WDEL's "Snow Watch" listings - a suggestion/request/plea

[650AM]

Dear WDEL, please, oh please, start the list of school closings with a mention of the the "priority schools," the 4-5 major school districts in New Castle County. These districts hold the majority of your listenership! Loudell used to do this at WILM...
Why use a strict alpabetical listing that makes parents of Red Clay School students, for instance, wait through a laundry list of private and out of state schools (Avon Grove, Cecil County, etc.) before hearing what applies to them? (And does everyone there know the correct pronunciation of "Avon" in Avon Grove.... most locals say "AH-vin".., not Av-ONN, like MacArthur does. (Definitely not like the name of the cosmetics company, which I have often heard on various stations over the last many years.)
If you want to mention the local districts at the top of the list, and then repeat them alpahbetically, that is fine too. Just think about what makes common sense and hit the New Castle County districts first, before running thru the rest.

 

[radiophiler]

That is the way WILM did it when Allan was there.

More precedent: KYW in Philadelphia always starts with, "Philadelphia public and parochial schools are closed." You wouldn't find KYW burying Philadephia under "P" in an alphabetical list.

I wonder how many households are waiting for their schools to be read on the radio anyway. There are Internet lists, some schools have phone systems that call. KYW has a school closing hotline and will text you your closing.

 

[Chris Carl]

650AM,

It's not a bad idea.

Of course, every parent thinks THEIR district is the most important, and I think there are more than 4 or 5 major schools/districts to list -- Appo, Brandywine, Catholic elementary schools, Christina, Colonial, NCCo Vo Tech, Red Clay -- and I think you have to put St. Mark's, St. Elizabeth, Salesianum and Ursuline in that priority list (The might have fewer students, but a lot of our listeners have kids in those schools). All of a sudden, the "priority list" is so big, you might as well go alphabetical to avoid confusion. But you could do the "priority list", then group charter schools, Kent schools, South Jersey schools, and Cecil county schools. Again, maybe alphabetical is easier.

Easier yet - consolidate school districts, then the announcement can be like Cecil County -- "all Cecil County public schools are closed"....

 

[650AM]

Like Loudell used to announce at WILM, I refer flatly to the New Castle County public school districts. I am sure they encompass 80-90% of the students in the county and your listenership.
Any individual schools are not priorities.... Ursuline, St. Marks, St. Elizabeth, Sallys... and aren't they covered by a blanket statement referring to parochial schools?
My point is that it makes no sense for the people of Red Clay to wait through your alphabetical mention of out-of-state, irrelevant Delaware school districts (how many Caeser Rodney residents do you pull in?), and individual private schools to hear their snow information.
Check with Loudell on this... he had the right idea at WILM. But he has apparently been told not to billboard the local public school districts up front at WDEL.

 

[DX]

Just for the record, St. Elizabeth's used to be lumped with the Diocesan Catholic schools, but apparently no longer for purposes of school closings.

It gets very complicated, but while St. Mark's High School is an official high school of the Diocese of Wilmington, it is NOT under the Diocesan school system.

Archmere Academy, Padua Academy, Salesianum School, Ursuline Academy, etc., have Catholic identities, but do NOT come under the Diocesan umbrella. They are under the jurisdiction of various Catholic orders. The same reason someone alleging abuse at one of those schools would have to sue the individual order.

 

[radiophiler]

So, Chris Carl says it's complicated to decide which schools get priority.

But 650 AM has a valid point, too.

Another suggested solution: Announce New Castle County schools first, followed by other counties. WDEL's FCC city of license is located in NCCo and therefore the service should address their needs first. Next, Salem County (closest proximity to city of license), followed by Delco, Chesco, Cecil, Kent. Once again, it's how KYW does it: grouping schools by county.

 

[Chris Carl]

I am sure they encompass 80-90% of the students in the county and your listenership.

True. But there's a difference between potential listeners and actual listeners. A large portion of our audience sends their kids to private school.

Any individual schools are not priorities.... Ursuline, St. Marks, St. Elizabeth, Sallys... and aren't they covered by a blanket statement referring to parochial schools?

There is no blanket statement for those schools. Each has their own code and makes their own decisions, just like each public school district.

Another suggested solution: Announce New Castle County schools first, followed by other counties.

Again, not a bad idea, but that too can be confusing for the listener who tunes in mid-list.

I'm not saying any of these ideas are bad. I appreciate the feedback; and once the winter is over, we are going to evaluate how we do on-air snow closings.

