I tuned into WHAM last night expecting to hear the President's speech to Congress and, instead, I got coverage of the Syracuse Orange basketball game. I thought they would've arranged to move the game to their sister sports station WHTK in anticipation of the speech since, I believe, they didn't have any play by play obligations that evening. But they chose to carry the game on WHAM. Then, instead of recording and airing the speech in its entirety after the game, WHAM chose to go right to Michael Savage. I think WHAM did a disservice to those who had to work last night and had no access to a tv and WHAM was the only reliable signal available to them.
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WHAM stones the President
- Thread starter qman
- Start date
Didn't WXXI offer the President's speech or did they carry the re-run of 1370 Connection?
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scooterodell
Guest
WXXI did carry the speech on 1370, but at that time of night, the 1370 signal is not bullet-proof. I have trouble getting it at home in Ogden.
I too was quite surprised that "Rochester's News Leader" wasn't carrying the speech. I was driving south of the thruway so I ended up listening on 'BEN. I too have problems getting 'XXI at night from that distance. I'm a Syracuse fan so I didn't mind the game. 
On the other hand, I won't listen to Savage.
On the other hand, I won't listen to Savage.scooterodell said:
That is why WXXI took over... I mean..... has a partnership with WRUR-FM so that NPR programs could reach areas that 1370-AM can't when the nighttime pattern is on.
If WRUR didn't carry the speech, then I am really surprised.
Is anyone really shocked that WHAM wouldn't carry Obama's speech. This is a right-wing station that actually brags about carrying talk show hosts like Bob Looneytunesberry, Rush (give me more pills) Limbaugh and Michael ( I hate everyone but white people) Savage.
I'm guessing that Syracuse basketball brought dollars through the door. The President's speech did not. CC is desperate for revenue.
qman said:
WHAM's coverage area is unparalleled. I'm sure that sponsors would be less than thrilled if Syracuse basketball was moved to a weaker signal. It might have been reasonable to move the President's speech to the "sister station". All in all, I doubt that many people were unable to find the speech somewhere on the dial.
Does it tarnish their claim to "News Leader"? Yep. I don't see that getting polished much real soon. In case you hadn't noticed, CC will sacrifice content for revenue without a second thought.
SirRoxalot said:
As far as I am concerned WHAM no longer can call itself the "News Leader" after recently firing Bill Lowe thus reducing it's news department to just Gorbman, Smith, and O'Rierdon.
Getting audio feeds overnight from WHAM TV in my opinion doesn't count as news either. That's just copying someone else's product. I wish 13 would drop the WHAM call signs and go back to their original WOKR.
I wish they could too. I think WOKR is a radio station in Utica. The people I was referring to in my opening rant were those who work B shifts in factories, don't have TV, don't have internet and WHAM is the only signal they can receive. I can appreciate that the Orange would prefer playing on a stronger signal but sometimes you have to follow protocol when it comes to the highest office in the land whether you agree or disagree with his politics and, no, I didn't vote for Obama.
Some perspective here! That was a Presidential Address to Congress. He was selling his goods to the makers of the taxes- oops excuse me- laws. Anything that may have been said has little or no meaning to the American people until acted upon by the group in the leather chairs. Any broadcasts of the address added some additional campaigning he hadn't finished in November. NOW, having said that, if it had been the State of the Union, where in fact he would have been speaking to "us" - then I would agree with you. I did watch the address, and found his ideas very aggressive and will be curious what Congress does with it. Finally, since I don't know a single broadcaster that received any part of the "recovery package" yet, I would suspect that sports broadcast rights are much more lucrative than free political campaigning. Sorry. Your still ok in my book.qman said:
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scooterodell
Guest
heydaybegone said:
Technically, the State of the Union address is nothing more than an address to Congress (albeit a Constutionally mandated one), not an address to the people. This address received essentially the same treatment as a typical State of the Union and was obviously intended to be received in the same vein. I'd have agree with qman; WHAM typically makes a big deal out of the State of the Union, providing some local commentary along with live coverage. They missed a good opportunity here.
This WAS essentially the State of the Union address. Since his administration is just over a month old, President Obama declined to label it as such. But any time a President makes an address to a joint session of Congress, it is a major event. It was not just "additional campaigning" as "HeyDayBeGone" characterized it. I would argue this speech was more important than his inaugural address because he laid out his agenda here. As a news station in Rochester, WHAM should have presented it and made other arrangements for the basketball game.
Considering what's going on in the world now I thought the perfect thing for WHAM to do (as suggested earlier in this post) was to air the SU game and then run the Obama speech tape-delayed. I realize WHAM is home to the conservatives but news is news. I also agree with the post stating when WHAM dropped Bill Lowe they surrendered their "title" of "Rochester's News Leader". Mr. Lowe would have been invaluable with his insights about aviation when the crash in Clarence Center occurred. While I'm on a WHAM rant they would be better off with no traffic reports at all than what's airing now in the "post-Barry" traffic era.
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