RE: Storm cancellations on radio, TV

["Bill O'Neill" <billo@shoreham.net>]

Bob writes:
> Yes, times have changed...and it also affects TV.
> Instead of taking a few minutes and running a scroll
> of the cancellations taking up the whole screen, <snip>

Here in the Champlain Valley, Vt., WCAX (3, CBS) seems to run the scroll
that is most timely.  WPTZ (5, NBC) does a good job.  WVNY (22 ABC) is
nowhere to be found in AM, offering no morning local service but for the
occ. crawl line over the ABC network early riser news.

Growing up in Dracut, Ma., no-school was heralded by the sounding of the
townwide fire alarms (at that point no longer to call in the volunteers
since it was a paid FD), we'd catch the no school announcements on radio as
early as 5:30.  (My dad, Bill, Sr., was the Acting Super. of Schools in
1968-69 and reinstated that and I think it lasted for many years.)  TV lists
of no school announcements were considered very unreliable if you resided
outside of 128.  It seemed that of the two locals, WLLH and WCAP, the latter
took cancellations to the listener right at the top of the cast, no attempt
to build in fluff-value to the service.  Later, when I grew up and actually
worked at WCAP, the ND was Fred Hoskins, PD Joe Corcoran, Mary Blake AM
anchor, snow days made for a frenetic newsroom, but those announcements were
never "held" to later as a way to carry-over the quarter hours.  The local
AMer here is WFAD (1490 Middlebury, 1 kW).  They do a decent job of bringing
the list of Addison Cty. closings or delays but I do "talk to the radio" in
frustration (4th and 6th grade kiddos) that the list is so late in Q1 and
the rotation is not nearly dense enough.  And I do believe they have a
sponsorship of the list (smart).

Bill O'Neill