Tag: disasters

Industry Views

Emergency Radio

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

 

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By Michael Harrison
Publisher
TALKERS

imgLet’s look into the crystal ball. Humor me if you will.

The year is 2030 and someone invented a new radio brand that was recognized by the end of the 2020s as the most innovative AM format to come down the pike since “news/talk” and “all sports” rose to prominence some three decades earlier (although the need for it was plainly obvious for years). It is even credited with “saving the AM band” like Rush Limbaugh did back in the 90s.

Now, at the start of the 21st century’s third decade, this approach to on-air broadcasting exists across America on approximately 20 major and medium market AM outlets and is tagged by a variety of brand names including “Emergency Radio,” “Emergency Room,” “First Responder AM,” and more. (One outlet has been tagged “The Flashlight 570” and another is being called “The Hero 710.”)  How about “Crisis 1050?”

It is a commercial format with an extraordinarily wide array of potential advertisers, and it is an “image buy” that defies being dependent on ratings. What image-conscious company wouldn’t want the prestige of sponsoring such a positive media force?

Of course, it streams on the internet and has a syndication component – but it wears its “live and local” dimension and its AM dial frequency like a double-edged sword of honor because by 2030 it has become painfully obvious that the electric grid as provided by digital technology is a fragile structure indeed.

We hold this TRUTH to be self-evident

Emergency Radio is based on the self-evident truth that it is very challenging to be a human being in an environment in which the world is constantly bombarding each and every individual with disasters. Please pardon my messy metaphor – but hurricanes are merely the tip of the iceberg.

The human race is plagued by non-stop natural disasters, man-made disasters, medical disasters, financial disasters, emotional disasters, technical disasters, ethics disasters, and a tsunami of anxiety!

Emergency Radio provides real time help in conveying accurate live and local information to the immediate market during fires, floods, earthquakes, pandemics, accidents, and random acts of violence.

Emergency Radio also provides information about disasters happening around the nation and world.  The volcano in a far-away country. The kid trapped in a well in the next state.

But it doesn’t stop there. “Slow news days” are filled with a whole array of revivable radio syndication initiatives that focus on feelings, anxiety, relationships, money, and a slew of real-life problems that impact each and every one of us on a seemingly constant basis. Emergency Radio simply puts them under a different generic umbrella. The world around us, near and far, is one big potential drama waiting to be tapped on the great stage known as the theater of the mind.

Emergency Radio unabashedly recognizes that life’s a bitch and that people need help – including honest inspiration.

BACK TO THE PRESENT: The only problem standing in the way of this prophesy being self-fulfilled is that it will take a bit of a budget still not considered feasible by industry standards and a whole lot of work.

Michael Harrison is the founder of TALKERS.  He can be emailed at michael@talkers.com.    

Industry News

U.S. Senate Reintroduces AM Radio Bill

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

The U.S. Senate is reintroducing the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act. If passed into law, it would “require the Transportation Secretary to issue a rule requiring vehicles manufactured in or imported into the U.S. to have devices installed that provide access to AM radio. It would also, among other things, ensure that AM is easily accessible to the driver and require motor vehicles that do not include AM radio (in the period between enactment and prior to the Transportation Secretary issuing the new rule) to be labeled as such to consumers in a clear and conspicuous manner.” The NAB responds to the news saying that “recent disasters like the Los Angeles wildfires and hurricanes in the southeast underscore AM radio’s unique role in delivering evacuation orders, emergency alerts and recovery information under the most challenging conditions. Its unmatched reach ensures critical information reaches those who need it, including rural and remote areas where cellular networks and internet access are unreliable.” NAB adds that “more than 125 organizations, including the National Emergency Management Association, American Farm Bureau Federation, AARP, Native Public Media, and the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters, have endorsed the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act. Their support underscores AM radio’s vital role in public safety and its importance to communities nationwide.”