Not Seattle Radio Related, But A Relevant Topic

[Bongwater]

I've been listening to WWL down in The Big Nervous all weekend long and I am IMPRESSED with the wall-to-wall coverage.

I think of the earthquakes and MAJOR windstorms we get up here. Even though nothing we have gotten even remotely approached the level of destruction Katrina caused down there, are we REALLY ready for the crap that COULD happen up here? EAS tests are fine, but not enough. We may have to face a time when KIRO and KOMO may have to bury the hatchet for a while and everybody from KISW to KCMS has to pool their resources along with KIRO and KOMO to really make radio work in the very worst case scenario.

Petty squabbles over who's the better hit music station will have step aside when we've got some s--t on our hands. Especially when KUBE and KBKS suddenly have to become news/talk stations and DJs find themselves acting as reporters

WWL has REALLY got it's stuff together. Especially hearing now that Hurricane Gustav could rival or even outdo Katrina's worst. With a full blown simulcast currently on all Entercom stations down there (and other clusters may join again.), I think it's pretty much settled that WWL is going to be #1 on my personal Radio Station of The Year.

Currently, Gustav has weakened only slightly after passing over Cuba, but it's over warm water now and they say hurricanes only get worse over that.....

 

[SeattleRadioPro]

I think of the earthquakes and MAJOR windstorms we get up here. Even though nothing we have gotten even remotely approached the level of destruction Katrina caused down there, are we REALLY ready for the crap that COULD happen up here?

I'd have to say yes.

First of all the area has an impressive disaster response center at Camp Murray which has already been put into use with the bad windstorms. Plus radio engineering in this area is a small community and if a disaster on the level of Katrina did hit, stations would put aside their competitive positions and simulcast in the way that they do in the Big Easy.

 

[MarkAndrews]

Beats the heck out of watching CNN or someone else...WWL is providing award-winning coverage. Best of all, they're serving a need and invisibly holding countless listeners' hands. THAT'S what radio is REALLY about.

 

[searadiofreak]

What is really frustrating is that the cable news networks rarely go to affiliate coverage anymore. The bottom line, 9 times out of 10, the affiliates know more about the story than the network. I guess I understand the branding that the cable networks cherish, but when it is a real emergency, shouldn't accurate information trump that? During Gustav, CNN went to WWL for a minute and then quickly dropped them for some story from a shelter where no news was happening. I say, use the affiliates when they have the real story. Wolf Blitzer seemed especially clueless about hurricanes, and many of the young reporters on CNN and Fox also lacked knowledge and listening ability during their standups.

 

[landtuna]

I don't know about 'rarely' but yesterday (Monday) morning MSNBC went to local coverage for about 30 consecutive minutes. Don't recall the affiliate but the two reporters were just standing around doing what appeared to be 'fill' - talking about the same topic that the MSNBC anchor had just spent the previous hour reporting. All in all pretty worthless.

It appeared, not surprisingly, that the various news outlets were desperately searching for hard news and couldn't find anything but slightly elevated wind and some overtopping of the levees. Not exactly the disaster they wanted for their news grinder.

I'm sure all this is much more important to the people living in the area and I don't want to downplay their concerns but to those of us following the storm from far away it seemed like a non-event.

 

[searadiofreak]

I have to admit, I don't watch MSNBC much. My comments were more about CNN and Fox.

Yes, a non-event for the most part, but had the hurricane wobbled a bit east and strengthened, it would have been a major event. I can't blame the cable nets for being all over it.

To relate this to Seattle, yes, I think the local media would be ready for a major earthquake, unlike much of the general populace which for the most part is not ready. (I'm talking much bigger than Feb. '01).
Any local newsroom worth its salt has plans for such emergencies.

As for the RNC being scaled back and no Bush/Cheney speeches, well I don't want to be cynical, but I bet the RNC took the Gustav "opportunity" to distance themselves from the incumbents, but that is a whole nuther thread.