I want Paul Giamarco to see this

[Kenny Atkinson]

EXCELLENT JOB! To you're entire staff. I live in North Providence and lost power and ran to the car on and off all day until my power was restored around 9:30...

KUdo's....John Depetro even on WHJJ was there during 9/11 and the Station fire.Tara,Andrew,Matty,and even Steve Kass's dubut back on the air..

THANK YOU!

 

[RadioHead06]

WPRO has been so outstanding. They are such an asset to this community and we are very lucky to have them.
This is why "local" radio matters so much. I'm one of the lucky RI'ers who got power back last night after 12 hours without. During those 12 hours had the battery powered radio on the entire way. Nobody and I do mean NOBODY handles these out of the ordinary events better than WPRO. I'll put them up against any radio station in the country. They are that good and that professional.
Once again kudos to WPRO for their continuing outstanding public service.

 

[Runrigger]

They did a great job. It's the mark of a well programmed and staffed station when regardless of what is going on off the air, everything comes together on the air. On a related note, given the scenario of listeners with no power and listening on a battery operated radio I wonder if a PPM will record this or if the meter is affected by a power outage. I may pose the question on the Coast To Coast board.

 

[Phil R. Monik]

Was Dan York trapped in his house by downed power lines or something? I didn't hear him at any point during the storm.

I had WPRO on all day and night, and it was exactly what a special/news alert type broadcast should be. I especially liked the Hummel/Allen team.

 

[Kenny Atkinson]

Just an example of good WPRO was with giving survival tips.A very important task I learned by listening.How to brew coffee on an outside grill.
;D

 

[RadioHead06]

Was Dan York trapped in his house by downed power lines or something? I didn't hear him at any point during the storm.

I had WPRO on all day and night, and it was exactly what a special/news alert type broadcast should be. I especially liked the Hummel/Allen team.

Yorke gave some lame excuse today that Giamarco and Co. wanted to set their lineup on Friday and Yorke couldn't guarantee that he could make it in from Cumberland (DePetro made it in from E Greenwich, Matt Allen made it in from New Bedford and Steve Kass made it in from Scituate) but poor Dan, who lives closer than the 3 I mentioned) couldn't guarantee that he could trek those real nice highways to make it to EP.
But he did offer to the show from his HOUSE. : Not one of Dan's better efforts.

 

[Holland Cooke]

RE "How to brew coffee on an outside grill."

I heard that too.
GREAT bit.
Great "diary radio," in-that it's-likely-to-be-remembered...quoted even.

Having survived even-more-extreme circumstances when we covered The Great Blizzard of '78, I'm especially impressed by how WPRO rallied. It was solid radio.

That said, I think what WHJJ did was SMART...DARN smart, under the circumstances.

'JJ isn't staffed-up to grow-their-own a la WPRO coverage; and simulcasting NBC10 gave listeners who were in-car and/or lights-out access to trusted NBC10 content.

This wasn't just a convenience. It's very in-step-with the way people now expect to access stuff on multiple devices...even when the power isn't failing. Think "app."

Nothing else 920 could've done would've been more useful...or more valuable promotion, based on all the plugs the radio station got on TV.

And, after all, many 55+ listeners -- radio's highest AQH contributors -- remember 920AM and TV10 as siblings. And TV mentions + power outages forced AM use by younger listeners who now "get" that NBC10 weather is available in-car on 920.

If life had a Rewind button, simulcasting on 93.3 not only would've made the station even-more-handy, but it would've shown seemingly-reluctant Clear Channel that they're missing-a-bet not simulcasting full-time. And I say so (a) with-all-due-respect to WSNE staffers, and (b) as a former WSNE program director.

HC
http://wp.me/pl9ir-x0

 

[alg2468]

I agree fully with Holland about WHJJ. And Helen Glover in the morning is doing a great job, too.

 

[ScottBurns]

Holland, you don't think that some of the talk radio malaise that has hit Boston would be prevalent in Providence? The nationally syndicated conservative talkers have not fared well lately in Boston. Putting them on FM, which is what a simulcast on 93.3 would achieve, might meet a similar fate in Providence.

 

[Holland Cooke]

INSTANT impact

Holland, you don't think that some of the talk radio malaise that has hit Boston would be prevalent in Providence? The nationally syndicated conservative talkers have not fared well lately in Boston. Putting them on FM, which is what a simulcast on 93.3 would achieve, might meet a similar fate in Providence.

Based on what's happened elsewhere: Simulcast WHJJ on 93.3, and three things WILL happen, INSTANTLY:
1. more cume, because
a) most TSL is on FM (some 80% nationally), so there'll be "drive-by" tune-in; and
b) bigger geo-footprint, which doesn't change month-to-month sunrise/sunset;
2. median age will drop 10 years (though even that will be higher-than-many-advertisers-target);
3. people-who-buy-advertising will hear it. Sally Timebuyer doesn't use AM.

Examples abound. Most-conspicuous: the USA’s top biller, all-news WTOP/Washington, a stand-alone AM when I programmed it for 7 years in the ‘80s. Shortly thereafter, new owners did what-I’d-been-begging-mine-to-do: added an FM simulcast, an outlier to fill-in a null. Later, the station moved to bigger and multiple FMs, and left AM entirely.

Why Clear Channel is hesitating: The status quo music format is cash-flowing, it's a-bird-in-the-hand.
Times-being-as-they-are, the company isn't focused on playing-defense long-term.

HC
http://getonthenet.com/FMTalk-HC.pdf

 

[tony r]

The Town of Rehoboth, Mass, and surrounding Towns also thank WPRO

I am still wondering why the Fall River station exists.