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Radio Talk
With Frank Ahrens
Washington Post Staff Writer
RESCHEDULED:
Thursday, Sept. 27, 2001; 1 p.m. EDT
Frank Ahrens covers radio for The Washington Post. His column -- "The Listener" -- appears every other Tuesday in the Style section. Frank is also a general assignment feature writer, and his reporting subjects have included everything from minivans to murders, from baseball to bandwidth.
If you're wondering about the inner workings of radio in Washington, around the country and on the Web, or want to know what Frank really thinks of minivans, then don't touch that dial... um, mouse! Please join us for this discussion!
Also, check out another edition of Radio Lives with Frank Ahrens, a series of conversations with washington radio's biggest stars. On this episode, Ahrens interviews WTOP traffic reporter Lisa Baden.
Below is the transcript.
Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control
over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.
The transcript follows.
Frank Ahrens: Greetings all, and welcome to a 'tween discussion. Sorry I couldn't show up at my regularly skedded time on Tuesday, but I had to be out of town on short notice. Thanks for sticking with me.
This is our first meeting since the terror attacks of Sept. 11. I hope everyone's friends and families are accounted for; if not, they sympathy of everyone in this discussion goes out to you.
Today, let's do a little give-and-take. I'll answer questions, and there's plenty to do, but I want to hear your impressions of how you think radio handled the disasters. For my part, I was gladdened by the way radio responded; what do you think?
There has been some news since we last talked:
-- Reporters at the Voice of America, which is federally funded, scored a big scoop a week or so ago by recording an interview with Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar--which their bosses refused to air. The govt. said it didn't want taxpayer money paying for, essentially, the ravings of a likely enemy. Understandably sensitive, but too much. It amounted to censorship. I'm a lot less concerned about Bill Maher losing advertisers for saying something stupid than I am about the fed. govt. stoppering journalism because we're at war.
-- Traffic planes have been grounded because of the no-fly zone over Washington. Traffic reporters are relying entirely on TV cameras and reports called in by commuters.
-- XM satellite radio launched on Wednesday, providing service to "hundreds" (hey, you gotta start small) customers in Dallas and San Diego area. They anticipate going national--and getting into D.C.--by the end of the year. No word yet on when rival satellite provider Sirius will be up and running.
That'll start us off. Let's go.
EAS Question:
So does EAS work locally, or doesn't it? I hear that on Sept. 11, when a plane crashed into the Pentagon and the area was on high alert for terrorist attacks, that stations didn't bother to run the Emergency Alert System. I find this hard to believe; that's why I'm looking to you for confirmation.
Then there was the tornado in College Park. Any EAS alert about tornados, either before or after they hit?
One wrinkle: Could it be that one station received the signal but couldn't pass it on to the next station, thereby "breaking the chain" of EAS transmission? Do individual stations have control over whether or not to broadcast the signal, and whether or not to pass on the signal to other stations?
Frank Ahrens: There was no EAS for the Pentagon crash; no local govt. thought to tell stations to activiate it. It's up to the govt., not the stations, so it's not a case of the stations not "bothering to run it." Since then, the FCC has told stations to suspend testing of the EAS signal, so as not to frighten listeners.
I had heard there was EAS for the College Park tornadoes but was not listening at the time; perhaps one of our radio station GMs or PDs or news directors can fill us in on that one.
I'm happy to take some more info on this from the pros.
Arlington, Va.:
Hey Frank, I hope you'll post this -- it's not a question for you, but a comment for all the radio people out there who tune in to this chat to see. I was SO impressed with the way that most all of the radio stations I listen to handled the crisis on Sept 11th. Normally raucous morning drive DJ's were professional, informative, and thoroughly wonderful, foregoing all their usual antics in the face of the tragedy. Kudos to all of you! I want to especially commend DC101 and 94.7 for being on the ball as soon as the crisis erupted, and interrupting their normal shows for concerned, intelligent reporting. You really helped more than imaginable. THANK YOU for being there for us!
Frank Ahrens: Those were my feelings. Just when I was about to give up on commercial radio, they go and pull something like this.
