When a national news event breaks, that the entire world is watching, how does a local all-news station located several states away get in on the action? It’s good to be part of a larger company with assets everywhere. Here’s how 1010 WINS in New York did it.
About how events spiraled out of control Wednesday, 1010 WINS Director of News & Programming Ben Mevorach says given the tensions in the country, he was not surprised. “We have learned from past experience to no longer assume that protests are peaceful events. We hope for that but we must prepare for things to unravel. Even so, we did not appreciate the magnitude of it until it was underway.”
Mevorach tells Radio Ink the events on Wednesday were a great example of how the value, strength and resources of Entercom’s all-news stations, news/talk stations and its digital assets all came together to provide immediate, deep, and meaningful coverage of the story. “For example, KYW was the closest news operation to the Capitol so they immediately sent two reporters to the scene, giving all of our stations, all across the country, access to them. Our other news stations were working their sources, conducting live interviews with their congressional members, etc. and sharing that content across all of our stations and platforms. As a result, we had incredibly compelling stories from so many people. We were able to share first-hand accounts of the chaos, provide perspective and capture the emotion. When NY Congressman Ritchie Torres made the defining powerful assessment on 1010 WINS that, “My heart is broken for our democracy, ” we were able to share it with millions of people within moments of it being said. Our digital teams under the radio.com umbrella were also providing wall-to-wall coverage, tweeting, posting, and sharing information. Collectively, we were able to tap into hundreds of our reporters, writers, producers, etc. within Entercom. The coordination is nothing short of remarkable. I don’t think there’s another media company that has the depth, diversity, and reach, in real time, on so many platforms.”
Entercom’s robust roster of news stations has an internal system that triggers different coverage plans based on events. As a result they were wall-to-wall with the help of their network partners within minutes of the start of the assault on the Capitol they stayed wall-to-wall until 7pm. Mevorach says at that point he was able to re-assign existing personnel to book interviews, call sources, and map out plans for next day coverage. “One of our congressional sources warned us that their was a possibility that State offices in our area could be targeted. Fortunately that did not happen but we had to prepare for it and we had personnel on standby and ready to go.”
And, in today’s world, social media plays such a big role in how people get their news and use it to respond to what they see happening. Mevorach points out that’s something you always need to jeep an eye on. “As you would expect, it can be a great reflection of the diversity and democracy we live in but it can also be a place where opinion supplants facts and anonymity can breed hate. We are lucky because our social media is dominated by the dissemination of unbiased news and we tend to attract consumers who appreciate that and act accordingly.
Mevorach says his 1010 WINS team performed their duties brilliantly Wednesday. “Think for a moment about the types of breaking news stories that have happened in New York over the years. This newsroom is battle tested, prepared for everything and is at its absolute best when things are at their absolute worst. And being at their best is knowing not just what to broadcast or put on digital platforms but what NOT to put there as well.
