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New Traffic Reporter Alert

V

valkyrie777

Heads up! Be watching WPVI/Channel 6 on Monday, November 14th, between 5 and 6 pm for the debut there of a new on-camera traffic reporter.

He's a personable guy with a bright future ahead of him. :)
 
This is the reason not to watch Action News?

Ok, they've hired a cute ex-intern with no experience to replace John Valiero. Wasn't this discussed further down the page?


>
> He's a personable guy with a bright future ahead of him. :)
>
 
Wow Valkyrie---how long have you worked at traffic dot com? This is the second self-serving post you've made about the traffic guy on 6 and having "a bright future". Says who? He's an unknown and no comparison at all to Metro's John Valerio. Basically, who cares?
I'll stick to newsradio for my traffic scoop thank you very much.
 
> I'll stick to newsradio for my traffic scoop thank you very
> much.
>

IMHO, KYW/"NewsRadio" offers traffic-poop. They've been so wrong so often that they've become laughable. I've driven right past supposed locations of "major events" only to see ZIP! The alleged "event" was never there in the first place. And, it happens again and again.

Sorry if you still believe anything those clowns mangle.
 
> > I'll stick to newsradio for my traffic scoop thank you
> very
> > much.
> >
>
> IMHO, KYW/"NewsRadio" offers traffic-poop. They've been so
> wrong so often that they've become laughable. I've driven
> right past supposed locations of "major events" only to see
> ZIP! The alleged "event" was never there in the first place.
> And, it happens again and again.
>
> Sorry if you still believe anything those clowns mangle.
>
I think they all miss some in both ways. Just a few weeks ago on an early Saturday morning, I took a report that it was smooth sailing on I-95 to be good news. Until I sat in stopped traffic and listened to not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 consecutive reports saying there were no slowdowns...all while moving about three car lengths. It was the 5th report that finally said traffic was slowing down. (Any "slow"-er and it would have been going backwards.)

And all of the services do a lousy job of reporting transit delays unless the whole system crashes--again, based on my experiences as a daily SEPTA commuter.
 
KYW Twaffic Blows

As Bill Clinton was fond of saying..."I share your pain". Here's my to-the-point tale of woe:

Few weeks ago, I was about to get on the Schulkyl Westbound at Green Lane to go out to the new IKEA in the Plymouth Meeting-area. It was early morning and wanted the latest traffic. Turning on KYW to hear "twaffic-on-the-toos", I hear a report of "a tree down across all Westbound lanes of the Schulkyl at Gladwyne. All lanes are blocked and police and PENNDOT crews are just arriving on the scene to take care of the tree and the traffic. Be prepared for long delays."

Apprehensively, I ventured Westbound on the Schulkyl. Approaching Gladwyne, I saw no tree down, no police lights nor any PENNDOT crews anywhere! Matter of fact, I went all the way to the Blue Route without seeing even a small twig with a single leaf attached on the Schulkyl Xway!

Interestingly, by the VERY NEXT "twaffic on the toos" on KYW...there was NO mention of the "downed tree" nor any apology or explanation of the erroneous report in the previous report.

To KYW/NoosWaydeo "Twaffic On The Toos"...I'd like to quote another favorite Bill...Bill The Cat..when I say "Acck! Thhwwwppp!" :)
 
Twaffic Blows From One Who Should Know

Apparently, PENNDOT did take care of the tree and the traffic, and rather quickly, too.

KYW's Traffic reports are provided by Metro Network's Shadow Traffic.

Shadow Traffic:
<ul>
[*]Does their traffic reports LIVE (not pre-recorded);
[*]Using experienced traffic reporters (not out of work DJ's);
[*]Who live and work in the metro area on which they report (no out-of-towners)
and, therefore, know the metro area on which they report;
[*]Are able to see traffic cams as they report and therefore are "saying what they are seeing," (rather than reading off a web-page generated somewhere else).
[/list]
"valkyrie777" can be excused for his comments; he really does not know about traffic reporting. You see, he is a local DJ who currently works for a small competitor of Shadow Traffic called Traffic.com. They have found ways to cut the cost of doing traffic reporting (although they still have been reporting a loss). So, Val sits in a little room in Chesterbrook looking at a web page and recording traffic reports for the company's one radio client in New York (in contrast, Shadow Traffic has about 30 clients up there). Traffic.com does not have the same resources as Shadow, so if a tree falls on an expressway, he may not even see it on his web page at all; and if the tree is removed before somebody gets there, they won't be disappointed to find it gone.

But if Val does see something about the tree on his web-page, by the time his pre-recorded report airs the tree is likely long gone any way (which means somebody driving to Ikea by Newark Airport will be disappointed).

Maybe it's better for Val not to say anything about the tree at all. Maybe that's why he keeps rattling off traffic statistics (while Shadow describes what's happening).

If a tree falls on an expressway and no one hears about it on the radio, does it still block traffic?

Part of the reason for the time-lag in his reports may be Val likes to record several reports ahead so he has time to read the paper, post idle flattery about co-workers on radio boards or look for another job. He may need to find one. The station he records reports for is WLIB/Air America Radio and they may not be able to sell enough bumper stickers to keep themselves going (and Val employed).
 