Reactively, I switched to WTOP/WMAL and NPR, and switched back and forth between them, inasumch as that's where you get news. But Clear Channel stations were running the NBC 4 TV broadcast and Infinity and Radio One stations, at least for part of the day, were blowing out their music programming and taking calls, giving information, trying to quell anti-Arab/Muslim sentiment. Generally, doing a good job. Actual public service, what radio at one time was meant for.
Washington, D.C.:
Hey Frank - submitting early today!
You touched on the subject of radio stations breaking their programming and/or simulcasting television broadcasts on September 11. While I was stuck in the melee trying to get out of the city, I was listening to 94.7. I don't remember which station they were simulcasting, however, at very inappropriate times (i.e. in middle of sentences or breaking news), 94.7 would insert a station ID: "You are listening to American Under Attack on 94.7." The only problem is that it was preceeded by a thunderous "Boom," which the first time I heard thought was another explosion!
Has anyone else said anything about this/do you know if 94.7 received any complaints? My heart, literally, skipped a beat because of this!
Frank Ahrens: Wow. I hadn't heard that. Anybody else? Classic Rock 94.7? What was the deal?
Century City, Calif.:
We've seen much of the nationwide disaster relief effort going to benefit the many victims in New York City. However, many lives were senselessly lost at the Pentagon. Radio stations have done much to help in the relief efforts. What have D.C. radio stations done in particular to aid those affected locally by the Sept. 11 attacks?
Thanks, Adam J.
Frank Ahrens: Just about every station and ownership chain has chipped in to aid both the New York City and Pentagon victims.
Bethesda, Md.:
Frank: I listen to Imus pretty much every morning. Since the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, his show has taken an interesting turn, although he does continue to ask stupid questions, aimed to provoke his guest. Interestingly, I heard him several times try to connect the New York attacks with the fact that the Jewish New Year was right around the corner. It was almost as if he was implying that the terrorists chose that time to coincide with the New Year. He tried several times, with several different guests to provoke the answer he wanted but never got his answer. Even his sidekick, Charles McCord, seemed to be silent, a silence I took to mean that Imus was basically barking up the wrong tree. He's finally stopped but it really was annoying.
Frank Ahrens: Well, that's an interesting theory. Lots of people keep wondering--and I've not seen it answered anywhere--why Sept. 11 was picked. Logically, the Jewish New Year was indeed right around the corner, and if the Jews are the sworn enemy of certain extremist Muslim/Arab terror groups, then that's a hell of a time to strike, like hitting America on July 4th, for instance. But I can see why no one would want to answer Imus on this, even if they thought he was right: The Arab-Israeli conflict is a tinderbox and lots of people think it would be the key to widening an East-West/Arab-Jew, U.S. conflict. Considering that Israel and Palestine just shook hands and agreed to try to work to peace (again), I can see why no one would responsibly want to agitate. That's way off the topic of radio, strictly speaking, but it seems everythign's connected these days.
Glover Park, D.C.:
So what's up with WAMU lately? It seems like they're having some sort of transmitter problems. You're listening along, there's a little click, and all the sudden the volume is halved, and then slowly climbs back to where it was.
And I still can't believe they cut bluegrass but keep Parent's Journal, one of the worst things that anyone forced to wake up at 6:30 on a saturday morning should have to listen to.
Frank Ahrens: I don't know; maybe WAMU is tuned into this discussion. Let's see if they can give us an answer by the end of the show.
Chicago, Ill.:
Two things:
First, it's been interesting to hear Howard Stern these last few weeks. Right after the bombings, he was still trying to joke, even with stuff about how portly attorney and friend of the show Dominic Barbara should have been stationed at the bottom of the WTC to cushion anyone who jumped. It sounded forced, but they tried. Then, this week, Stern has been -- in what must be a first for him, given his criticism of other deejays who do this -- raising money from listeners, ranting in a less jokey way, and generally acting like most people were two weeks ago. It's like a delayed reaction with him.
