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Nor"Easter Storm Coverage in the Rutland area..

N

NO DAG

Guest
I'd like to offer a genuine feedback on coverage of the Nor'Easter that hammered the Rutland region. I guess I can give WJJR an E for effort for attempting to provide a public service in time of crisis. The key word there is ultimately WJJR, while Pamal operates a cluster of five distinctive formatted radio stations in Rutland, it appears that the only one that counts is WJJR. Logic would have dictated in time of crisis that all the available stations would have simultcasted wall to wall coverage of major news and weather event in Rutland serving as a public trustee of the airwaves.

It seems to me that the big picture was not in full view as WJJR was placating to the ratings period in progress, since the other stations in the group did not provide a public service of complete information. grabbiing ratings should have not appeared to play into the coverage.


It seems that the professor of programming could not wait to hog the airwaves during the time of crisis sharing the microphone very little with the many possible and credible contributers that would have made the difference between fair and excellent coverage of the events. Last I checked there is another morning host for WJJR who is very capable and credible. (Unless Mr. kelly was on vacation). Last time we checked, WSYB is the news and information station source for Rutland county, and this event affected Rutland county more so than anywhere else in the region. There were hardly any WSYB resources that appeared to be utilized on WJJR until BC finally made it on the airwaves, and a part time simultcast of WJJR's coverage took place.

Just the fact that the 'professor of programming' came up with some sort of positioner that "We're the official crisis information station' shows the view that local Pamal gurus have toward the station portfolio, there's WJJR and then there's the others. In times of crisis, the ratings book and games should have been thrown out the window and the Rutland county residents should have been able to count on the Pamal cluster as a whole versus one selfish part.

That's my opinion, what's yours..
 
Perfect example, with the mighty WJJR and Z 97 off the air currently, the average listener in Rutland should be educated enough to turn any of the Pamal stations and catch up on all the latest information if need be.. All the portfolio stations should be the "Official Emergency Information Stations" or whatever that was.
I believe on a grander scale, thats what broadcasters did in New Orleans, New York and other places did in their time of emergencies and disasters.

Ratings don't mean squat in the market designated as number 179 by the official ratings company.
 
This is truly interesting. I had mentioned something along these lines (only having one station broadcast reports) a while ago when the post for school closings was a hot topic!

However, my belief held fast exclusively to school closings. Larger events should have every stations' attention.

Even then, I was convinced by others that there are reasons why school closings should stay on the air.
 
Let give credit where credit is due. They did do a great job of keeping everyone informed on what’s going on. During the worst part of the storm in the morning, WJJR and WEBK had the only sticks with power. But please keep it to the important fact that interests everyone. Roads closed, something on fire, live wires down, statements from police or fire officials, emergency service available at……. But lets face it after 10+ hours of people calling in to say no power on this street, my tree fell down, and the best one was the kids calling in to say that they have no cable, was a joke. Or the remote broadcasts as a DJ was walking to his house ducking under trees and power lines; did he request a talent fee?????

I will give them credit though because they did go 12+ hours live, no tracking…..that’s like a weeks work in one day. I see some days off coming soon.

It was very informative at times and quite comical at others, overall I give it a C+.
 
NO DAG said:
The key word there is ultimately WJJR, while Pamal operates a cluster of five distinctive formatted radio stations in Rutland, it appears that the only one that counts is WJJR.

It seems that the professor of programming could not wait to hog the airwaves during the time of crisis sharing the microphone very little with the many possible and credible contributers that would have made the difference between fair and excellent coverage of the events. Last I checked there is another morning host for WJJR who is very capable and credible. (Unless Mr. kelly was on vacation). Last time we checked, WSYB is the news and information station source for Rutland county, and this event affected Rutland county more so than anywhere else in the region. There were hardly any WSYB resources that appeared to be utilized on WJJR until BC finally made it on the airwaves, and a part time simultcast of WJJR's coverage took place.

Just the fact that the 'professor of programming' came up with some sort of positioner that "We're the official crisis information station' shows the view that local Pamal gurus have toward the station portfolio, there's WJJR and then there's the others. In times of crisis, the ratings book and games should have been thrown out the window and the Rutland county residents should have been able to count on the Pamal cluster as a whole versus one selfish part.
Click to expand...

