I'm listening to the post-game show on 97 Rock in the wake of the rousing 31 to 14 win over the Fish. While the player interviews and the analysis from Brent Axe are very good, the traffic reports are a waste of time. It sounds like they have an intern doing traffic who has no clue. He just keeps repeating the same traffic information over and over and over and over and over and over and over! There was nothing on the air about how Abbott Road or Southwestern Boulevard were doing. No word about how easily the parking lots are clearing out. In fact, I checked NITTEC and found a serious accident on the ramp from the 190 to the Peace Bridge that closed the ramp. That's pretty serious, but there was nothing about that on the radio! And the 15 minute delay at the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge was actually one to two hours. Listen, I'm trying not to be a nit-picker here. But if you're going to do a service like traffic, it needs to be done right. Train the person on how to do it. Traffic is not just a sponsorship opportunity. Your listeners are presumably using the info to map their best route home. If you can't do it right, then just spend the time on football.
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Useless Traffic Reports
- Thread starter Philip_Airtime
- Start date
You're making the dangerous assumption that somebody is actually being paid to do post-game traffic, and it's not just a report recorded at the end of the game and replayed in order to bring in those sponsorship dollars.
I do a lot of traveling in my line of work and I can attest that there have been too many times where I've been stuck in traffic because of an accident or road work yet the radio station I'm listening too is reporting that there are no problems on the road or expressway I'm driving on.
It is especially irritating when I hear of a traffic accident on a stretch of road that goes for miles yet the traffic reporter doesn't bother to explain WHERE on that road the accident is.
If radio and TV stations are going to provide such a service (traffic reports) then they should make sure that they have trained qualified people who know what the hell they are doing. Most likely these stations hire people for minimum wage and you know the old axiom; you get what you pay for. :
It is especially irritating when I hear of a traffic accident on a stretch of road that goes for miles yet the traffic reporter doesn't bother to explain WHERE on that road the accident is.
If radio and TV stations are going to provide such a service (traffic reports) then they should make sure that they have trained qualified people who know what the hell they are doing. Most likely these stations hire people for minimum wage and you know the old axiom; you get what you pay for. :
I've never understood traffic reports on the radio at all. Traffic tends to be so fluid and dynamic that by the time you get a report out there, it's probably changed. Hell, even when SmarTraveler used to have that number in Boston you could dial to listen to a report directly for whatever route you specified, and those reports were rarely more than 15 minutes old during drive time, and they were still pretty useless. Any given road can go from "55MPH" to "parking lot" in a matter of seconds.
Of course, the only traffic report you needed in Boston was: "the traffic sucks - deal with it!!!" :
Of course, the only traffic report you needed in Boston was: "the traffic sucks - deal with it!!!" :
Which reminds me of a poster with tips on dealing with Texas...
When I arrived in Rochester in 1989, one of my first questions was, "Why do you people have traffic reports?" The answer to that would be "Because we can have them sponsored," of course. I was told by someone here (and you know who you are!) that Burlington, Vermont has (or had) traffic reports?!?
I must admit my amusement at "local" traffic reports that are delivered by someone who clearly has no sense of the area on which he or she is reporting. One tip-off to this is the use of the formal name of the road / route versus the popular or familiar name. And of course, there's always the mangled pronunciations.
At a dinner not long ago, we discussed the pitfalls of remote reporting the following: "An accident on Denise Road in Charlotte injured a man from Riga and another from Chili"...
When I arrived in Rochester in 1989, one of my first questions was, "Why do you people have traffic reports?" The answer to that would be "Because we can have them sponsored," of course. I was told by someone here (and you know who you are!) that Burlington, Vermont has (or had) traffic reports?!?
I must admit my amusement at "local" traffic reports that are delivered by someone who clearly has no sense of the area on which he or she is reporting. One tip-off to this is the use of the formal name of the road / route versus the popular or familiar name. And of course, there's always the mangled pronunciations.
At a dinner not long ago, we discussed the pitfalls of remote reporting the following: "An accident on Denise Road in Charlotte injured a man from Riga and another from Chili"...
Traffic is actually much easier to report now with cameras on all the major commuter routes. It does require, however, that someone actually LOOK at the cameras, and keep an eye on the other sources of traffic information. It also requires that the radio station PAY someone to deliver the information, train them to use the resources that are available, and not expect them to do that job along with 2 or 3 other simultaneously.
One resourse is Clear Channel's traffic service. Unfortunately, it's AWFUL. Anybody in Buffalo who relies on it is going to be way behind in their reporting, and will miss important information.
