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Wildfire Coverage

And this is WHY the FCC is REVISITING Unattended Operations in their LOCALISM hearings.When 95% of your LOCAL BROADCAST HOURS on weekends are Voice Tracked...the issue of PUBLIC SAFETY is raised.
 
In the 60's and 70's when I was at these stations we had massive news teams that covered this kind of stuff including High School sports.. People haven't changed this much!..They still want to hear the Christmas Parade in Cocoa !
 
Froggy and Big Ape you are both totally on the money...The other part of the problem is the few local live jocks/air personalities concentrate too much on tmz, mtv, and usa today type of info...it's the same stuff you get on satellite radio...when given the opportunity, local radio needs to be local...Who cares if Daughtry is doing a concert tonight in Cleveland, or Paris Hilton was seen puking outside an LA nightclub...that info is all over the national, generic media....Give me the fire coverage, tell me about the tornado warning, let me know where the Memorial Day parades are...It's the one remaining element where local radio still has an advantage over most other media forms....Being locally relevant!
 
If enough people like you "Froggies Mother" would tell the advertisers, if they have any..That's what would happen.. It breaks my heart about WRKT being a travel info station..I worked there from like 10th grade though high school for C. Sweet Smithj, who put the station on the air..1300 WRKT Rocket Radio was the station for NBC News in Cape Canaveral!
 
re- 1300...........If it makes you feel any better it is now WMEL 1300 News/Talk.. so at least the rocket launches will again be broadcast!
 
One thing lost in the discussion of whether an event affects enough people to be worth coverage is the long-term promotional effect of that coverage.

If you're in a market of one million population, and you break format to cover something like a fire threatening 30 homes, it's a win in several ways...

(1) The coverage, even if regular listeners tune out, is better than any "WXXX care" promo or charity tie-in you could air. Actions speak so much louder than words. Every homeowner gets the subtle message that if his home is threatened in the next fire, you'll be there for him. (Of course, this only matters if you exploit the benefit by actually covering the next fire.)

(2) You have a chance to be of unique service to listeners, and to local emergency responders who need people to avoid the area or take alternate routes. You may even wind up with something useful in your public file.

(3) TV is interested only in stories which are visually compelling. Talking on-air with people losing their homes to the fire, or just having won the fight to save them, is poorly done with boring still graphics by TV, but can be very compelling in audio form on the radio.

(4) Believe it or not, many listeners find an out-of-control wildfire approaching the largest municipality in the county much more interesting that another spin of that Mariah Carey record. So do many broadcasters!
 
Paul_Warren said:
One thing lost in the discussion of whether an event affects enough people to be worth coverage is the long-term promotional effect of that coverage.

If you're in a market of one million population, and you break format to cover something like a fire threatening 30 homes, it's a win in several ways...

(1) The coverage, even if regular listeners tune out, is better than any "WXXX care" promo or charity tie-in you could air. Actions speak so much louder than words. Every homeowner gets the subtle message that if his home is threatened in the next fire, you'll be there for him. (Of course, this only matters if you exploit the benefit by actually covering the next fire.)



Your a smart fellow and I agree with you 100%..Let's see WMEL do that! Big Ape!

(2) You have a chance to be of unique service to listeners, and to local emergency responders who need people to avoid the area or take alternate routes. You may even wind up with something useful in your public file.

(3) TV is interested only in stories which are visually compelling. Talking on-air with people losing their homes to the fire, or just having won the fight to save them, is poorly done with boring still graphics by TV, but can be very compelling in audio form on the radio.

(4) Believe it or not, many listeners find an out-of-control wildfire approaching the largest municipality in the county much more interesting that another spin of that Mariah Carey record. So do many broadcasters!
 
Pocket-Radio

You are so funny and are right on everything except that the "less is more" started around 3.5-4 years ago (not 10). I just want you to have your facts straight because you totally get it!!
 
BIG APE said:
Paul_Warren said:
One thing lost in the discussion of whether an event affects enough people to be worth coverage is the long-term promotional effect of that coverage.

If you're in a market of one million population, and you break format to cover something like a fire threatening 30 homes, it's a win in several ways...

(1) The coverage, even if regular listeners tune out, is better than any "WXXX care" promo or charity tie-in you could air. Actions speak so much louder than words. Every homeowner gets the subtle message that if his home is threatened in the next fire, you'll be there for him. (Of course, this only matters if you exploit the benefit by actually covering the next fire.)



Your a smart fellow and I agree with you 100%..Let's see WMEL do that! Big Ape!

(2) You have a chance to be of unique service to listeners, and to local emergency responders who need people to avoid the area or take alternate routes. You may even wind up with something useful in your public file.

(3) TV is interested only in stories which are visually compelling. Talking on-air with people losing their homes to the fire, or just having won the fight to save them, is poorly done with boring still graphics by TV, but can be very compelling in audio form on the radio.

(4) Believe it or not, many listeners find an out-of-control wildfire approaching the largest municipality in the county much more interesting that another spin of that Mariah Carey record. So do many broadcasters!
Paul... You hit it on the head........
 
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