Plus, while I'm sure the chopper pilots and anyone they support are missing the work, I can't say that not having traffic copters fill the skies every morning and afternoon is a bad thing. It seemed to me to be pointless. For example, in Chicago, the Illinois Department of Transportation provides drive times on the freeways (example, "35 minutes on the Ryan from 95th to the Circle"). So why do you need a traffic copter to tell you that the freeways are crowded?
Frank Ahrens: Thanks for checking in, Chitown. And while you're at it, can you take back Michael Jordan, please? I mean, come on: What a protracted, ego-driven, media-complicitous striptease he's put us through. Just go away, already, would ya? Just wait till he gets his old behind dumped on the hardwood by an Iverson crossover. But I digress.
Yes, I've been espescially listening to Stern, who I agree has been acting responsibly and smartly. Bottom line on Stern is he's a radio professional and knows which switches to flip and when. He did cause a bunch of complaints to the FCC from his Sept. 14 show when he suggested that NYC prostitutes should donate their services to the heroic NYC firemen and cops. In a twisted sort of way, it's an homage, I guess.
And I'm with you on the choppers; the fewer of them in the air, the better. They give me the willies. And I wasn't even in 'Nam. (Must be that anti-black helicopter gene I got.)
The Airless Cubicle:
Hi, Frank and fellow group members!
In this crisis, shortwave radio and other international broadcasting has resumed an importance not seen since the end of the Cold War. Major international broadcasters, such as Deutsche Welle, the BBC, the Voice of Russia, and the Voice of America have increased their hours and frequencies in Afghanistan's and Pakistan's major languages: Pushto, Dari, and Urdu. Radio Shariya, the radio station of the Taleban, has been broadcasting between 7085 and 7090 kHz local evenings. No one in North America has heard it yet, though some European monitors have been lucky. I wish I could get Radio Shariya. It would be a catch unlike any since Radio Free Grenada, which I verified before the invasion of 1983. Like Radio Yugoslavia, Radio Shariya will be a target on the second or third day of any intensive air campaign, after the radar stations, missile sites, and fighters at Kabul Airport.
Radio Nederlands, which is now the premier service audible in North America, has promised to increase its hours of broadcasting if NATO starts bombing Afghanistan. Unfortunately, it will all be in Dutch. However, they have taken over the former BBC World Service frequency of 5695 kHz, which can be heard very well in the DC area. Try listening to their news block from 1030 to 1100 UTC, or 6:30 to 7:00 am EDT.
Radio monitors in the US have shown a remarkable level of responsibility in self-censoring "utility" reports of aircraft moving from place to place. In fact, several experienced monitors have criticized careless U.S. military operators for giving away locations of aircraft destinations. Those who are experienced can get the big picture, and piece together some details. Needless to say, I am not going to give any details out. Our country is at war.
On yet another shortwave radio front, a DIA analyst was arrested for spying for Cuba. She received her instructions from a "numbers" station run by the Cuban intellgience service, and decrypted her messages using a one-time pad method on computer disc. The station was known by monitors in the "Enigma" group as "V2a", or "Atencion," and her instructions were broadcast on 7887 kHz.
Lack of funding has hurt one of the anti-Castro groups, the Movement for Cuban Democracy; they have dropped their programming on 7415-WHRI-Noblesville, Indiana. This should mean Castro will quit jamming the station.
One final note: On October 28, 2001, radio stations around the world switch to the B-01 schedule from the A-01 schedules. Stations such as Radio New Zealand will drop of 9885 kHz, but Radio Australia will be more audible on 9850 kHz in the mornings. Check your favorite station's websites for programming changes. About the same time, the U.S. goes back to Standard Time, which means subtracting five hours from UTC to get Washington time.
Redecorating the Shelter,
The Original Dubya
Frank Ahrens: O Dubya, where would we be without you?
This is fascinating stuff; many thanks for it.
The Cuban spy story is fascinating; when did this happen?
I just got the most recent Crate & Barrel catalogue: They have a whole new line of "shelterware."
Bethesda, Md.:
Elliot in the morning was complaining about the recent accouncement that he and the station has to promote other people's shows like IMUS. Your thoughts on this situation.
