Re: Newsgroup Postings

[TVHD@aol.com]

Dear Mr. Casey,

Thank you for your prompt, cordial and honest response.

I agree with you that many of the expectations upon WBZ as
Boston's newsleader are unreasonable and fiscally unsound. However, as WBZ is
in the unique position of being the
sole provider of radio news and information to much of the 
greater Boston area, it creates an enormous responsibility, 
only bolstered by marketing messages along the lines of 
"When it's happening out there, you're hearing it here," and 
"All news, seven days a week."

While a 24-hour news service may be unrealistic, an additonal
news station in this city would certainly complement your 
coverage, as well as inspire some healthy competition. I'm 
familiar with such a situation in Los Angeles, where KNX 
provides seven day coverage, but includes a few features like 
a nightly hour of radio drama, curiously like you cite on WEEI. 
The other news station, KWFB, offers the "Give us 22 minutes 
and we'll give you the world" format. While there's the obvious
market size difference, I suspect the correspondence of 
English language listeners may be closer to Boston.

I look for information on WBZ mostly when I'm driving around 
the greater Boston area. I also often listen to Brudnoy at home
in the evenings. I don't expect much from TV news that radio
can't provide, as TV news is slave to picture enhancement, no
matter what subject it covers. Radio can be far more
immediate in presentation. Although there are many alternate
outlets available for news on broadcast TV, cable and internet, 
I find it a shame Radio is willing to abdicate its awesome
power of information delivery it possesses through meek 
acceptance of the overshadowing popularity of glossier media 
alternatives.

Thank you.

- - Henry Dane

<<Mr. Dane:

Thank you for your comments about WBZ and the storm coverage on Saturday.   
 While returning from a family event on the Cape Saturday I started   
listening just before 7PM and heard of the severity of the storm's   
effects.  At that time I called in to make sure we were doing updates in   
"Calling All Sports" every 15 minutes.  Those updates included the   
flooding conditions, traffic, weather, etc.   The editor on duty should   
have page me when the state of emergecncy in Boston was declared.

I know many of you in the newsgroup feel Boston should have a 24 hour a   
day, all news all the time, news station as the old WEEI was for much of   
its life.  But the old WEEI never turned a profit and was not succesful   
radio station.  The thing about all-news is that the majority of the   
audience only wants it when the need strikes them.   That need doesn't   
come to often for enough people in the evenings and overnights.  The news   
all day and talk all night is a better fit for audience habits in Boston   
and to be able to put our resources on when the available audience is   
there.  The news business has changed quite a lot since WEEI was on as a   
news station.  Even in their later years they'd started doing the Mystery   
Theater in the evenings, and also some sports talk during the evenings.   
 With all the news cable channels available now radio competes in a  very   
different way then it ever did before. TV news and programming is   
becoming today more like the way radio used to be with many stations or   
ablce outlets doing lots of cross over formats.  Radio stations these   
days have had to isolate a more narrowly defined format than ever before.   
   


Thank you.>>

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