What Kind of Coverage Did Your Local Station Provide During the Tornado Outbreak

[gr8oldies]

If you had read the original post you’d find the following: “The tornado outbreak this past Thursday took place in mostly rural Ohio. How comprehensive was local radio’s coverage during the storms other than emergency notification system before, during and after. Not asking about major city coverage that flanks these rural areas. The actual local stations that cover the affected areas? Anyone stand out with superior or innovative coverage?”

Out of all these replies, there was only 1 definitive mention. Someone said they saw the news director of WCSM in Celina had used social media to promote live coverage as well as stories with various first responders and community leaders.

Someone else mentioned “maybe WKTN” and Bellefontaine. But no one gave any concrete examples. And the were several replies as to the financial difficulties maling it a virtual impossible task to provide needed coverage.

So no, I didn’t listen to each of the stations in the affected areas. I asked had others if they had.

WHIO ran coverage, partially simulcast on TV, and that confirmed by a staffer. WHIO-FMs transmitter is on the Miami-Shelby County line and is the only Dayton-area signal that would make that area,
I don't live in that area anymore, so I can't make a blanket condemnation of every other station in the area.

 

[delgriffith]

Do you think everyone who lives in the area posts here?

This site and sub forum would probably attract people with at least an interest in Ohio broadcasting. Remember, the tornados were not just one area, but basically a line from the western state line through to East Central Ohio. Not just an isolated touchdown.

Do you have an interest in Ohio radio? If so, where?

 

[fybush]

It's 2024. Stations that don't have much of a local presence, especially a news department, aren't just going to magically develop that capability at the moment a tornado randomly threatens them. I drive through that area pretty often on the way to and from the in-laws in Fort Wayne, and aside from WCSM, everything else is mainly automation outside of perhaps morning drive, if even that.

There's still this myth (as seen in full force in the "save AM radio" campaign) that these stations are what they were in 1955 or 1975, but they're just not, and as b-turner explains very well, in most cases economically they can't possibly be.

If there's nobody at a radio station who reaches out routinely to local emergency officials, why would those officials suddenly take your station seriously? I started my career working Saturday mornings in a city of 100,000 people making calls to every police and fire department within 40 miles. They knew who we were because we had a news department. That was 1991. Nobody's at that station doing news on weekends now, I'm quite certain.

So if there *had* been a unicorn in Ohio that night - a station surprisingly rising to the occasion with live coverage - I'm quite sure nobody involved would have been shy about it. Radio people like to brag when they do something well. (Hey, did you hear my eclipse series on WXXI?)

The fact that no dog has barked strongly suggests that nothing, in fact, happened. Which again, is pretty much what you'd expect given how little staff exists at any of these stations these days.

 

[delgriffith]

WHIO ran coverage, partially simulcast on TV, and that confirmed by a staffer. WHIO-FMs transmitter is on the Miami-Shelby County line and is the only Dayton-area signal that would make that area,
I don't live in that area anymore, so I can't make a blanket condemnation of every other station in the area.

I agree WHIO radio and TV likely had coverage. Probably extensive coverage. Even though the FM simulcast with the AM is pretty Dayton centric, they do a pretty good job of service area coverage. 95.7 has a pretty good foot print especially in the Indian Lake region.

Columbus television had a lot of coverage too, but mostly tracked the storms as they crossed Ohio.

 

[TheBigA]

This site and sub forum would probably attract people with at least an interest in Ohio broadcasting.

So that's maybe ten or twelve people? Out of how many millions of people in the state?

This is why I called it a sweeping generalization.

 

[TheBigA]

If there's nobody at a radio station who reaches out routinely to local emergency officials, why would those officials suddenly take your station seriously?

It goes both ways. The way the Homeland Security act was written, all power resides in those local emergency officials. They are the source for the information, and they're the ones responsible for dissemination. When congressional hearings were done on these things, as they were after the Minot incident, the responsibility was on the emergency officials, not the radio station. The blueprint was really laid out after that.

 

[delgriffith]

There's still this myth (as seen in full force in the "save AM radio" campaign) that these stations are what they were in 1955 or 1975, but they're just not, and as b-turner explains very well, in most cases economically they can't possibly be.

If there's nobody at a radio station who reaches out routinely to local emergency officials, why would those officials suddenly take your station seriously? I started my career working Saturday mornings in a city of 100,000 people making calls to every police and fire department within 40 miles. They knew who we were because we had a news department. That was 1991. Nobody's at that station doing news on weekends now, I'm quite certain.

The myth was perpetuated by the broadcasting industry and entities that have a relationship with broadcasting. And the public’s fear that taking am radio out of dashboards was an effort to silence conservative talk radio. But during testimony, the words flowing forth to Congress was radio was a key player in disseminating timely emergency information, especially in small communities. No one said due to reduced income or we no longer have relationships with first responders we no longer, in general, provide that service. I guess as long as theater of the mind worked, why mess with success.

