Radio never warned me (regarding Spfld tornado)

[Mark Laurence]

On Jun 11, 2011, at 5:23 PM, Bill O'Neill (billohno@gmail.com) wrote:

> News coverage is expensive as is breaking news coverage. What prevents stations from contracting advertisers to commit to sponsoring breaking events so that when the added resources are expended, there is new money behind it (and a listener spike that goes with those events)?

It's not a bad idea, and it's been done to some extent with snowstorms.  Campbell's Soup, for one, has place spots to run adjacent to weather reports during blizzards.  But I think it would be tough to sell most companies upfront on "breaking news" of an unknown story.  Think about the stomach-churning nature of some news bulletins: the President is assassinated, the space shuttle explodes, Wall Street has a meltdown, the nearby nuclear plant has a meltdown, inner city riots erupt, the list could go on.  Who wants to be selling cars and recliners and fee-free checking accounts in that kind of atmosphere?

Mark