One resourse is Clear Channel's traffic service. Unfortunately, it's AWFUL. Anybody in Buffalo who relies on it is going to be way behind in their reporting, and will miss important information.
NITTEC is a good resource and those traffic cameras are quite efficient until the snow begins to fly and visibility is reduced from 500 yards to five yards. These days, drivers or their passengers can get traffic from any number on sources on-line using their iPhones or Crackberries.
When Buffalo (now #53) was a larger, industrial market and more plants were operating with three distinct shifts, airborne traffic was essential. Witness the days of the Eye In The Sky reports from Jack Sharpe on WEBR in the 60s and 70s and WBEN and WGR offering fixed wing aircraft and helicopter reports from Dave May, Tom Langmyer, Air Gordon and Captain Bob Masse (a licensed pilot, BTW.)
And to echo untrr-author, driving the NJ Turnpike or DC Beltway, any time and any day of the week makes the back up at "the big blue water tower" look pretty tame.
When Buffalo (now #53) was a larger, industrial market and more plants were operating with three distinct shifts, airborne traffic was essential. Witness the days of the Eye In The Sky reports from Jack Sharpe on WEBR in the 60s and 70s and WBEN and WGR offering fixed wing aircraft and helicopter reports from Dave May, Tom Langmyer, Air Gordon and Captain Bob Masse (a licensed pilot, BTW.)
And to echo untrr-author, driving the NJ Turnpike or DC Beltway, any time and any day of the week makes the back up at "the big blue water tower" look pretty tame.
JimPastrick said:
When visibility is reduced to five yards, nobody needs a traffic report. The answer is "creeping". On-line is great when you're NOT in the car. And all of you who own a Crackberry or iPhone, or can get traffic info on your phone, raise your hands. OK, now all of you who can get traffic info on your iPhone or Crackberry WHILE YOU'RE DRIVING IN A SNOWSTORM, stay the HELL away from me.
With all that being said, the answer is simple. If you're going to do traffic, commit to it. That means that management has to pay someone to be there, and whoever's there needs to DO THE JOB. If you don't know how, ASK.
SirRoxalot said:
Could it be the person doing traffic on the Bills postgame was also the producer, engineer or call screener? One person assigned to do two or three jobs would not be unsual these days, especially if the radio company you're working for is circling the drain and on the brink of bankruptcy.
B
Bob1370
Guest
"When Buffalo (now #53) was a larger, industrial market and more plants were operating with three distinct shifts, airborne traffic was essential. Witness the days of the Eye In The Sky reports from Jack Sharpe on WEBR in the 60s and 70s and WBEN and WGR offering fixed wing aircraft and helicopter reports from Dave May, Tom Langmyer, Air Gordon and Captain Bob Masse"
Not to mention Dave May's predecessors in the WBEN TrafficCopter, Debbie Stamp (who ultimately married her pilot Mike Causley) and Pat McMahon. When traffic reporters were in the air, the reports at least at the worst trouble spots were accurate and up to the minute because you got a direct eyewitness view of the problem. Pat McMahon and Tom Langmeyer both had close calls during their times as traffic reporters but came through the experience unscathed,
Don't know where Pat is today (last I heard she was producing newscasts at WIVB-TV but I don't think she's there now) and we all know Tom is general manager at WGN radio in Chicago these days. I think airborne traffic all ended in Western NY because of one very tragic day 16 years ago when WGR's Mike Roszman and his pilot crashed into the Niagara River and were killed instantly. A simlar accident which killed traffic reporter Jane Dornacker during Joey Reynolds' afternoon show on WNBC in New York took the traffic choppers off the air in the Big Apple seven years earlier. AFAIK very few markets have airborne traffic reports these days, outside of maybe Los Angeles.
Not to mention Dave May's predecessors in the WBEN TrafficCopter, Debbie Stamp (who ultimately married her pilot Mike Causley) and Pat McMahon. When traffic reporters were in the air, the reports at least at the worst trouble spots were accurate and up to the minute because you got a direct eyewitness view of the problem. Pat McMahon and Tom Langmeyer both had close calls during their times as traffic reporters but came through the experience unscathed,
Don't know where Pat is today (last I heard she was producing newscasts at WIVB-TV but I don't think she's there now) and we all know Tom is general manager at WGN radio in Chicago these days. I think airborne traffic all ended in Western NY because of one very tragic day 16 years ago when WGR's Mike Roszman and his pilot crashed into the Niagara River and were killed instantly. A simlar accident which killed traffic reporter Jane Dornacker during Joey Reynolds' afternoon show on WNBC in New York took the traffic choppers off the air in the Big Apple seven years earlier. AFAIK very few markets have airborne traffic reports these days, outside of maybe Los Angeles.
