first post, I walked past the station on Friday and talked briefly to the staff. For those of you who aren't familiar with the station, it sits right on the street. I told them that I was quite pleased with their fire coverage. They said that the station has been overwhelmed with the "Thank you" from the community.

I also learned how the coverage started. Apparently, the station was automated when the fire broke out. A staff member saw the fire, recognized that it would be a issue, drove to the station, and began to alert the community. Shortly after, several other station members showed up and then assisted throughout the crisis.
Everyone came in as a volunteer.

I was listening to the Raiders and the A's on KAHI. The station was running promos, stating they were the only station to cover the fire. Good for them......
 
Isn't great to have a locally owned small town radio station like KAHI getting so many pats on the back. They did a great job
during the fires, I was listening. Much more info than any other radio or Television station in Sacramento. That's what being
local is all about. KAHI is on the move bring in Oakland Raiders football, The A's, Laura Ingraham and doing a lot of foothill
high school football games on Friday nights. I also heard former KHTK PD Mike Ramey on the air there the other day.
Good job KAHI.
 
bravo to KAHI...for doing a great job on something that really mattered!!A special salute to all KAHI personnel and to Mary Jane Popp for being a broadcaster who gets it..about what real community radio is..radio that actually gives a damn.
 
Great to see a local station be what EVERY station should be...local! Like many of you posted, I had the opportunity to broadcast important local information. In Sitka, Alaska, when an Alaska Marine Highway System ferry ran aground, we were the first to report the "accident". I saw it in dry dock, in Ketchikan, when leaving Alaska via another ferry. I also reported on bad weather, and bad road conditions, in the Eastern Sierra Nevada. It was interesting when police called, asking me to tell people to stay home. I also reported on approaching tornadoes in the midwest. I do miss that part of being full-time in radio. When we've lost power at our home, here in the Sierra Foothills at 4000', where did I turn for information? RADIO!
 
In light of Bob W.'s earlier posting of Letters To The Editor regards KAHI's fire coverage, I went
to the Sacramento Bee to see if they had any online letters similar about KAHI's fire coverage.

Nope, not a one that I could see, using various keywords...but there's been yet another post of
gratitude toward KAHI on the Auburn Journal website since the other two posts:

http://auburnjournal.com/detail/129...rder_sort=&content_class=1&sub_type=&town_id=

Kudos to KAHI for a job well done!! And it's too bad the former sister-station still licensed to
Auburn (aka my former employer, KHYL) did minimal coverage, compared to KAHI...
--jay
 
As a listener of KHYL both when it was IN Auburn (under the PDship of the legendary Sue Ryan, who doubled as morning woman) AND today's V 101.1 with studios on Ethan, it's unfortunate to have to say that while I like KHYL's current programming most of the time, it's an Auburn station in name only. The only time you even HEAR the word "Auburn" is when the legal ID is given. KHYL has forgotten its roots.
 
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