Re: Twaffic Blows From One Who Should Know

Very well put. It is laughable how this obvious employee of Traffic.com puts posts trashing KYW and praising the people who work at Traffic.com. It is very transparent. Look, nobody is going to be right ALL of the time. But I think that Metro, or Shadow Traffic, or Smart Traveler, or whatever the hell they are calling themselves...I think that they are very accurate most of the time. And I think it is a very good point that the people that they have reporting are not out of work DJs, but actual traffic reporters who know the area. I know that when I drive to and from work, I feel confident that Sam Clover and John Brown know their stuff, and will tell it like it is, with accuracy. Traffic on radio still has credibility, in my opinion, because most radio stations still use Metro. TV is another story. Most TV stations are now with Traffic.com, and I think they are more about looking good than being accurate. Unfortunately, that is the direction that TV traffic is going in.

> Apparently, PENNDOT did take care of the tree and the
> traffic, and rather quickly, too.
>
> KYW's Traffic reports are provided by Metro Network's Shadow
> Traffic.
>
> Shadow Traffic:
>
> Does their traffic reports LIVE (not pre-recorded);
> Using experienced traffic reporters (not out of work DJ's);
> Who live and work in the metro area on which they report (no
> out-of-towners)
> and, therefore, know the metro area on which they report;
> Are able to see traffic cams as they report and therefore
> are "saying what they are seeing," (rather than reading off
> a web-page generated somewhere else).
>
> "valkyrie777" can be excused for his comments; he really
> does not know about traffic reporting. You see, he is a
> local DJ who currently works for a small competitor of
> Shadow Traffic called Traffic.com. They have found ways to
> cut the cost of doing traffic reporting (although they still
> have been reporting a loss). So, Val sits in a little room
> in Chesterbrook looking at a web page and recording traffic
> reports for the company's one radio client in New York (in
> contrast, Shadow Traffic has about 30 clients up there).
> Traffic.com does not have the same resources as Shadow, so
> if a tree falls on an expressway, he may not even see it on
> his web page at all; and if the tree is removed before
> somebody gets there, they won't be disappointed to find it
> gone.
>
> But if Val does see something about the tree on his
> web-page, by the time his pre-recorded report airs the tree
> is likely long gone any way (which means somebody driving
> to Ikea by Newark Airport will be disappointed).
>
> Maybe it's better for Val not to say anything about the tree
> at all. Maybe that's why he keeps rattling off traffic
> statistics (while Shadow describes what's happening).
>
> If a tree falls on an expressway and no one hears about it
> on the radio, does it still block traffic?
>
> Part of the reason for the time-lag in his reports may be
> Val likes to record several reports ahead so he has time to
> read the paper, post idle flattery about co-workers on radio
> boards or look for another job. He may need to find one.
> The station he records reports for is WLIB/Air America Radio
> and they may not be able to sell enough bumper stickers to
> keep themselves going (and Val employed).
>
 
Re: Twaffic Blows From One Who Should Know

Without trying to argue whose cameras vs sensors provide better info (my experience is that they all miss some biggies), I was struck by the comment that Shadow doesn't use "out of work" DJs (which, based on the tone, sounds intended to be a major insult). Isn't Tom Collins a one-time DJ, hired when he was out of work (post Y-100)? What about when Lorraine Renalli was doing traffic for them (on KYW)?

Shouldn't the accuracy of the info. coupled with good presentation skills be what's most important, vs. whether someone's background happens to have been as a DJ?

> Apparently, PENNDOT did take care of the tree and the
> traffic, and rather quickly, too.
>
> KYW's Traffic reports are provided by Metro Network's Shadow
> Traffic.
>
> Shadow Traffic:
>
> Does their traffic reports LIVE (not pre-recorded);
> Using experienced traffic reporters (not out of work DJ's);
> Who live and work in the metro area on which they report (no
> out-of-towners)
> and, therefore, know the metro area on which they report;
> Are able to see traffic cams as they report and therefore
> are "saying what they are seeing," (rather than reading off
> a web-page generated somewhere else).
>
> "valkyrie777" can be excused for his comments; he really
> does not know about traffic reporting. You see, he is a
> local DJ who currently works for a small competitor of
> Shadow Traffic called Traffic.com. They have found ways to
> cut the cost of doing traffic reporting (although they still
> have been reporting a loss). So, Val sits in a little room
> in Chesterbrook looking at a web page and recording traffic
> reports for the company's one radio client in New York (in
> contrast, Shadow Traffic has about 30 clients up there).
> Traffic.com does not have the same resources as Shadow, so
> if a tree falls on an expressway, he may not even see it on
> his web page at all; and if the tree is removed before
> somebody gets there, they won't be disappointed to find it
> gone.
>
> But if Val does see something about the tree on his
> web-page, by the time his pre-recorded report airs the tree
> is likely long gone any way (which means somebody driving
> to Ikea by Newark Airport will be disappointed).
>
> Maybe it's better for Val not to say anything about the tree
> at all. Maybe that's why he keeps rattling off traffic
> statistics (while Shadow describes what's happening).
>
> If a tree falls on an expressway and no one hears about it
> on the radio, does it still block traffic?
>
> Part of the reason for the time-lag in his reports may be
> Val likes to record several reports ahead so he has time to
> read the paper, post idle flattery about co-workers on radio
> boards or look for another job. He may need to find one.
> The station he records reports for is WLIB/Air America Radio
> and they may not be able to sell enough bumper stickers to
> keep themselves going (and Val employed).
>
 
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