Comments on: WLKY Gets a New Bird

By: Dan Chesser

Dan Chesser — Fri, 08 May 2009 15:42:43 +0000

Content is more important than hype. Watch for all the mind numbing promos touting the “Super Chopper in the Sky”. Saw them shooting air to air video last week. Bottom line is if they fail to provide the content that viewers want and expect, the ratings will not spike enough to justify the resource. It looks like a “balls to the wall” effort to attempt to take ratings points from WHAS and GMK. Serious amount of eggs in one basket if it doesn’t happen.

By: Carter Burger

Carter Burger — Thu, 07 May 2009 13:01:01 +0000

kyguy, no WLKY does not originate any programming in HD. Unlike WAVE who does. Perhaps getting a chopper outfitted for HD means they are about to. Or it could just be a marketing ploy. I think it would be ironic if WHAS-TV were the last station to originate HD programming since they are the alleged market leader.

WHAS radio now gets their traffic information from http://www.trimarc.org. They days of Dick Gilbert are long gone.

By: Crutnacker

Crutnacker — Thu, 07 May 2009 01:08:10 +0000

Marko, I’m with you. WHAS traffic has gone to crap since they retired the copter. The reports are so vague and old that they might as well say, “there’s some accidents out there” and be done with it.

By: KYGuy

KYGuy — Thu, 07 May 2009 00:47:10 +0000

No local HD from 32.

By: Henry Watterson

Henry Watterson — Wed, 06 May 2009 23:05:00 +0000

Mark H:

Your criticism of USA Today seems oddly placed, especially considering that this item is about a local TV station’s helicopter. Why does it bother you that a newspaper was successful when it gave its readers what they wanted?

By: Marko

Marko — Wed, 06 May 2009 19:19:56 +0000

WLKY could extend its reach and its brand, and do a big public service for commuters like CB, by partnering with a radio station like WHAS that no longer has a traffic helicopter. Of course, maybe the WAVE-3 weather contract has WHAS-AM all wrapped up for the time being.

By: Carter Burger

Carter Burger — Wed, 06 May 2009 18:54:41 +0000

Thank you David. I cringe every time I hear one of their station “based” promos. More often than not, I don’t see the chopper at the station the times I drive by. It’s usually only there in the late afternoon before the newscasts start.

And the new super dino-whopping HD chopper does me no good after I’m on the road. Guess it’s easier to spend money on pretty decorations than spending money on decent on-air talent.

By: David Harpe

David Harpe — Wed, 06 May 2009 18:13:04 +0000

The helicopter is not “housed” at the WLKY studios. They have a landing pad outside the studio. Sometime during the day they fly the helicopter from the airport and park it at the pad. After the news they fly back to the airport and park it in a hangar just like everyone else.

By: Mark H

Mark H — Wed, 06 May 2009 17:00:01 +0000

Unfortunately, there is a reason that USA Today is the top-selling newspaper by 25%. It certainly isn’t the great reporting. The mass public loves pictures, graphics and videos. USA Toady made its name through color photos (at the time uncommon) and detailed graphics utilized to help convey events and time lines.

I can’t imagine that WLKY would make that capital investment in this economy, if the market research didn’t justify it. My guess is that most of the general people would rather watch a high-speed chase on HD, than watch a great investigative story by Mark Heibert.

By: Steve Coomes

Steve Coomes — Wed, 06 May 2009 16:40:50 +0000

I’m all for WLKY spending to get an advantage in the marketplace, but that sure seems a huge investment in a part of the newscast I find less than crucial (full and fair disclosure: I work from home).

Seems spending at least a portion of that dough on more quality reporting would help ratings more, but then again, they know their business better than I.