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Why Local Radio Matters

S

SDRadio

AS the sad reality unfolded of the earthquake in Japan on Thursday night, local radio proved that -- being local and live is important.

Hats off to KOGO's Cliff Albert who has an ISDN line at home and reported local planning on the tsunami. This fit in perfect for George Noory's Coast To Coast AM as he got experts in on the who and why.

Also noted was Tim Conway Jr.'s kick off to George Noory on KFI and the overnight coverage provided by the station.

We are fortunate that Southern California escaped major damage this time; but the next time is a shake away.....

Thanks for reading.
 
It's so bad here in Melmfus Chris that when we get major weather or a snowstorm that shuts down the city, if you turn on any one of 12 stations between two major groups you're more than likely to hear "Get Down Boogie oogie oogie" than any real time useful information. And we sit smack in the center of the New Madrid fault. I don't know of any stations that even have a Clif Albert like setup.
 
I'm surprised it is ISDN considering the telco costs. Meanwhile .... KISQ's woes are officially on a T-1 line. They should be proud.
 
Perhaps Tennessee has adopted a single set of instructions for either a tornado or an earthquake. "Duck, Cover and Hold" isn't sufficient for tornadoes. Hence, "Get Down, Boogie Oogie Oogie." Catchy. Probably these instructions are best performed in a group, with coordinated outfits.
 
ISDN isn't that expensive if it's a line that's been in service a while, which Clif's probably is. Now, trying to get a new one installed... that's a different story!

-- Doc
 
DoctorWu said:
ISDN isn't that expensive if it's a line that's been in service a while, which Clif's probably is. Now, trying to get a new one installed... that's a different story!

-- Doc
Click to expand...

PacBell (AT&T), Earthlink, DSL Extreme, Net Zero, can install in two to three weeks. Pricing starts at about $20 per month. The local company, PacBell (AT&T) has to support it because of the FCC. I know, easier written than performed. The same companies support/sale T1 and T3 lines too.

When I was with AT&T Long Lines division, we had to support ADSL, SDLS, and ISDN.
 
Ahh, Long Lines - a great division, now sadly nearly gone.

Chris, have you ever read Scott Adams' opinions on ISDN? Hilarious?

As you say, ISDN is "still available." But the Telcos sure don't want to give it to you. They will make ordering and installing very difficult, because they really want to put the nail in that coffin. (Our friends in the LA market can tell you some interesting stories along that line.)

-- Doc
 
You may be and are probably right. ATT will try to sell you U-Verse over ADSL. ISDN, in theory, should be easy to install. Part of the Bell South buy of Ma Bell--where the kid bought the mom--is supposed to offer a nekkid line for DSL only; it is a hard query to ATT.
 
DoctorWu said:
It's all PacBell to me :) Guess I'm just set in my ways ::)

-- Doc
Click to expand...

Me too. I've had the same cell company but they have had different names: GTE, AT&T Wireless, Cingular, and ... oh, AT&T.

Noted: The proposed buy by AT&T of T-Mobile only benefits the shareholders and makes the wireless pie controlled by two companies and essentially killing U.S. Sprint. There are smaller companies in the U.S. but the gap between Sprint and the proposed buy and Verizon is HUGE. I hope this merger does not go through.
 
Well, it might benefit AT&T Wireless customers too, since T-Mobile's coverage map is much better outside urban clusters than AT&T's is. I'm with AT&T now, but only for the iPhone. I preferred T-Mobile and hated to leave them.

The irony is, Deutsche Telekom is Apple's iPhone seller in Germany, so a simple hack made my first iPhone work perfectly with my T-Mobile SIM. I just couldn't use the App Store for anything, and finally I succumbed.

-- Doc
 
About a year and a half ago I was driving over a hill here in the beach area and saw massive amounts of smoke coming from the northern part of the city. I surveyed the whole dial for several minutes: nothing. About two years ago the entire downtown OB area reeked of natural gas. Considering what happened in the Bay Area last summer, the reek of natural gas over a wide area is not to be taken lightly. Surveyed the dial: nothing. Maybe there is some advantage to letting the industry monopolize, but I do not doubt for a moment that if competition still existed in the industry local reporters from at least a few stations would have informed the public about what was going on--"it sells papers", but to San Antonio informing the public is only a financial burden. Public airwaves, yeah right.
 
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