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more lousy traffic

SirRoxalot said:
many stations have the on-air jock do traffic as "part of his duties". Most of them do a decent job - much better than the info I've seen on CC's traffic service.

isn't the info other stations use from the cc websites? if so this causes a domino effect. if if cc does a lousy job so do the others because all citadel is doing is going to the wsyr webpage and reading the traffic info.
 
Oh, Mr. A, PLEASE fill us in on your expertise. When was the last time YOU did a traffic report? I'll bet you a Michigan that I've done one more recently than you.

As far as people deriving info from the Clear Channel Traffic website, virtually all of THEIR information for Syracuse appears to come from the NY DOT, Thruway authority, and traffic cams. Those are publicly-accessible sites. Ditto WSYR. The difference is that WSYR appears to have someone paying attention to the job.

This ain't the old days. The currently available technology make CC obsolete. They ain't got a plane, a copter, or boots on the ground in Syracuse. Who needs 'em? Educate a staffer and keep the money (or avails) in-house.
 
SirRoxalot said:
When was the last time YOU did a traffic report? I'll bet you a Michigan that I've done one more recently than you.

That's not the point. An intern could read a report on the air, but not know a single thing about how the information was compiled. You're making a lot of judgements without any real knowledge.
 
SirRoxalot said:
virtually all of THEIR information for Syracuse appears to come from the NY DOT, Thruway authority, and traffic cams. Those are publicly-accessible sites.

Access to a site, and using it for profit are two different things. As a private citizen, I can access any site I want. But using that information on the air without permission or selling it to an advertiser is against the law. You can't sell what is not yours. Plus, as I said, there are several competing radio traffic services, even in a market the size of Syracuse. Everyone is looking for a "leg up," as they say.

Going back to the topic, I saw more than 25 possible traffic issues on WSYR's map. In the 20 second you have as a reporter, you have to choose the important ones. If you do traffic every day, you know which back-ups are standard, and which ones are unusual. You have time to mention three or four, depending on the detail you give. Then you read the sponsor, and turn it back to the DJ. A station COULD do continuous traffic reporting all morning and afternoon. That's what the DOT radio stations do. But that's not the purpose of a commercial radio station. That's why they refer you to their website, or provide mobile phone services to augment what's on the air. And even then, with all that, they still probably miss a few things.
 
Sorry, but I just have to ask: WTF are you talking about?

NOBODY said anything about doing "continuous traffic reporting". The STATE DOT site is a PUBLIC SITE, as is the Thruway Authority site. The information is in the PUBLIC DOMAIN. Where do you think CC gets their traffic information? From their "network of spotters"? Puh-lease.

Anybody who travels daily knows "the usual volume delays" on major routes. Picking out the UNUSUAL ain't rocket science. I've compiled plenty of traffic reports, and you haven't show one iota of expertise. In fact, your insistence that this requires a "staff of 20 or more" in a "traffic center" simply demostrates that YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT - especially with the currently available traffic cams and publicly available technology. As far as condensing the information down to 20 seconds, on-air people do that with a variety of information EVERY FREAKIN' DAY.

I don't know if you sell CC traffic services, or just are out of touch with what's going on in today's world, but please spare me the condescension. Yes, I know that you're an expert on EVERYTHING, but in this case, you might want to put your "traffic hat" back on the rack and stop talking through it.
 
SirRoxalot said:
I don't know if you sell CC traffic services,

I said very clearly in this thread that I don't now nor have I ever worked for CC or their traffic services, but I obviously know more about them then you. I'm done with this discussion.
 
SirRoxalot said:
The currently available technology make CC obsolete. They ain't got a plane, a copter, or boots on the ground in Syracuse. Who needs 'em? Educate a staffer and keep the money (or avails) in-house.

This got me thinking... whatever happened to the "Street Patroooooool!" Kathy Denman so proudly introduced every morning? They never had a copter or a plane, but they did at least have one guy driving around in a car all day. Seems like that went away about two years ago.

At least a car on the road (a) lends more credibility to the report and (b) doubles as a moving billboard for the station. They probably ditched it after losing the sponsorship (I think they mentioned it was a Saturn every time) but having your logo spotted while roaming high-traffic areas during rush hour is still a good idea even if you're not making money to mention the manufacturer of the car every 10 minutes.
 
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