There have been a few times when a traffic report was timely and correct enough to allow me to avoid a major (well major, for Rochester) tie-up.
My pet peeve are the sounders that some stations use during the reports - those beep-beep-beeps and other things that the stations mistakenly think draw your attention to the report. Unfortunately, sometimes they leave the sounder level up enough that it muddles the person doing the report. For people with certain types of hearing problems, they might as well play white noise instead of the report.
And there are 2 intersections of East Henrietta Rd. with I-390. But the out-of-town guys never specify at which one the accident or other problem is occurring.
My pet peeve are the sounders that some stations use during the reports - those beep-beep-beeps and other things that the stations mistakenly think draw your attention to the report. Unfortunately, sometimes they leave the sounder level up enough that it muddles the person doing the report. For people with certain types of hearing problems, they might as well play white noise instead of the report.
And there are 2 intersections of East Henrietta Rd. with I-390. But the out-of-town guys never specify at which one the accident or other problem is occurring.
Element9 said:
If that is the case, Niner, then Citadel shouldn't be doing it. The traffic reports I heard helped NOBODY! They were a complete waste of time. 97 Rock could better use that time taking one more call for a listener, or doing a longer player interview. If you want the sponsorship dollars associated with the traffic reports, figure out another creative way of linking the sponsorship to something football-related. But please, don't force listeners to hear the same old badly-prepared report every ten minutes on a program where the time spent listening is probably quite long because fans are enjoying the interviews and calls.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't there a frequency on the AM dial that the NYSDOT uses to update radio listeners on construction projects? Here in Rochester it's on 1610 AM I believe.
Maybe I'm off base but if this service is provided by the state why not take it one step further and include any road slowdowns or closings?
When I work at Monroe County doing their webpage, I came up with an idea that the 911 Center have access to the county's webpage for the purpose of updating the public, and especially the media, on any traffic problems. That way instead of the media calling 911 every few minutes over the phone, information the media wants would be available on-line. And it would not only be updated but accurate as possible.
Now I have no idea if my proposal was ever implemented because I left for another government job a few months later and someone else took over the operation of the county's web site.
Maybe I'm off base but if this service is provided by the state why not take it one step further and include any road slowdowns or closings?
When I work at Monroe County doing their webpage, I came up with an idea that the 911 Center have access to the county's webpage for the purpose of updating the public, and especially the media, on any traffic problems. That way instead of the media calling 911 every few minutes over the phone, information the media wants would be available on-line. And it would not only be updated but accurate as possible.
Now I have no idea if my proposal was ever implemented because I left for another government job a few months later and someone else took over the operation of the county's web site.
Great points, Phillip Airtime, to start off this thread. If your gonna do traffic, do it right. Simple as that. Fact is, you can get time, temp, weather, traffic, national stories, entertainment, etc, a billion other places right now, at the second you want it. No waiting for radio to announce it.
Some stations think they owe these "services" to their audience, to keep them "informed". Fact is, they have been "informed" already by a hundred sources, including the internet. Keep the stations LOCAL and LIFESTYLE, and do it right, like you said, Philip. Also, only report the problems, not the norm. We do not need to hear that everything is smooth on the Kensington. Just tell us if it's not!
Some stations think they owe these "services" to their audience, to keep them "informed". Fact is, they have been "informed" already by a hundred sources, including the internet. Keep the stations LOCAL and LIFESTYLE, and do it right, like you said, Philip. Also, only report the problems, not the norm. We do not need to hear that everything is smooth on the Kensington. Just tell us if it's not!
It's a little hard for most people to get Internet traffic reports while they're driving. Well done traffic has a place, especially when there's a special event, bad weather, or an accident that creates a real tie-up.
The simple answer is to do it right, or not at all. BTW, I was in the car after the Bills game yesterday, and the traffic reports on 97-Rock seemed much more accurate than they were after the game that got this thread started. Maybe somebody out there is paying attention.
The simple answer is to do it right, or not at all. BTW, I was in the car after the Bills game yesterday, and the traffic reports on 97-Rock seemed much more accurate than they were after the game that got this thread started. Maybe somebody out there is paying attention.
It might be hard for people to get internet traffic reports NOW, but that with change with advancements in technology, and radio must be ready for those days.
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