Well said DAG...aren't the events on Monday what staions like WSYB are made for? I understand that WSYB was off the air for a time, but should evey effort have been made to make the STATION OF CHOICE FOR TALK available to the listeners looking for information? Just before noon WSYB came on the air to RUN THE RED SOX?? I'm sure many people were thinking..."I've got a 60ft pine tree and power lines in my garage...who cares about Dice-k?" Why did Rush run the next day with WJJR all talk at the same time??? Clearly Pamal only cares about WJJR...NO DOUBT...No doubt Mr. Proffessor will be patting himself on the back for years to come. Hmmm...do you think if Clear Channel still owned WSYB and WZRT that they would have run Rush and the Red Sox? Doubt it...

As far as the coverage...D for me...how many times can we hear people calling in to tell the folks in Glens Falls that their cable is out on Deer St.? Last I checked...no one lost their life in the storm...to hear the professor and his mate on the air...you would think that half of Rutland County fell into Lake Champlain...hardly a disaster...just an inconvenience.

What a waste of resources...all that talent within Pamal's Rutland operation...and only 3 people on the air...Assume WJJR was the only signal operational...where were the reports from the field? Since most of the signals were off the air..why not send out staff to call in from their cell phones?

I changed my mind... Grade D-
 
Think of all the talented, credible, capable, descent, hard working on-air people in both buildings, and there are many. It would appear that to the microphone hogging, "Professor of Programming" and the "Pokey Bear" these people's ability to contribute does not matter. That's a morale builder if there ever was one.

Hope you did not suffer too much damage from the storm Dudeman. Due to no alternative heat sources at the house I'm renting, I got to take an unexpected one night vacation to the bright 'South End of the City" at the very nice world famous Holiday Inn.. Most of Rutland was there as well !
 
Not a surprise at all! Who's in charge their now??? Goodness. I know, I know... I hear it all the time from the boys up here on the farm in Sharon. "Mary, just cause 'Bessie' is our pride holstein out in the barn, doesn't mean the rest of the herd can't be blue ribbon winners!"... This sounds to me like ol' Rut-Pamal Crew is puttin' all the effort into the big 'Jjr'...Was the rest of the staff trapped at home? That could be it! Go Professor and Pokey Bear! You weathered the storm like to ship mates in the night! wink-wink! Or maybe the rest of the pamal-property is just a good place to bonus a few ad-buyers around town. In that case, content doesn't matter. My big girlfriend at cc and I are blown away by this lack of community interest and station team work. :'( Oh well, the boys and I need to get a few things cleaned up here... Yes, it was a little nasty up here on the farm in Sharon too! HA!!

Ms. Mary ;)
 
Where was the staff? I told you...sunk in Lake Champlain...If I hear the someone say that "we're all in this together" ONE MORE TIME...I'll jump in the lake myself...maybe there's work on the farm to keep me dry...or warm...wink wink...
 
Dudeman2000 you Tiger! GRRRRRR! :-* We don't need you to go jump in the lake over this...However we could always use an extra hand or two up here on the farm in Sharon! wink-wink!

Ms. Mary ;)
 
OK, you can vomit now, there it was in the Burlington Free Press, an AP story on WJJR's coverage with none other than the "Professor of Programming" punchin' the buttons, twistin' the knobs, and turnin' the dials.. Wow, you think he's the only on-air person working there.. Nothing written about the many "MVP"s in there that make that place happen. Isn't WSYB supposed to be the news station in that cluster ??
 
I heard you guys got hammered up there! didn't get to here any of the coverage personally, but I heard it was the true definition of what radio is all about, a community staying connected through an emergency situation. Kudos to the crew up there at WJJR! I heard the AP covered it ???
 
Since there are more than one station in that cluster, would you think that the entire cluster and team deserves kudos for the hard work efforts during the nor'easter, instead of just one station or individual ? How would you have handled the situation, Mr. M ??
 
now jo jo, i was not leaving anyone out. sorry if you took it that way. i'm sure they all pulled together and played
their part. i was simply commenting on what i had heard through the grapevine. what stations are in that cluster now? ???
 
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