Frank Ahrens: Well, SOMEONE needs to promote Imus. Imus is on WTNT (570 AM), which is owned by Clear Channel, which also owns DC101 and six other stations in Washington. WTNT has a small signal and I personally haven't seen a lot of bus stop billboards for it, so it makes sense for Clear Channel to tell its big FMers to promote Imus and other offereings on WTNT or any of its other stations. And even if Elliot is complaining about Imus on 570, he's mentioning Imus on 570, which achieves the purpose.
Mt. Rainier Md.:
Thank God for NPR. Since September 11th, I have been so grateful to have that option on the radio and to get away from the hype-and-horrors on the commercial stations. I think I'll stick with them for a good whiles now.
Frank Ahrens: Thanks for the posting. NPR did terrific work. Got an e-mail from Morniing Edition's Bob Edwards the other day, saying he was doing daily seven-hour programs, which is a looong airshift.
Frank Ahrens: Question: Is it just me (and Bob Edwards, who also brought this up to me), or does Rush Limbaugh's voice sound odd? It's like his show is being done by a very good Rush Limbaugh impersonator. On some stations, and this broke last year, a device called Cash was being used in his shows: it squeezes dead air out of the talk, compressing the talk and essentially making 62 minute-hours, which can carry more commercials. Wonder if it's this, if Rush has a cold, or some throat problem like Paul Harvey. Your thoughts? WMAL, which carries Rush--what's the deal?
Annapolis, Md.:
On Monday evening, I was on the beltway, driving from Annapolis to Macarthur Boulevard listening to WTOP and heard the EAS for the storms. I tell you one thing, after everything that has happened this month, one tone from the alert put me at attention and ready to duck and cover.
Frank Ahrens: For real. Thanks much.
Downtown Washington, D.C.:
It was impressive to hear the hosts of our favorite shows step "out of character" and try to assume the role of a legitimate news reporter. Case in point, the Junkies. They mentioned many times that they were out of place talking about what they were talking about, but they did a superb job, and they talked about it like they talk about sports: from a "common man" point of view. They had good guests, weren't lost for things to talk about, and they are to be commended for still dedicating a segment of their show now to the latest news and events surrounding the events of Sept. 11. Also, good job to WJFK for running commercial-free radio during that time.
Frank Ahrens: Agreed. Thought the Junks were terrific. It was poignant and sweet, in their way. They're smart guys and every thing that happens to them, like this, just goes farther to proving how genuine they are. Not a bit of artifice in them.
Tina in Falls Church, Va.:
Frank --
I think WTOP did an excellent job on the 11th covering the LOCAL aspects. That was my focus. They were the only ones who immediatly told me that the "booms" I heard from my backyard between about 9:30 and 10:15 were the sonic booms from the jets mustered to our skies, not more explosions. I was at Fairfax Hospital giving blood by 11 a.m. and I brought my radio -- all the people in line with me kept up with news from WTOP. Job well done.
Frank Ahrens: Thanks, Tina. Plenty of kudos to go around.
Washington, D.C.:
Whats the latest update on the Greaseman? Any word on him latching on with another station soon?
Frank Ahrens: Doug "Greaseman" Tracht got an offer from Radio America, the conservative talk network, which does Ollie North, to be a fulltime host, doing a sort of political satire show. As one Radio America source told me, "be a funny Rush." (Even tho Rush is pretty funny.) Tracht is interested but has put the offer in his back pocket; he is pursuing something else, and bigger. But no confirmations yet, so that's all you get. He is off the air on WZHF 1390 AM, but is still doing his syndicated show to about six small markets. Further, he just finished building a studio in his Potomac home, which he's been talking about for years.
Buffalo N.Y.:
Hi Frank!
What efforts are being made to ensure free speech on radio these days? Voice of America is under fire for letting the State Department dictate who they can interview. Some Clear Channel staff were told what songs they couldn't play. This seems more like Soviet style media than what I was raised to believe the US was all about.
Thank you.
Frank Ahrens: Hi, Buffalo. Thanks for checking in.
