1) If you read any of the message boards/chat rooms/blogs from people who live in the area you'll see that most of the IGNORE WARNINGS because our local weather people over exaggerate every raindrop. Have we cried wolf too many times?
2)I'm guessing that either you have never worked in radio or you are the greatest radio broadcaster ever to walk the face of the Earth. Most DJ's aren't watching TV while they're on the air (if they are they should be fired) and if there is someone live in the studio, by the time the EAS machine spits out the info that a tornado is on the ground and you get it on the air the tornado has already made it's impact. When the EAS machine takes over the station in the case of a Warning it gets the same info on as an overnight DJ and faster than said DJ. The only thing to do from there is give updates AFTER it hit. Which is what many of the local stations did. For the record, my co-worker (in Newburgh) was called by her mother (who lived in Eastbrook) and she got her kids and listened WIKY as the storm passed them by. WIKY giving minute by minute coverage of the tornado as it was hitting and she says that by the time WIKY got the info out on the air that the storm was hitting Newburgh it had already passed her. So much for advanced notice.
> So, I assume from that viewpoint....all stations are wasting
> their time and money by being on the air overnights? I
> guess since people "don't listen to the radio while they are
> sleeping", all stations should sign off at 11pm or midnight?
> The point is...if only ONE person turned their radio on in
> that trailer park and heard music...then chances are they
> think "it can't be that bad or they'd be breaking in." I
> just don't get where it makes a difference what time of day
> it is. It sounds like the argument being accepted by most
> people here is...."the tv guys were on, radio wasn't
> needed." If that's the acceptable standard, then why do
> anything relating to news, weather, or anything else local?
> Even though it's the middle of the night, I'm still guessing
> there were at least a few cars out on the roads. I assume
> they didn't have access to the tv forecasters. Then again,
> I'm apparently just expecting too much from so-called
> "local" broadcasters.
>
>
> > >You are right. But, word has it that the actual $ raised
>
> > by the PUBLIC, was around $150K which is NOT small change
> by
> > any means....but grossly inflated.
> > The area corporations that donated just waited until the
> > telethon to do so. And let's not forget that in order for
>
> > Don Mattingly not file a lawsuit and WSTO's morning show
> > personalities loose their jobs for the IDIOTIC STUNT THEY
> > PULLED....Mr. Mattingly demanded that South Central
> > contribute OVER 100K within X amount of time to local
> > charities! Wonder if a substantial amount of this is to
> > fullfill their agreement with Mr. Mattingly coming from an
>
> > phantom donor?
> > None the less, it was great to see people come together to
>
> > help others.
> > I also agree with your comment in P3. It is unfortunate
> > that all of you in the radio industry are beating each
> other
> > up over this!
> > There is NO possible way that the number of deaths and
> > injured are the fault of a jock not being on the air at 2
> in
> > the morning! Come on, how many of you listen to the radio
>
> > while you are sleeping? How many people interviewed said,
>
> > "I was sleeping..."? NOT I was listening to the radio!
> > Radio could have aired updates each hour or on the half
> > hour...Sunday.
> > BTW, when a storm is coming and power has been lost, I
> tune
> > into WBKR. They air Wayne Hart live until the storm has
> > passed.
> >
> > I posted this not to start another arguement, but to give
>
> > > credit where credit is due. Radio came through and
> helped
> >
> > > (yes - HELPED) raise over 1 million dollars for tornado
> > > relief. Again, say what you will, but radio came
> through.
> >
> > >
> > > Where was Regent? I would imagine they will also be
> doing
> >
> > > some type of fundraiser as well. I cannot see WKDQ
> > falling
> > > down on this. After 9/11, WKDQ helped raise over 100k
> for
> >
> > > the NY City Firefighters.
> > >
> > > As far as complaining about what happened that
> > night...even
> > > if ALL the stations had been staffed live, it would NOT
> > have
> > > changed the outcome. Having a live jock on would not
> have
> >
> > > gotten the warning out sooner, nor would a live jock
> have
> > > been able to tell where the tornado was heading. Radio
> > > studios do NOT have doppler radar. All radio can do is
> > get
> > > the warning out, and with automatic relays, they did.
> > >
> > > In any disaster, listeners do not go to the music
> stations
> >
> > > for information...they go to the news/talk (or in
> > > Evansville's case WIKY) and the TV stations. That is
> > where
> > > the information is going to be (and from what I'm
> hearing,
> >
> > > Wayne Hart was ALL over it!), and over the last 20 or
> more
> >
> > > years - it's where the listeners have been trained to
> go.
> > >
> > > When a tornado - with NO advance tornado watch, mind you
> -
> >
> > > hits with only 10 minutes notice, there's not a damned
> > thing
> > > ANYONE can do about it except pray. This was a disaster
>
> > and
> > > a tragedy...but it wasn't radio's fault.
> > >
> > > Radio's not going to wake you up when you're asleep -
> and
> > > neither are the tordado sirens. I like the idea that
> was
> > > proposed on CNN...as with smoke detectors, all houses
> > should
> > > be equipped with a NOAA Weather radio.
> > >
> >
>
