“Opinion Radio is not what we need in a time of emergency.” That’s a quote from Tom Owen in yesterday’s Transportation and Public Works Committee meeting, the first of 10 questions he submitted to Ted Pullen about the city’s storm response. Owen and others want something done so that emergency messages can get out to people without power in a crisis, and he doesn’t understand why Clear Channel stations are still airing Rush Limbaugh while citizens need to find out what’s going on. Tom, here’s why. They’re cheap.
Just One Contractor? Robin Engle, who described the trail of storm debris along Fairground Road in his district, asked Pullen for an explanation of why there’s only one contractor on board to do the entire city’s debris collection. Pullen denied that it’s on a no-bid contract, saying it was bid annually. Engle and others weren’t satisfied with the cleanup pace. Watch the meeting online if you want. [Metro]
Buck Stopping with the Mayor: Hebert is giving a left-handed compliment to the Mayor in a piece labeled “commentary” (a first) on his blog. While calling Abramson the most thin-skinned politician he’s covered, Hebert credits him with taking this week’s criticism with “newfound maturity.” Actually admitting he made a hiring mistake was a kind of novel response. [WHAS-TV]
But At Least His Pal Barry Will Be Nice to Him: Today Abramson is in Washington to talk stimulus with Barack Obama and some other mayors. Nothing like bringing home some cash for the city to help an ailing reputation. It’s the third such visit with the President for Jerry.
Please Keep Teaching Kids How to Write: College English teachers should be the most bothered by the plan being pushed by state Republicans to gut CATS testing and get rid of writing portfolios. Because they’re the ones who are going to have to revert to basics when they show up for English 101. It’s THE most important skill kids learn in high school. It’s the big topic on the C-J Editorial Page. [C-J]
Did They Check the Price at Best Buy?: U of L announced yesterday it had spent $2.1 million on a super computer that marks its speed in teraflops (you’ll have to look it up). [C-J]
18 responses so far ↓
1 Carter Burger // Feb 20, 2009 at 8:35 am
Clear Channel isn’t cheap, they just don’t care about serving the public. It makes them no money. I’m sure if the city were willing to “buy the time”, then Clear Channel would be all ears and would be more than willing to interrupt programming for that. I was coming home from Cincinnati when the Hurricane Ike associated windstorm hit Louisville. I was stunned that WHAS had a live person in the studio on the air. The ice storm was just a precursor to what is happening with our media.
I tell people constantly that something major is going to hit Louisville in the future. Be it a tornado, major chemical spill, whatever. And when it happens, WHAS is going to be running rebroadcasts of Dave Ramsey or Rush Limbaugh because everyone who should be at the switch has been fired.
2 David Harpe // Feb 20, 2009 at 9:00 am
Limbaugh and Ramsey? What about a UL or UK game? You could have lava flowing down Main Street and they still wouldn’t interrupt one of those broadcasts.
If Clear Channel doesn’t want to tie up the big 50KW blowtorch with storm stuff, they should designate one of their numerous other stations to be the sacrificial lamb weather outlet. The signal might not reach to Cincinnati, but at least local folks could hear what is going on during an emergency.
3 Mark // Feb 20, 2009 at 9:10 am
Hey, I have an idea, how about using NPR to get emergency information out to the people? It is available everywhere in the state and is supported by taxpayers, and I believe it is National “Public” Radio….Don’t we as taxpayers support NPR to serve the public?
So should WHAS have operated without ad revenue until everyone got their power back? It is a private business that has to meet a payroll.
4 John // Feb 20, 2009 at 9:36 am
This is so true. I spent a fortune at Walgreen’s buying batteries for an old boom box I had lying around so I could listen to WHAS. The basketball game was over (I can’t remember if it was UofL or UK) and they spent another 45 minutes talking about it–even though they just kept repeating the same thing over and over and over. I had to wait until 10 PM to hear some news on the situtation. And then the idiot woman suggested I go to whas.com to get a complete list of shelters, which wasn’t exactly helpful, as I’m sure you can imagine.
5 KYGuy // Feb 20, 2009 at 9:37 am
Carter Burger -
We’re in agreement on this one!
I believe local ownership is the answer. When WAVE was owned by the Nortons and WHAS by the Binghams, they would compete to see which one could serve best. I sat in meetings where the mission to serve was driven home. Staffers dropped what they were doing during times of emergency and saw themselves as civil servants. It goes back to the calls of “Send a boat…!” during the 1937 flood.
