super sandy ccoverage

[cowboy72]

any pros or cons on how super storm sandy was covered?

 

[NigelWick]

Amateurish and unprepared. The lack of live radio experience really hurt a few organizations.

 

[sportsguy80]

Remember when local radio stations actually had news reporters covering live local events- in this case like Sandy.

Those were the days...

 

[Aramondo]

Overdramatized. Everywhere.

 

[NigelWick]

Yep, that's the ticket. Don't give people the information in which they're interested. Keep re-writing the papers and recording newscasts. And then, we all wonder why no one listens. Power was out all over the place, including the Scranton area. Radio missed a golden opportunity to shine.

 

[oldies4ever]

Sportsguy80 hit it on the head. It's well documented about the legendary radio coverage when Aggie stopped by in '72. Amazing stories about broadcasters who put their hearts and souls into making sure the public got the info they needed in a timely manner. Right down to the jock who ran out of the front door of the studio as the susquehanna came in the back door!!!! Sad sad commentary about what radio has become under corporate ownership-- and the public suffers...

Hmm-- isn't it part of the FCC license agreement that the station is to work in the public interest???

Nigel also hit it--radio missed a golden opportunity to shine...

oldies4ever
WARMLAND mighty 590 reunion August 10, 2013!!!

 

[Roger]

And now another storm is coming.

 

[Steve Green NEPA]

On various sites there have been praises about (and perhaps some awards down the road for) WRNJ Hackettstown NJ and WLNG Sag Harbour on Long Island for their diligence.
Perhaps there were other station staffs that did their job, rather than just playing TV audio over the air and hiding under the bed.

For what it's worth in the demo scheme of things, both WRNJ and WLNG are heavily into The Oldies. Curious : how did the Gem 104 network handle things?

I confess that we were on the computer and telephone all day. We were fortunate because the power stayed on throughout. There were batteries in the GE Superadio II just in case, but the other, more modern avenues of communications were intact here. The radio wasn't turned on once.

 

[Aramondo]

I know you old folks like to believe that it was better back when you were in your prime but here's the reality.

This storm didn't hit NEPA. We had some power outages. That was the extent of it. No floods, no boats in the street, no helicopter/rooftop rescues. I know that stuff sounds like the good old days to you but touting stations that stayed on the air in New Jersey which actually got the broadside and comparing those stations to radio here in what was a 99.8% non-event makes you sound like old coots sitting on the porch complaining about the here-and-now to make you feel better about what it was like when you were relevant.

 

[Silkie]

Overdramatized. Everywhere.

Not if you have experienced what they are living.

 

[sportsguy80]

I know you old folks like to believe that it was better back when you were in your prime but here's the reality.

This storm didn't hit NEPA. We had some power outages. That was the extent of it. No floods, no boats in the street, no helicopter/rooftop rescues. I know that stuff sounds like the good old days to you but touting stations that stayed on the air in New Jersey which actually got the broadside and comparing those stations to radio here in what was a 99.8% non-event makes you sound like old coots sitting on the porch complaining about the here-and-now to make you feel better about what it was like when you were relevant.

I don't know about that. While you're right, there were no boats in the streets, thousands were effected. Many lost power for days. A young child in Susquehanna County was killed when a tree fell on him. It had a big effect on the region- maybe not in the cities, but in the rural counties- and certainly in the Poconos.

This was a great opportunity for local broadcasters to showcase their best stuff. Put me in the category of "not impressed"- especially with the lack of coverage on the radio.

 

[NigelWick]

You have to take a regional approach. Scranton got a gust of wind and a few trees down. A short distance away, places got nailed. This was information people wanted to know about. Perhaps Aramondo is right. Radio has given up. It's over.

 

[Silkie]

I know you old folks like to believe that it was better back when you were in your prime but here's the reality.

This storm didn't hit NEPA. We had some power outages. That was the extent of it. No floods, no boats in the street, no helicopter/rooftop rescues. I know that stuff sounds like the good old days to you but touting stations that stayed on the air in New Jersey which actually got the broadside and comparing those stations to radio here in what was a 99.8% non-event makes you sound like old coots sitting on the porch complaining about the here-and-now to make you feel better about what it was like when you were relevant.

