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What Do You Think?

When the bad weather is here in the winter and there are "tons" of school closings or delays TV and radio stations mention them.
My question is....do any radio stations bother putting them on their web-sites?
Should they or shouldn't they? What are your thoughts.

The "puzzled" RoyD
 
There are a lot of factors going into this including, do you have the staff available on a "snow day" to enter the closings onto your Web site?
Putting that question aside, people want "instant" information these days. If your school list is long, are people willing to wait until they hear their district? If you're generating revenue on your Web site through Web ads, I say put it on the Web also, but don't stop doing the on-air mentions.'
Just my two cents.<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by bw on 06/22/05 05:03 PM.</FONT></P>
 
> There are a lot of factors going into this including, do you
> have the staff available on a "snow day" to enter the
> closings onto your Web site?
> Putting that question aside, people want "instant"
> information these days. If your school list is long, are
> people willing to wait until they hear their district? If
> you're generating revenue on your Web site through Web ads,
> I say put it on the Web also, but don't stop doing the
> on-air mentions.'
> Just my two cents.
>
so much easier refering your listeners to your website when 4 out of 5 people are on the 'net'.......i say though, do all the closings on the air or none of them.......some people still enjoy those 'laundry lists'....channel 69 wfmz is handling our delays and cancellations and it seems to work well.....it's not like the old days when tv, newspaper and radio were bitter competitors.....
 
Right about "bitter competitors".

I don't think people tune in to hear school closings...I think they tune out because of them. Only conjecture but I think they get that info from TV, period. How many people getting a paycheck from a radio station will admit that we get half or more of our cancellation info by stealing what WE see on TV? Remember the channel 16 S. Wilson Tech debacle? That was a case of even TV stealing TV info.

No, listeners are not relying on radio first for this stuff. They need radio for school closings only if for some reason they can't get to a TV but where does that happen in 2005, Antarctica?

I know the buzzword in the face of satellite is "local", but not all "local" content is compelling, necessary, or fascinating simply by virtue of the fact it's local.

I say do away with them on-air. Let them get the info from TV, TV's website or ours (who's going to pay someone to mind our website?). Then when they have the information, they can come back to radio and we won't be chasing them away with boring redundancy.

We can leave that to the playlist.
 
I'm not so sure about not doing snow closings, etc.

Why don't we see what the consultant is passing off as gospel the next time he's in town before we jump the gun on dumping cancellations? Then when he comes back in three months with a totally different philosophy we can adjust accordingly.

Love the playlist reference though.
 
> I'm not so sure about not doing snow closings, etc.
>
> Why don't we see what the consultant is passing off as
> gospel the next time he's in town before we jump the gun on
> dumping cancellations? Then when he comes back in three
> months with a totally different philosophy we can adjust
> accordingly.
>
> Love the playlist reference though.
>
Most of the area school districts now post school closings & cancellations on their own websites. In fact many of those districts that post closings, will also allow you to sign up for immediate email when the decision to close, cancel or postpone is made. While technology marches along most people in radio refuse to get out of the 60's & 70's mold of programming clinging to the idea that people are sitting around the radio breathlessly waiting for the latest closing or forecast or other info. They're not any more. We need to move with the times that we're in.
 
Totally no offense... but it is June. Stop with the speak of snow and school closings.. we just got done with them! Go swim or something.



> When the bad weather is here in the winter and there are
> "tons" of school closings or delays TV and radio stations
> mention them.
> My question is....do any radio stations bother putting them
> on their web-sites?
> Should they or shouldn't they? What are your thoughts.
>
> The "puzzled" RoyD
>
 
>While technology marches along most people
> in radio refuse to get out of the 60's & 70's mold of
> programming clinging to the idea that people are sitting
> around the radio breathlessly waiting for the latest closing
> or forecast or other info. They're not any more. We need to
> move with the times that we're in.

Amen.
 
In response to:
"I say do away with them on-air. Let them get the info from TV, TV's website or ours (who's going to pay someone to mind our website?). Then when they have the information, they can come back to radio and we won't be chasing them away with boring redundancy."

This is what is killing live and local radio. Let TV give it to them. At that rate we might as well have radio sales reps going to potential clients to make sure they spend their entire budget on TV or Print since they are much better ways of advertising. Many on this board are too young or don't remember the purpose of local radio licensee. A licensee is to "Serve the public interest" Someone recently reminded me of a phrase that really hit home with me and one that I have tried to use over most of my career. Sometimes what we say in between records may be much more important than the music itself. Many stations have left the realm of time, temperature, local news, PSAs, weather, and personality. I say the School closings stay. It is just one thing that makes local radio "local"
 
> This is what is killing live and local radio.

No, what is killing live and local radio is a mindset stuck in the past, an insistence that EVERYTHING local HAS to be good (let's bring back funeral notices), and program directors and consultants who think the way to keep their job is to play it close to the vest and hope the diaries landed in their favor.