I started the same as you. But about 20 years earlier. I worked for a true daytime station that did a sold out news block in the morning calling local, police, fire, mayor, commissioners and industry leaders putting them live on the air. At 8:10, it was local police, about 8:20 fire, 8:25 was the hospital report (before Hipaa) The others came on at various times to discuss either upcoming issues or passed resolutions. Again, it was sold out and at the highest rate. Why? Because the advertisers and community saw it as being relevant.

Times were tough back then. It was during the first energy interruption. Yet the station virtually tripled its billing in a couple of years by integrating more tightly with the community and community leaders.

At the end of the day, I think technology has overtaken radio. It is what it is. Is radio dead? No. But the feeding tube has been inserted.

 

[delgriffith]

It goes both ways. The way the Homeland Security act was written, all power resides in those local emergency officials. They are the source for the information, and they're the ones responsible for dissemination. When congressional hearings were done on these things, as they were after the Minot incident, the responsibility was on the emergency officials, not the radio station. The blueprint was really laid out after that.

It was. But if social media has taken the place of radio, or regional radio and tv have displaced the need for that information to be on local radio, then let’s admit to the public what the deal is.

 

[TheBigA]

But if social media has taken the place of radio, or regional radio and tv have displaced the need for that information to be on local radio, then let’s admit to the public what the deal is.

Once again, you can't generalize. Some stations are active and some aren't. Social media isn't very dependable either. A lot of what you see on social media is personal video. That can be faked. So you can't assume that what you see on social media is correct. It depends on the source.

The LAW says radio stations have to be on the air, and allow local emergency officials access to use the station to reach the public. That's what the law says. If the emergency officials don't do their job and use the tools available to them, that's on them.

You want a one-size-fits-all statement, to "admit to the public what the deal is," and you really can't do that with 16,000 radio stations. The deal is that if you live in a town, you know who has the information and who doesn't. That's really all you can expect.

But during testimony, the words flowing forth to Congress was radio was a key player in disseminating timely emergency information, especially in small communities.

That's correct. The key word there is 'disseminating.' That's what radio does. It has to be on the air and accessible. If that part was done, then the station did its part. It doesn't mean that every radio station has to hire reporters to cover emergencies. It means the emergency officials have access to radio stations to get the word out. That's it.

 

[Cold Coffee]

If you were in the car that night? You would appreciate the EAS ON THE RADIO. Warnings were not as good in the Palm Sunday tornados in 65 or the Xenia tornado of 74. I remember those because I lived not far from where they struck.

 

[TheBigA]

There was a big investigation after the Maui wildfire last summer.

In deadly Maui wildfires, communication failed. Chaos overtook Lahaina along with the flames

Maui County officials failed to activate sirens that would have warned the entire population of the approaching flames.

apnews.com

The responsibility is on the local emergency officials. They can't just use one way to reach the public. Posting a warning on X isn't enough. They have to use all forms of media to reach the public. They can't say social media has displaced local radio.

 

[chad43358]

Yep, I watched WCMH all evening here in Columbus, OH - they were on for the entire duration of the warnings. Central Ohio TV does a very good job at covering that area despite being on the fringe of their market coverage.

I believe 95.3 WKTN in Kenton was on air doing their best to cover the storms as much as a small-town station with limited resources could.

Can confirm, WKTN is live and local and did a nice job keeping their audience informed (as always.)

 

[Goldilocks94941]

If you were in the car that night? You would appreciate the EAS ON THE RADIO. Warnings were not as good in the Palm Sunday tornados in 65 or the Xenia tornado of 74. I remember those because I lived not far from where they struck.

Some 20 years ago, when I lived in western Ohio, I discovered that WHIO radio had a way of alerting listeners continually of a weather alert in progress, during regular programming. Perhaps they or a few others still do this? They repeated a series of tones, not unlike the ones my microwave or toaster oven make when the toast is done. It didn't overwhelm the audio, but let you know something was up. And that they'd probably mention it before long, or else to look at their website or turn on channel 7 to see what was up. That told me they put some thought into this. Does anyone know if they, or any others, still do this?

Once, driving I-71 from Cleveland to Columbus, a very threatening set of dark clouds were approaching from the southwest. Luckily, I was near a roadside rest, where I pulled off to join a couple dozen other people huddled in the small building, which included a speaker in the wall connected to NOAA weather radio. It told us there was a tornado warning in effect for the area.
Couldn't quite tell where we actually were in terms of counties, since the highway criss crosses them all on an angle, And scanning the FM dial just was a waste of time, landing on music and religious stations from all of the surrounding cities. Relying on a dial scan to eventually let me know that there was a tornado just ahead on the interstate wouldn't have worked, since I would probably never know anything before it "hit me."

My next car had a NOAA weather radio included with the AM/FM in the dash. However, have not seen that as an option in any Subarus I've purchased since then.

Since the car is now the major "vehicle" for listening to the radio, I do wish more stations would put some thought into how to disseminate emergency info, beyond the first automatic release on the EAS.