You can see the earlier bit on Voice of America. It's true they quashed the mullah interview (tho they did release bits of it in transcript form). As for the Clear Channel thing, that's been widely reported to a sort of hysteria level, here's the real story: Some programmers within Clear Channel, the nation's biggest radio chain, with more than 1,200 stations, started ginning up a list of songs that they felt has potentially offensive titles or subject matieral. This list grew as it was passed around the internal e-mail group and songs were added. At no time was this a mandated "no-play" list from Clear Channel corporate. Stations were still free to play their regular rotations. It was a watch list, not a banned list.
Rockville, Md.:
Just so you know, I've always liked your Post picture, but I saw you on some public access re-run on TV this weekend. What a cutie!
Frank Ahrens: Good god. Will please you stop watching that stuff? I don't even watch me on TV! I appreciate your nice words but I can say with all confidence and self-security: I'm no Tucker Carlson.
Vienna, Va.:
Bob Edwards listens to Rush?
Frank Ahrens: Bob Edwards sure as heck listens to Rush. They're both highly talented, proficient professional radio broadcasters. They share that, if nothing else. Edwards admires Rush's ability, and I'm sure Rush would say the same thing about Bob.
Gaithersburg, Md.:
In the aftermath of the attacks, I was glad to hear Chris Core's voice on WMAL. I think he did a great job of handling calls from the locals, as well as relaying the late-breaking news. It was kind of ironic that he happened to be on during his regular time slot, even though Sean Hannity (I hope I've got that name right) was supposed to start that week.
Although I only agree with Chris' opinion about 50% of the time, I appreciate his ability to present both sides of an issue, and I miss being able to listen to his show during my drive home at 4 p.m. Have there been any reports yet of how Sean Hannity's show is doing in its current time slot?
Frank Ahrens: Thanks for the posting. I thouht Core did a good job, as well. Too early to say about Sean Hannity, who I met at the big radio show in New Orleans a couple of weeks ago.
Want his pager number?
Wiredog:
Frank, THEY don't use black helicopters. The whole black helicopter thing is just a plot by us, I mean THEM, to get you off guard. We, I mean THEY, use chartreuse helicopters.
Frank Ahrens: See? This is why I don't sleep.
Thanks to WGMS:
For sticking with classical on the 11th with regular updates and reminders to listen to TOP for more. I needed a respite from the horror and was so grateful to GMS for being a haven.
Frank Ahrens: Fair enough. There was a definite need for counterprogramming.
Washington, D.C.:
If you were just listening to Rush, a caller asked how he was doing and Rush replied, in a very joking manner, "I am worried about my voice. When you get older, your voice is supposed to get deeper and richer, but mine is going up." Take it for what it's worth.
Frank Ahrens: Huh. That's interesting. I still suspect a major scandal that involves an El Rushbo impersonator. Wouldn't that be great?
Arlington, Va.:
With no TV in our office, we had to rely on radio (I can't remember the station for certain, unfortunately and don't want to name call letters if I might be wrong) for instructions on how to get out of town when our building was evacuated. According to the radio reports:
Metro was closed. (It wasn't).
All the Potomac bridges were closed (no, they weren't). Based on this information, I (and several others) stayed in our building long after we were supposed to have fled because we thought we had no way to get home.
Eventually, the station retracted their information on the bridges and said only the 14th Street Bridge was closed (also not true), so we all trooped (completely unnecessarily) out to the Key Bridge (where traffic was a disaster, even more so than elsewhere, although thankfully I was on foot, so for me it was just an extra couple miles of walking) to travel betwen our White House area offices and Arlington or Alexandria homes.
I realize that it was a chaotic day for every news organization and everybody got some things wrong, but the continuing misinformation on Metro/brdige closings made the evacuation of the city slower and more complicated than it needed to be. Unlike you, I wasn't at all impressed by the way radio handled the disaster, unlike either newspapers or TV (my usual media punchingbag), which outdid themselves.
Frank Ahrens: This is a good posting. Allow me to qualify: When I said I was impressed by radio's behavior, I meant that I was impressed by their quick recognition of what they had to do and their marshalling of resources to do as well as they could.
That being said, as you pointed out, some wrong information got out in the rush to get ANY information out. I hear what you're saying, tho, and the stations will see this posting. They need to be right, not just first, a lesson for us at The Post, as well.