>Let TV give it to them.

It's where they go to get it. What's the radio equivalent of "the crawl"? A minimally obtrusive way to find out what you need to know that even lets you know when the information you're looking for is coming up because if the crawl is on the A's and your school in in the V's, you have time to drop some bread in the toaster or comb your hair. Or you can flip to the other station(s) and see where in the alphabet their crawl info is. This is practically information on demand, eliminating sitting through a laundry list of repetitive and 99% unimportant information waiting for the thing you're interested in. And that doesn't even touch on the TV website and text message service they provide.

>At that rate we might as well have radio sales
> reps going to potential clients to make sure they spend
> their entire budget on TV or Print since they are much
> better ways of advertising.

They will be if we keep driving listeners away with droning, irrelevant, repetitive, and redundant content.

>Many on this board are too
>young or don't remember the purpose of local radio licensee.

Not me.

>A licensee is to "Serve the public interest"

Follow THAT to the letter and see what the deposit slip reads.

> Sometimes what we say in between records may be much more
> important than the music itself.

I say it is everytime. To me, the MUSIC is the fill. And saying schools are closed when most people listening already got the information elsewhere falls into the important category? Don't think so.

>Many stations have left
> the realm of time, temperature, local news, PSAs, weather,
> and personality. I say the School closings stay. It is
> just one thing that makes local radio "local"

I say you're going to see them go, one by one by one. Are you working in radio now? Do you think your radio station gets as many calls from schools about delays and closings as the TV stations do? Nope.

I say the best we can hope for is, if the bosses year end bonus isn't based on how much under budget he brings it in at, maybe he'll hire someone to babysit the website and cover the closings. Otherwise, face reality. TV, websites, and text messaging have all but replaced radio's usefulness when it comes to delays and cancellations.
 
> >While technology marches along most people
> > in radio refuse to get out of the 60's & 70's mold of
> > programming clinging to the idea that people are sitting
> > around the radio breathlessly waiting for the latest
> closing
> > or forecast or other info. They're not any more. We need
> to
> > move with the times that we're in.
>
> Amen.
>
To hear ,,, Change with the times ... makes me want to puke...
When are we gonna quit bieng a bunch of fat lazy idiots who think that by playing hot jingles and a wize crack from bart simpson you are suddenly brilliant. Point one....We have to do dealys and cancellations not everyone is glued to the tube 24 7 the web helps us remain in contact with our listners. Its a way for us to help them get thru there life which they think sucks 90% of the time... Example you are at work (which also is thought to suck) and you can't watch tv the information that lil johnny will be geting out early is somrthing you need to know.. something that makes you relevant rather than sounding like an EYE pod to barrow and fraze from the old sage.
Having information listeners can use on your site makes you and the site relevant... Yes pictures of people who should not ever be seen in piblic,, oh i mean your air staff.. are valuable but even more valuable than the picture of Mcidiot eating 20 Chees sandwiches in a parking lot while standing on his right leg is the relavant relationship with the lovely people who gather round the speaker every day...
Amen brothers and sisters lets al jon the million pound mlet down and change with the times....
Were like the dairy farmers who think all they have to do to make money is milk ole bessy twice a day and watch springer in between ...
Have a great day
 
> > >While technology marches along most people
> > > in radio refuse to get out of the 60's & 70's mold of
> > > programming clinging to the idea that people are sitting
>
> > > around the radio breathlessly waiting for the latest
> > closing
> > > or forecast or other info. They're not any more. We need
>
> > to
> > > move with the times that we're in.
> >
> > Amen.
> >
> Were like the dairy farmers who think all they have to do to
> make money is milk ole bessy twice a day and watch springer
> in between ...
> Have a great day
>
Sometimes we get caught up with who we are so much and what we think and how we would do it, we tend to forget what kind of people are our listeners and what
their lifestyles are in any given area.Thus what would work great in one area may not be suited in another.In a metro area getting up at 5am and being on the PC is probably alot more common than someone living in Hop Bottom or some other rural area.Personally I'm not getting out of bed at 5am to fire up my PC, the radio or the TV will work just fine.Also what time of day it is has alot to do with where you can and are allowed to get this info.Also your financial situation. And my good Cap'n if you don't keep up with the times they will leave your cow milkin ass and Bessy out to pasture. Radio's role in this will never be the same but for the time being it will still have a role...Also food for thought...if IPODS suck so much why does everyone have one???<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by BROTHERLOUIE on 06/24/05 10:07 AM.</FONT></P>
 
food for thought...if
> IPODS suck so much why does everyone have one???


I DO NOT HAVE ONE I AM TOO CHEAP,, WHY BUY THE COW WHEN WITH A LITLE EFFORT I CAN GET IT FOR FREE...
YOU ARE CORRECT TO A DEGREE...
<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by PA_Radio on 06/24/05 12:56 PM.</FONT></P>
 
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