Hurricane Sandy: Radio Homepages Range from "All Over It" to "Absent"

Waiting for a hurricane is like waiting for unwanted company. You have to get ready, even though you hope plans will change and your company won’t show up.

No such luck in New Jersey today as Hurricane Sandy, arguably the state’s most unwanted guest, is at our doorstep.

With Atlantic City projected to be close to the landfall cross-hairs, I waited for Sandy’s arrival Monday morning by checking out websites for the majority of the market’s FM stations.

Yes, of course, it’s first and foremost about ‘what’s on the air.’ Still, with the potential historic nature of the storm, the appetite for information is already bordering on insatiable.  Some stations had strong online efforts augmenting their on air content while for others, online content about the storm was non-existent.

WSJO/SoJO 104.9 and WCHR:  devoted 2 ½ pages to Hurricane Sandy news and photographs.

WENJ, 97.3 ESPN: three of five flippers were dedicated to Hurricane Sandy content including a live video feed and storm photos.

While not an Atlantic City station, New Jersey 101.5 was heavily invested with unique pages for "Cancellations and Delays," "How Bad Will It Get?" (video that was also posted on a number of other websites), "Here Comes Sandy" (east coast story), "Sandy Ready to Blast New Jersey," "Share Your Storm Photos," plus about a dozen other hurricane-related stories and information pieces.

WFPG, Lite Rock 96.9 and WPUR, Cat Country 107.3: Each had a single, static, satellite photo of Sandy (still showing it south of Florida) that clicked through to links for live radar, headlines and evacuation news.

Two stations simply relied on their Facebook feeds; there were a few updates and photos but nothing approaching substantial.

One station website had a link to storm closings, but clicking there took me to a page of closings dated 8/29/2011. 

For seven others, beyond an AccuWeather.com (or similar) link, there was nothing on the homepage about the hurricane. Instead, it was the usual collection of flippers one might see on any non-extraordinary day: how to win concert tickets for shows (the shows ranged from December to April), plugs for weekend countdown and/or request shows, plus flippers for downloading the TuneIn app, booking a cruise with a personality (none of these activities I suspect were high on listeners’ ‘to do’ lists), and a couple or slides about winning a DJ poll or the last rating period. 

Then there was this listener poll question: “The best thing about fall is…” Hurricane Sandy wasn’t listed as one of the choices.

In today’s RadioInfo.com , New JerseyBroadcasting Association President Paul Rotella said, “…that’s what local radio is all about: being prepared, being nimble, and being informative, with real information our listeners need. It’s amazing how dedicated local broadcasters are, especially in New Jersey where local radio means so much to our state!”

Some of our state’s broadcasters clearly have embraced this attitude both on air and online. A salute to you and your staff and a thank you for your work and dedication during a very difficult time.

Hopefully too you've inspired others.

How Did Your Website Celebrate the 4th?

We talk a lot about engaging our audience so I loved this idea from Starbucks.

It made me wonder what other coffee vendors might be doing so I checked three of the larger chains. While there were plugs for summer products, I didn’t see anything as 4th of July specific (let alone engaging) as this.

Later, while booking airline tickets I checked four major US carriers to see if their websites were celebrating the 4th. None of them were but Southwest was with this that played nicely off their brand.

I checked on our industry by randomly (unscientifically) visiting 25 radio station sites.

About half had nothing. That was disappointing but no worse than the coffee or airline industries -- and better than the fast food (six chains, nothing for the 4th) and auto industries (among the Big 3 plus three imports, one displayed a 4th of July sale).

For stations that did have July 4th-specific content, locations for viewing fireworks was the most common with some also listing special events.

In searching for something a little different to share, here are three sites that caught my attention.

While some stations were showcasing special programming; I thought this from Philadelphia's WMMR was locally, graphically and date-clever.

And I liked this – nearly a whole page - from Washington's WTOP which looks like the station sounds.

I thought this content on New Jersey 101.5 was varied and visual with four of their five flippers this morning devoted to the day while reflecting the station's personality.

And then this afternoon, this was added:

If your station (or business) had a great website up for the 4th I hope you'll share it.

If you're newly inspired to create something engaging, that's even better!

Hope you had a great day celebrating America!