Vienna, Va.:
One annoying thing about many radio stations is how so many of them seem to lose power and quality of reception between sunset and sunrise. They need to increase their power after sunset to compensate, yet they don't seem to be doing so. Is this an FCC regulation? If so, it should be repealed. On some AM stations in particular, after dark, many of the local ones go almost silent, while reception from faraway stations seems to increase -- you can easily get stations from the Midwest after dark that you can't begin to get in the daytime.
Frank Ahrens: The thing with AMs is this: Their signal bounces off the atmosphere (the ionosphere, I believe), which means they go UP, then back DOWN. At nighttime, as the earth cools, the ionosphere rises, which means that it deflects AM signals farther. This means that, at nighttime, AM signals that, during the daytime, would not interfere with ones on the same frequency a few towns over, would now bleed over onto them. So certains stations have to power down at nighttime to prevent interference. The big, powerful AMs, like the ones you mention from the Midwest--probably staitons in Cincinnati, St. Louis and Chicago (Boston, too)--travel even farther at night and are on frequencies that won't, the FCC deems, interfere with other ones.
Farragut North, Washington, D.C.:
From Marc and Cris's show this morning: "We've been here for three months and have been in The Post twice" (not exact quote but you get the gist). Now you've gotta admit this must put you in a bit of a quandry. I listen to them in the morning because I can just laugh at their stupidity, Cris being a lesbian just for ratings, blah blah but then they pull stunts like the Osama Pinata. What on earth do you do? You want to write about it but that's exactly what they want! This is how Clear Channel gets their audience isn't it? Soooo sleazy.
Frank Ahrens: This is the Morning Mess show on Top 40 Hot 99.5. I agree, it is a quandary. I typically don't write about radio stunts, because that's giving them the press they want. If, however, the stunt crosses over into actual news, like the Running of the Boobs contest I wrote about a couple of months ago, I go with it. I don't know if Chris is a "lesbian for the ratings;" and I wouldn't posit a guess.
Tina again -- Re: VOA:
Today's Post, on pA25 reports VOA did broadcast the interview. washingtonpost.com:
Here's the story on the interview with head of Taliban Militia:
VOA Airs Report Over Objection of State Department (Post, Sept. 17, 2001).
Frank Ahrens: Ah. Very good. I was working from The Post editorial of a few days ago, before this story was written. Hard to keep up with all the news....thanks much.
Arlington, Va.:
We were listening to WTOP in the car in Crystal City while not moving in traffic on the morning of the 11th. I thought they were terrible, trying to create more drama and make things sound even worse than they were. The main announcer guy was talking about all the panic and chaos in the streets of Washington, but there was no panic where we were. Just a lot of traffic not moving. I was actually quite angry that they were trying to make it sound like we were all running for our lives screaming "the sky is falling."
Frank Ahrens: Good posting, thanks much.
Crystal City, Va.:
Have you had an opportunity to listen to Opie and Anthony? Since Sept. 11 it seems that all they've done is spew racist and hateful comments regarding Arab-Americans and Muslims. When they're not doing this, they're screaming about bombing someone. Truly awful. It's hard to believe that some radio shows get syndicated. Overall, I find their show boring and repetitive, what do you think?
Frank Ahrens: Thanks for the heads-up; I've found it hard to listen to much daytime radio over the past couple of weeks, I've been so busy with non-radio stuff.
Washington, D.C. 20007:
Two issues with WTOP:
First, how come they don't broadcast traffic condidtions INSIDE the District? Last Thurs. after the attacks, downtown was virtually closed down and all they said was "some streets are closed around the White House." One hour to complete a normally ten minute commute. Last night, Constitution Ave westbound was a parking lot, and all they talked about was the stinkin' Beltway. Grrr... Is there some demographic reason the traffic people are ignoring Washingtonians?
Second, is anyone else offended by the advertisement WTOP's running from 1-800-AWAY-IRS? This is the one where an officious tax expert uses the attacks to offer specious advice on charitable giving and to plug his services. Completely tasteless. Grrrr, pt. 2.