 

[MikefromDelaware]

I have to agree that I'd say the following New Castle County Public and Private schools are closed. After so many schools, repeat the statement, we are reading the list of NCC public and private schools that are closed. Then when that list is done, then say the following Cecil (or whatever county should be next in line) county public /private schools are closed, etc working your way through the various counties, but I agree that New Castle County should be first for both private and public schools.

Of course you could do what some Philly stations do, give each school a number and read the numbers, which would be faster than long names, I believe KYW used to do that, don't know if they still do.

 

[DX]

To say "the following schools are closed" - followed by the list of schools, perhaps beginning with the most important ones (as has been discussed on this board) - is great, in theory.

However, major Delaware schools seldom do that. Here's the dilemma: Brandywine might call in with the code and say "Schools closed, offices open". Colonial might call in with the code and say "Schools closed, offices open two hours late". Red Clay might call in with the code and say "Schools closed, offices open, 6th grade tests postponed". So it's sometimes difficult just to say "the following are closed", and just read a simple list.

Of course, the absolute nightmare scenario: The weather doesn't seem that bad, so most of the schools have opened. Then, a storm unexpectedly intensifies, or moves in early. Then we have early dismissals with staggered times: "Grades K through 6 will get out at Noon. Grades 7 and 8, at 12:30."

So the Wilmington closings quickly get much more time-consuming and convoluted. And if you attempt to simplify the information, an angry P.I.O. may call.

It would be great to do just the highlights on-the-air, and direct everyone to the web, but not everyone - yet - has a computer at home, or knows how to use one. Plus, power outages.

But, in the face of another State of Emergency, WDEL this morning did abbreviate the lists, and direct listeners to the web for certain obvious closings and cancellations.

 

[Prais]

Move to Miami and avoid the problem.

WGN, Chicago does it alpha on the air, and has for years. Get a sponsor and it takes away the pain.

Has the internet come to Delaware, yet?

 

[MikefromDelaware]

I believe both WDEL/WSTW and WILM snow cancelation programs are sponsored. I don't know about WJBR.

 

[Sportsnite]

From what I have heard, SnoWatch is sponsored. The listings can be confusing but even the statements here about ways to make it easier could be confusing. If a listener tunes in mid report they will most likely miss their school. If the list is in alphabetical order then they know where they stand with the list. WSTW and WDEL promote SnoWatch on their respective web pages. I don't really understand why people don't use the internet to find out about their schools more anyways. Most people who call in are one thing...LAZY!

 

[Prais]

Don't kid yourself. You and I are geks. There are still many homes without internet or even computer access.

 

[jhguthlac]

Lazy? Most people have more to do than sit in front of a computer all day-unless that is how they earn their pay. They can have the radio on while working, feeding the kids, etc.

 

[Sportsnite]

Don't kid yourself. You and I are geks. There are still many homes without internet or even computer access.

I'm not kidding myself, I know the fact that not everyone has the "luxury" of internet access but not everyone has a radio and or phone.
Radio is just another form of gaining information. Plus, it's free. Radio is doing us a service and that service much like being in retail won't always make everyone happy.

AS far as lazy goes, there are numerous people who don't want to turn on their computer and would rather call in to a station. In turn, the station will give them the information that they need but there they are catering to one individual rather than to the masses.

 

[nd2023]

If it's a major storm like what we had 2 weeks ago, a blanket statement like "all public and private schools are closed in New Castle county" would suffice.

 

[EZway2go]

there are numerous people who don't want to turn on their computer and would rather call in to a station.

As hard as it may be to believe in this age of 24/7 instant access to information, there are still people out there with an inherent distrust of computers and the internet, and would rather rely on the comfort and familiarity of someone telling them.

Radio is just another form of gaining information. Plus, it's free. Radio is doing us a service and that service much like being in retail won't always make everyone happy.

Good point, and I'd like to take this one step further. Yes, radio is, indeed, another form of information, but it is a long tried-and-true form of providing that information. Take away this source for the people I'm talking about in my statement above, and you can chalk up another reason for abandoning radio in favor of the new technologies.

 

[Pilgrimway]

My point is that it makes no sense for the people of Red Clay to wait through your alphabetical mention of out-of-state, irrelevant Delaware school districts (how many Caeser Rodney residents do you pull in?), and individual private schools to hear their snow information.
Check with Loudell on this... he had the right idea at WILM. But he has apparently been told not to billboard the local public school districts up front at WDEL.

You'd be surprised how many folks in Dover-Camden listen to WDEL during snowstorms, since WDOV is practically useless for local info.