Operating during a disaster

[slick81]

What a great opportunity to remind owners (and the public) of the value of local broadcasters. Bud Walters is in the national trades today touting how his Owensboro stations are the only communications lifeline available. While I'm sure that the local hams have a different view, he makes a great point. Wonder how all the VT'ed stations are fairing with no phone lines or internet available??

 

[oaktree]

Owners are saying "Great ... but you can't wait around in a poor economy waiting for disaster to happen."

Some others say "Get a scanner and listen in on all the action as it happens."

 

[PTBoardOp94]

I'm in Evansville. I was looking for emergency information Wednesday morning, so I started scanning the radio dial. I only found it on WIKY/Evansville and The Cromwell stations out of Owensboro. I started a topic in the Indiana board about who was on the air and doing what across the river.

Props to the Owensboro stations, for sure.

 

[radiorob2.0]

What a great opportunity to remind owners (and the public) of the value of local broadcasters. Bud Walters is in the national trades today touting how his Owensboro stations are the only communications lifeline available. While I'm sure that the local hams have a different view, he makes a great point. Wonder how all the VT'ed stations are fairing with no phone lines or internet available??

I will give credit to Bud's employees for stepping up to the plate, they did an outstanding job. But Bud needs to calm down. We're not out of this yet and he doesn't need to brag about how he serves the community. It was his staff, not him who did the work. Remember, this is a man who celebrated the FCC's ruling on unattended operation so he could eliminate around the clock staffing.

Again, his staff busted their ass working long hours keeping people informed. They each deserve, at the least, a steak dinner. But in reality, Bud will show his appreciation with a shallow thank you, a speech about "serving the community and helping people" and some kind of a cheap trinket acquired through station trade. I hope he proves me wrong but based on past experience that is all they will get and it's a damn shame because they deserve better.

 

[greg.hahn]

What a great opportunity to remind owners (and the public) of the value of local broadcasters. Bud Walters is in the national trades today touting how his Owensboro stations are the only communications lifeline available. While I'm sure that the local hams have a different view, he makes a great point. Wonder how all the VT'ed stations are fairing with no phone lines or internet available??

I will give credit to Bud's employees for stepping up to the plate, they did an outstanding job. But Bud needs to calm down. We're not out of this yet and he doesn't need to brag about how he serves the community. It was his staff, not him who did the work. Remember, this is a man who celebrated the FCC's ruling on unattended operation so he could eliminate around the clock staffing.

Again, his staff busted their ass working long hours keeping people informed. They each deserve, at the least, a steak dinner. But in reality, Bud will show his appreciation with a shallow thank you, a speech about "serving the community and helping people" and some kind of a cheap trinket acquired through station trade. I hope he proves me wrong but based on past experience that is all they will get and it's a damn shame because they deserve better.

I don't know Bud Walters from Barbara, but that seems really over the top to me. Bud has radio stations, with a staff of good people that worked hard to fill the need. If you don't think he deserves any credit for that, then you don't appreciate the difficulty of building a team and managing people.

Cheap trinkets aside, somehow he attracted these good people and kept them.

And Bud took the media spotlight when it was shining on him, not a week later. That seems to me to be the right thing to do.

Maybe there are some excellent reasons to complain about Bud, but this doesn't seem to be one of them.

 

[radiorob2.0]

And Bud took the media spotlight when it was shining on him, not a week later. That seems to me to be the right thing to do.

Maybe there are some excellent reasons to complain about Bud, but this doesn't seem to be one of them.

It just bad form to go into attention whore mode while the emergency is still active. Bud is an expert on seeking shallow notoriety. Other broadcasters in this part of the state are doing their best keeping their stations on the air and informing the public so managing a PR campaign isn't a priority.