Oh well. Strummer's in town next week.
Frank Ahrens: Thanks for the venting. That's what we do here. I even asked Lisa Baden why the District gets such short shift. Part of it, she says, is the District doesn't have the extensive network of traffic cameras that Montgomery County and Virginia have, and, as traffic reporters like Baden rely on the traffic cameras, they can't see the District. (The District's cameras are too busy photographing red-light runners, I guess.)
I'll see you at Strummer. It'll be silly, as the Junks say.
Washington, D.C.:
Hey Frank, Brian Oliger here, Operations Manager for WTOP. For the record, WTOP sent nine EAS alerts for the tornados on Monday: six for tornado warnings and three for flash flood warnings. Hope this answers the question posed earlier.
Frank Ahrens: Excellent. Thanks much for the prompt response. Listener gets action!
Herndon, Va.:
Hey Big Frank: After the tragedy of 9/11, I would assume that radio ratings were somewhat skewed. Does this have any impact on the "radio market"?
Frank Ahrens: Howdy, Li'l Herndon. Typically, and the last example would have been the Gulf War, the ratings for talk and news stations would spike. And they will again, no doubt. But I think all raido listenership will go up, as lots of stations dumped music programming for news. On the other hand, this is just a several-day blip; I guess you can slice your Arbitron data thin, but I don't know if you can slice it down to the day.
Herndon, Va.:
I was so grateful for the web on September 11. It took me awhile, but I finally was able to get streaming audio from AP Radio News to keep up with the events unfolding. My office had to television and the web wasn't providing information fast enough.
Do you think that this will affect stations views of streaming their broadcasts over the web?
Frank Ahrens: I'd hope so, but the streaming issue is not a listener-demand issue. It's a legal issue. Stations know that lots of office workers, typically, want Internet streaming radio. The problems are two-fold: That AFTRA contracts dictate that commercial performers get paid extra if their radio commercial appears on a streaming broadcast, and BMI and ASCAP, the music licensing organizations, demand that stations pay extra song royalties if a song is streamed on the Internet as well as played on the radio. Natrually, stations are loathe to pay extra money, so most just shut down their streams when this all blew up in the spring. Some stations have devised technology to get around this, but it's a piece-by-piece thing.
Re: Chris on 99.5:
The only reason I said the Lesbian thing about her is that I have never encountered anyone who likes to talk about her sexuality as much. Who cares if she's a lesbian or not? I sure as heck don't but just stop talking about it. You're not 18, You're probably closer to (if not) 30 stop telling your listeners about how you're "confused" that's all.
Frank Ahrens: Fair enough. Thanks for the clarification.
The Airless Cubicle:
Good call on the ionosphere, Frank. As for the VOA: they are known to be the U.S. Government's official station, which is why they aren't allowed to broadcast into the U.S. by law. It wasn't smart to hold the interview, because telling the truth 99.5% of the time is the way your international broadcasters build credibility. The top service in this regard is the BBC World Service, which is funded by the British Foreign Office. VOA is always Choice Number 2 worldwide behind the BBC because the BBC is seen as less subjective than the VOA. State Department -- stay out of VOA's way and let them do their job!
Frank Ahrens: Hear, hear, Dubya. Thanks muchly. On a sort of tangent, I know that you, like me, are a fan of "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" I've been listening to the excellent bluegrass/old-timey music soundtrack a lot recently. Much of it was music written during or about the Great Depression: Songs of people who were gripped with fear and anxiety, like Ralph Stanley's "O Death,' and "Man of Constant Sorrow" and the hobo's dream, "Big Rock Candy Mountain." Made me wonder, aside from treacly Lee Greenwood ballads (please, someone stop him!), what sort of art will emerge from this period in American history.
Frank Ahrens: That's going to do it for today, folks. Thanks for all the questions, and as alwasy sorry I couldn't get to all of them.
A shout-out to long-absent Gen X Gurl and her grieving classmates on the University of Maryland campus, where deadly tornadoes touched down this week. Hope she is well.
I'll be back at my regular time next Tuesday at 1 p.m.
See you then.
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