Except that we old coots don't sit on the porch and complain about here and now; we know that today's young people missed the best of times, do not know what they are missing in these hardest of times, which are anything but acceptable or normal. Radio was live, the evening newscasters were part of our homes instead of the drag to be turned off; we had hurricanes as a matter of course, good jobs were plentiful even in the baby boom and recession, good times were plentiful, people were not divided into groups or castes or categories, bitter, arrogant, patronizing or condescending. We knew hard times, but you will notice you never hear us old coots bemoaning them.

 

[Aramondo]

I think you forgot, 'If that ball comes in my yard one more time I'm keepin' it!'

 

[NigelWick]

I'm trying to avoid getting this discussion bounced to "Take It Outside." I will say that may your satellite dish always be properly aligned, may your internet connection never go down so you can still steal stories from real reporters, and may you record all your newscasts on the first take.

 

[sportsguy80]

I think you forgot, 'If that ball comes in my yard one more time I'm keepin' it!'

Years ago, my dad's football landed in the neighbors yard. The neighbor got a knife, and stuck it through the football. His Mom- my grandmother, grabbed the knife and went after the neighbor.

Oh, I miss those days!

 

[cowboy72]

Sportsguy80 hit it on the head. It's well documented about the legendary radio coverage when Aggie stopped by in '72. Amazing stories about broadcasters who put their hearts and souls into making sure the public got the info they needed in a timely manner. Right down to the jock who ran out of the front door of the studio as the susquehanna came in the back door!!!! Sad sad commentary about what radio has become under corporate ownership-- and the public suffers...

Hmm-- isn't it part of the FCC license agreement that the station is to work in the public interest???

Nigel also hit it--radio missed a golden opportunity to shine...

oldies4ever
WARMLAND mighty 590 reunion August 10, 2013!!!

by the way, that jock was sam liguori at wbax..his pic was in the 72 flood book he got out just in time..i hope you have success with the 2013 warm reunion..

 

[Zenith Transoceanic]

Even where the storm hit hardest, radio let the people down.
If you read the Connecticut board, they were saying that because of budget cuts, WICC, in Bridgeport, which had been the go-to station for statewide information, was not helpful, and many actually had to rely on WCBS in NY to have any worthwhile information regarding the roads being open.

 

[scottsan]

I happen to have been up here during the storm, since my flight back to FL was XOD. Listened quite a bit to WILK, but didn't buy into the "make sure you get your D batteries" and "if you know where to buy a generator, call in and tell us" stuff that seemed to be a little redundant. Every "official" that called in repeated the same storm prep tips that the "official" 20 minutes ago rattled off. I fell asleep during the Bob Casey news conference but was awoken by repeat reminders about D batteries.

In all fairness tho, this is a classic catch-22. If the only news/talk station in town didn't pull out all the stops and go wall-to-wall with storm coverage, they would be called out on it - but since they did, we sit back and offer our criticism. I think everyone there did a good job at getting the information out, as redundant as it was.

However, I do have to ask the question, "Do people turn to the radio to get their news anymore?" Sadly, I have to say "no." Stories are breaking on Twitter and other social media platforms before they even hit the major media. With everyone having a smart phone, we're getting information from all over the world faster than even radio can keep up with it. Citizen reporters are submitting video to networks before the local TV station even started up the satellite truck to get a live shot.

For the love of radio and all that goes along with it, I hate to see stations get rid of the "live and local" and go satellite, but the passage of time changes things. As more and more listeners turn off the radio and switch on SiriusXM or Pandora, the amount of money advertisers are going to spend on local radio will continue to shrink. Sad? Yes. But for now we can be thankful that there still is some listener interest to keep WILK going with local talk and writing a check for overtime when major events dictate the need.

 

[normhill007]

Writing the check for overtime is questionable. I don't know if the law ever changed but we "stars" were considered entertainers and exempt from overtime laws. My station gave "comp" time which none of us ever used. One well known newsman had built up almost 900 "comp" hours and when they let him go, he wanted money. He was smart and had documented every hour so when they refused, he went straight to the employment office. It was settled quietly. I probably had as much but I didn't think to document it.