Something Strange About WLIB Traffic Reports

[mwebster]

Hi. I've been wondering about this for a while. Maybe some of you who work in radio can explain. I spend a lot of time driving in connection with my work. Like a lot of people, I pay attention to the traffic reports. I start off with WINS but after I've heard the same thing a time or two, I go to talk radio and lately I've taken to listening to WLIB a lot. One problem they have: their traffic reports are different than the other stations. They like to rattle off a bunch of numbers about delays and travel times but a lot of the time they don't tell me what's happening up ahead. The other stations are more likely to describe what's happening and how to get around it, and that's more helpful than all those numbers. Their reports seem really short and they leave out a lot. I enjoy Air America but I end up switching back to WINS or WCBS for traffic all the time.

But the main thing is I always assumed traffic reports had to be live because traffic is always changing so fast. But WLIB's reports in the afternoon get repeated with the same commercial and the same comments. It doesn't happen all the time but often enough to notice. Part of what gets my attention is Randi Rhodes is so New York and then this traffic guy sounds like he's from the old Hee Haw show. He also keeps mispronouncing the names of things like he doesn't know the area. It's so grating I notice when he says the exact same thing he said before. My wife has XM in her car and when I drive her car I notice their traffic reports keep repeating in a continuous loop but then before long they do change the report.

Why is WLIB rerunning traffic reports? Even with live traffic reports things can change by the time you get there, but a report that's an hour or two old is useless.

 

[tbetz]

> I've taken to listening to WLIB a lot.
> One problem they have: their traffic reports are different
> than the other stations.

WLIB outsources its traffic reports to these folks:

http://corporate.traffic.com/corporate/index.html

I don't think the reports are even produced on the WLIB premises.<P ID="signature">______________
also known as tombetz.</P>

 

[fredflintstone]

Sounds like automation problems

They seem to have regular glitches with traffic and news reports, as well as spots and imaging. Their PD does or did a computer advice program, and WLIB can't get their computers to work right. Their on-air people often talk about local New York stuff but apparently nobody is monitoring the New York signal. Tom says traffic is out-sourced. People were posting on the News-Talk board that news is also sourced. It sounds like both are recorded and sound files fed into the automation system. Except sometimes the computer doesn't play what it's supposed to or even plays two things at once. Sometimes they skip news or traffic completely. Maybe Air America should spend a few extra bucks on their automation system. Or maybe the traffic and news providers are not uploading their sound files like they are supposed to. But, bottom line, AAR should pay more attention to what goes on the air in the number one market.


> > I've taken to listening to WLIB a lot.
> > One problem they have: their traffic reports are
> different
> > than the other stations.
>
> WLIB outsources its traffic reports to these folks:
>
> http://corporate.traffic.com/corporate/index.html
>
> I don't think the reports are even produced on the WLIB
> premises.
>

 

[OldiesJock]

Thw WLIB traffic reports are produced in Pennsylvania by Traffic Pulse. They claim to have road sensors and all sorts of high tech computer driven programs. However, from the inside, the word is these systems are sparse and the information is more often wrong than right. The announcers don't know one road from another as is evidenced by those who pronounce "Houston Street" like a city in Texas.