KT'R And Conelrad

[oldiesfan6479]

Isn't the Phoenix market's primary EAS station the newly-rechristened
Sports Parking Lot 620?

A sports yakker and PBPer just doesn't seem like the place you'd turn to
for "news and official information."

How 'bout we petition Uncle Charlie to swap it to another outlet?
For example...

KAZG 1440--if it happens at night, Gumpdusky promises to override the
lumberyard's lamp timer and turn on the 52 watts for EAS broadcasts.

KKNT 960--Great EAS coverage at night for Rocky Point, however the
East Valley is SOL.

KFNX 1100--based on past "indiscretions" they'd probably have no qualms
about powering up to 50 gallons at midnight for some @#$% EAS message.

KXAM 1310--will agree to "host" EAS if Matty-boy gets to voice the test
messages and actual alerts, but only if they don't interfere with his other
very important duties at the station.

KFYI 550--the obvious choice as it's the only other good AM stick at night,
and for EAS alerts they are automatically authorized to run at 5 gallons, and...
oh wait...it's Cheap Channel...no local news staffing (from what I can tell)
in some overnight and weekend late-night dayparts...hmmm, we don't want
another Minot! ;D

 

[zumahans]

KTAR AM has the news resources of KTAR FM, which is to say, the biggest and best in the state.

Which is irrelevant, because the FORMAT has nothing to do with being the EAS primary, it's only the SIGNAL.

KTAR staffers would NEVER appear on a EAS alert.

The station could be an automated beautiful music station for all it matters to the EAS role it plays.

 

[ajhenderson]

Yeah, and it's not exactly as if any station turned down an imaging stunt like "your official weather station" just because they weren't the official EAS station.

 

[davideduardo]

KFYI 550--the obvious choice as it's the only other good AM stick at night,
and for EAS alerts they are automatically authorized to run at 5 gallons, and...
oh wait...it's Cheap Channel...no local news staffing (from what I can tell)
in some overnight and weekend late-night dayparts...hmmm, we don't want
another Minot! ;D

Let's not forget that the Minot incident was a failure of the government authorities to know how to activate EAS, not of Clear Channel, which did everything required of it.

 

[KeithE4]

KXAM 1310--will agree to "host" EAS if Matty-boy gets to voice the test
messages and actual alerts, but only if they don't interfere with his other
very important duties at the station.

Given KXAM's penchant for being in tune with the times ("Does Bob Dole have a chance to win upcoming 1996 election?" as they once asked in 2000, IIRC), they'd probably ask the FCC to move them to 640 or 1240 in order to be on the proper Conelrad frequency. ;D

 

[zumahans]

Let's not forget that the Minot incident was a failure of the government authorities to know how to activate EAS, not of Clear Channel, which did everything required of it.

Which is to say, Clear Channel did nothing.

 

[davideduardo]

Let's not forget that the Minot incident was a failure of the government authorities to know how to activate EAS, not of Clear Channel, which did everything required of it.

Which is to say, Clear Channel did nothing.

Clear did what nearly every other station in a small market does in overnights... they did not have newspeople there (who does in overnights?) and had a working EAS system ready to be activated if needed by the authorities authorized to do so. The authorities did not know how to activate, so they were unable to use the fully working system... which is intended to relay notices from the source, not to provide data for station staff to read or replay manually.

All this is less important than the fact that at 2 AM, when the incident happened, there were probably less than a few hundred people listening to the radio anyway, and an EAS at that time would have had no effect even if the local authorities had managed to walk and chew gum at the same time. The biggest flaw in EAS is that, even at peak times, no more than one out of every four persons is listening to the radio and 75% of the population would not hear alerts... and that goes up to 92% in evenings and about 98% in overnights.

It's EAS that is flawed, not the radio stations that are generally in full compliance all over the US.

 

[buster2]

KTAR AM is the primary EAS because of it's strength of signal and the fact the station was in existence when the EAS (then EBS) was initiated many years ago. It could have just as easily been the then-550 KOY, but KTAR was chosen.

Even if KTAR AM remains the prime EAS station, it would be no sweat for KTAR FM to simulcast.

But KTAR is not the only EAS activator. If KTAR were unable to perform the function of initiating the EAS for some reason (massive power failure, fire at the XMTR, whatever), KFYI would then activate the system. If KFYI could not, then KJZZ would be up next. That's an official lineup, not an arbitrary choice.

If I'm not mistaken, the EAS cannot be activated without first going through either the DPS or the State Division of Emergency Management.

In any case, if KTAR, KFYI and KJZZ are all so completely compromised by some form of disaster, there's probably no one around town to listen to the EAS anyway, 'cuz we're all little bits of fallout...

 

[zumahans]

[EDIT]

Clear did what nearly every other station in a small market does in overnights... they did not have newspeople there (who does in overnights?) and had a working EAS system ready to be activated if needed by the authorities authorized to do so. .

[EDIT]


We can all remember when radio stations had staff who could find a newsperson at 4 in the morning on a Sunday.

We can all remember when broadcasters had local general managers who were known in the community.

The failure of CC and corporate radio has been well-documented. Yea, the cops screwed up too. But 10 years ago, the radio and TV stations would have done the broadcasting, and let the cops worry about doing the policing.


[EDIT-inflammatory]

 

[davideduardo]

We can all remember when radio stations had staff who could find a newsperson at 4 in the morning on a Sunday.

Outside of a few major stations in major markets, I can not recall any station that had newspeople in the wee hours, especially on weekends. In fact, those stations that broadcast after midnight generally (about 95%+) signed off on Sunday evening for maintenance. Overnights broadcasting was generally a way to make sure the transmitter was working at the start of morning drive.

We can all remember when broadcasters had local general managers who were known in the community.

Some communities today are so big that nobody short of celebrities and stars and politicians are well known. I know plenty of GMs who are as active in community affairs as any other businesspeople of thier level and stature. You are, at best, stereotyping.

The failure of CC and corporate radio has been well-documented.

I must have missed the memo. As I recall, Clear and Randy Michaels pretty much saved AM by developing, and investing in, information and talk on AM when AMs were mostly losing money. And if you look at their technical plants, they are among the best on the planet.

Yea, the cops screwed up too. But 10 years ago, the radio and TV stations would have done the broadcasting, and let the cops worry about doing the policing.

I have no idea what you mean. Are you referring to Commissioner Copps?

Whatever.

 

[zumahans]

KM is back?