When you serve, you make a friend of everyone and gain lifelong loyalty from your audience. Service and balance of perspective doesn’t need to be bland and boring, it just needs to be done right. Sadly, the programming skills to do so have been all but forgotten.
6 david // Feb 20, 2009 at 10:32 am
So the problem is Rush? Thanks Tom! Brilliant! So how long were the radio stations to be down with emergency news. Do we not get enough overblown coverage every time a flake of snow falls around here?
Maybe the city should be able to take over any business it feels necessary for the greater good of the community. This is just Tom taking opportunity to complain about Conservative radio.
Focus on your own short falls Tom. You and the city have bigger issues.
And Tom Do you even own a radio? The “itransitor” from 1964 maybe?
7 bill // Feb 20, 2009 at 11:44 am
I have an idea lets pony up $30 million and buy or start our own radio station for our home town! I can’t wait . I will bet CM Owen will then want to dictate everyone listens to it.
8 help me! // Feb 20, 2009 at 12:09 pm
There should be some type of rule stating that if you are a 50,000 watt station, you must be the voice for the region during an emergency. The FCC protected these mega stations for years from other stations setting up shop on a frequency next to them in the early days. Now it should be their turns to protect us!
9 M Lamson // Feb 20, 2009 at 12:12 pm
Long time lurker, first time commenter.
I just have to say that, as a college English teacher, that there are a LOT of basics we do have to teach in 101, despite the portfolios, and that a good chunk of students we see are not prepared for college writing. I’ve seen this in both big universities and in community colleges, and the students I have had from outside of Kentucky have tended to do better.
I know that when I took freshman composition myself, I was in for a rude awakening, and learned that none of us in the Advanced and AP courses had learned how to write for “the real world,” only for portfolios.
I’m not sure what the ultimate solution would be, really, but there needs to be a change in Kentucky’s curriculum on the whole. Ask any college instructor/professor.
10 Mark // Feb 20, 2009 at 12:57 pm
Help me define an emergency “Help Me!” and what that requirements would you place on the station?
The press conferences were covered on WHAS and the open lines conversation turns into nothing more that individuals calling in point out that shockingly, they have limbs down in their back yard as well. I think half-hour news updates is sufficient.
As far as getting the UK game coverage preempted…..you man the phone lines in the studio on that night. Trust me in stating that UK basketball trumps any natural disaster.
11 Carter Burger // Feb 21, 2009 at 9:48 am
“So should WHAS have operated without ad revenue until everyone got their power back?”
They used to, Mark. How long did they operate without breaks during 9/11? ’74 tornado outbreak? Sadly, ad revenue has now trumped public service.
David, I agree with you. 790 or 1080 come to mind. Those stations cover the market at night on their night pattern pretty good and would make an excellent choice.
“When you serve, you make a friend of everyone and gain lifelong loyalty from your audience”
That’s the key right there KyGuy, LOYALTY. Broadcasters have it no more because the almighty dollar and keeping Wall Street took over. I have been in broadcasting for 28 years now. The changes in the last 20 years alone have been astounding. You want to cover the ball game, fine. However the minute the last buzzer sounds you cut to local coverage of a major weather event. You don’t stick with post game coverage until the top of the hour.
david, are you having a comprehension problem today?! None of us have blamed this on Rush. Limbaugh is not the issue. The issue at hand is local radio stations, who are issued a license based on serving the public interest and nessessity NOT doing that. What part of serving the public involves rerunning program from the previous week during the time of a major weather emergency is going on? What do you not understand about that?
“There should be some type of rule stating that if you are a 50,000 watt station, you must be the voice for the region during an emergency.”
When you start dictating rules like this, you are going down a slippery slope, help me. The FCC tries to stay out of programming, and I for one like that. For example, suppose you dictate a rule like this. Suppose the person in charge of these “rules” does not define an emergency the same way you do? What then? Suppose the person in charge of the rules makes a bunch of new rules you don’t like or agree with? What then?
And Mark, so in your opinion WHAS does not need to cover disasters like this because you may have to answer the request line from a few people upset for dumping out of the game? Yea, that make sense. Can’t be upsetting the board op now, can we?
12 KyGuy // Feb 21, 2009 at 11:01 am
Carter –
790 and 1080 signals aren’t sufficient to serve the region in an emergency. If you define “the market” as Jefferson County, they serve fine. But, after sunset, you can barely hear them in some of the surrounding counties. I think we’d do better using WFPL or WFPK signals. They have a pretty slim staff, but the people who volunteer and donate to those stations would be happy to help staff them during emergencies.
