TV Coverage Of The Storm

[Bob Nelson]

--- Dan Billings <billings@suscom-maine.net> wrote:
> One of the dumbest things that radio ever did was
> let TV get ahead of them
> in storm coverage.  Today's generation of kids turns
> on the TV to find out
> if there is school.  When I was growing up, radio
> was the place to turn for
> information in the morning. 

One thing that puzzles me about WTKK is that they have
absolutely no local newscasts after 6 pm. I listen to
them for Laura Ingraham and Sean Hannity
(basically, 7 pm to 1 am) and their TOH 'casts
are from CNN. They don't do what WRKO does (local
newscasts evenings, and I think a local pre-taped one
from 1-5 am) or live/local TOH like WBZ. If an
important local story is breaking (like an impending
storm), WTKK has no coverage of it. (Unless CNN
happened to mention that a "major storm will hit
the northeastern US...")

I don't know if they just can't afford to put
newscasters on at night; I know one election night
WTKK had no coverage at all. Well, maybe they think
people can tune to the AM dial to get their news
and then hopefully tune back to 96.9 for talk.

They don't even have weather forecasts-- i.e.,
they don't have something like Accu-weather drop ins
near the TOH (the weather forecasts with a local tag
at the end-- "that's your weather. I'm Bla Blabla for
96.9 FM Talk").

"If it's happening now, you're hearing it now,"
says one of their liners, but actually if major
LOCAL news breaks at night, 'TKK listeners have to
tune elsewhere. And who knows, maybe they won't come
back to the talk at 96.9. But with radio economics
the way they are these days, maybe this isn't
too surprising. (I'm also puzzled that WTKK doesn't
have more people on the "bench", ready to pinch hit
for their local talk hosts. When Severin isn't in,
they usually pick up Hannity live and then have him
again tape delayed later...)