There doesn’t need to be a slippery slope, here. Reasonable and easy to understand rules can be written and followed. There shouldn’t have to be rules, anyway. It should be a given. But, the distant radio station owners don’t care.
Look, people are huddling during emergencies and listening for dependable information on their battery radios all over this region and they’re simply not hearing it. They used to…and we weren’t on any slippery slopes then. Emergencies were declared and the station’s employees went into action. There are people in this community, including me, who would be glad to volunteer to work overnight on WHAS taking phone calls, dispatching help and generally lending comfort. Those not in need might find it pretty boring, but it would be temporary and the aid it brings to the recovery and the sense of community is so valuable.
Sad statement that we might need a crew of emergency volunteers to man “the station” because the owners have deserted it.
13 david // Feb 22, 2009 at 3:24 am
Thanks Carter Burger for explaining it all for us. So I ask you, what emergency news didn’t get reported because of reruns of Rush and fanatic rabid basketball fan call in shows?
The whole city knew the power was out, trees were down.
So were we to listen at nausium reporters telling us that power was out, and it was going to be days till it came back on? All this was reported in timely fashion. No lives were jeopardized one bit by putting on programming that might have been a source of relief to many who needed something other than to hear “joe blow over reporter” tell us he just heard another tree drop.
This wasn’t a situation like the ’29 flood where lives were being saved by “send a boat” calls. We all were adjusting to our situations and life was moving on. The news still reported on the 1/4 and 1/2 hours about the fact many were “still” without power.
So what I “get” about Tom’s brilliant take on radio is that he and you seem to be trying to take opportunity to take issue with things you don’t really like in the first place about radio.
Why not shut all programming down and focus only on our city’s emergency? Take radio, tv, internet, cell phone towers…put Tom on them all telling us how all bike paths are currently inaccessable and “this just in…breaking news…we have just learned that it has been confirmed that we now have 800,001 without power. Everyone panic…please I repeat, please panic!”
14 Carter Burger // Feb 22, 2009 at 8:48 am
Well, KyGuy, I thought we were talking just about Louisville. Outside of WFPL (more power than WFPK), there really isn’t a radio station in Louisville that covers our region. I have personally encouraged the powers that be at Louisville Public Media to take WFPL in a more hard news direction. They already have the award winning news department in place and are the most reasonable station to take on WHAS. The problem is, they don’t subscribe to the book, and even if they did take some points away from WHAS, we wouldn’t have a way of knowing.
The problem in making rules like this is that it becomes another political football. There is always the danger of someone coming in and making rules to suite them and not the original mission. We as listeners can complain to the FCC. Enough complaints would force the FCC into looking into the matter. Still, as a general rule, they stay out of programming issues.
“Why not shut all programming down and focus only on our city’s emergency? ”
That’s what we are asking, david. In exchange for obtaining a valuable license to operate a broadcast station, each radio and television licensee is required by law to operate its station in the “public interest, convenience and necessity.” This means that it must air programming that is responsive to the needs and problems of its local community of license.
david, I would suggest you read “The Public and Broadcasting” at this link:
http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/decdoc/public_and_broadcasting.html
15 bill // Feb 22, 2009 at 2:23 pm
I agree we should be able to seize control of media outlets, hardware, grocery & electronics stores in emergency situations. The hell with ownership rights.
Oh BTW those valuable licenses are worthless with the privately owned broadcast equipment. Or do you advocate public support of media outlets?
16 Carter Burger // Feb 23, 2009 at 8:53 am
“Or do you advocate public support of media outlets?”
WFPL, WFPK and WUOL. Their programming is better than 90% of what’s out there.
17 bill // Feb 23, 2009 at 12:19 pm
While, I love WFPL , thats our opinion. We know what those are like! :)
18 KYGuy // Feb 24, 2009 at 8:26 pm
Bill –
“Media outlets” (cable, newspapers, satellite, internet and other private, non-licensed entities) are not licensed the way broadcast stations are licensed. No one is talking about “seizing” anything. It’s simply demanding that licensees live up to the requirements of retaining the broadcast license. Hardware, grocery and electronics stores are not licensed by the government. Big difference. It’s not the equipment that’s told to serve the public as a condition of holding a license, it’s the station owners.
You’re free to own all the broadcast equipment you want to buy. But, if you want to turn it on and use a public frequency, you’d better have a license.
;-)
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