(By Mike McVay) Many radio stations today will present a moment of silence to remember those who were lost on 9-11-01. The September 11 attacks caused the deaths of 2,996 people, including 2,977 victims and 19 hijackers who committed murder–suicide. Thousands more were injured, and long-term health effects have arisen as a consequence of the attacks.
The moments when the world changed; 8:46am – American Airlines #11 crashes into the North Tower. 9:03am – United #175 crashes into the South Tower. 9:45am – American Airlines #77 crashes into The Pentagon. 10:10am – United #93 crashes in a field in Pennsylvania.
Many of us experienced the shock of the news that morning, the fear in all of North America, and the focus on personal and family safety while we witnessed the unity of a nation. All of media went into crisis coverage mode. We delivered the news, interrupted and altered programming, worked around the clock, and made personal sacrifices to inform and serve a community. Music stations simulcasted their news/talk sister stations, joined news networks for coverage, or carried audio from television stations that were presenting wall-to-wall coverage. These are tactics worthy of repeating in any crisis.
Crises are seldom telegraphed. They often catch an unsuspecting world off-guard. Earthquakes, forest fires, and floods are unpredictable and can be sudden. The same goes for an act of war, like on 9-11. Weather events are the only ones that give some kind of warning, but that doesn’t mean they’re any less surprising when they occur. The recent fire in Lahaina on the island of Maui magnified the need for the use of an early warning system. It wasn’t activated there. When Hurricane Idalia hit Florida in August, it did significant damage with minimal loss of life mainly because the warning system was utilized, evacuation activated, and ongoing coverage kept those in the hurricane’s path informed.
It’s not unusual for a station’s on-air talent to stay behind in order to serve a community with ongoing coverage, even though today’s technology can allow for a full evacuation by enabling remote broadcasting. Of course, this isn’t always an option for the technical and engineering team. Historically, over-the-air stays on-air longer than digital, but simulcasting on both as long as possible is the best way to provide coverage. It is important to promote, in advance, the various locations where a station can be heard and on what devices – including a battery-operated radio.
Do you have a news partner that you can join forces with to deepen your coverage? A semi-annual preparedness meeting with that partner will provide a sense of security and comfort among both teams regarding knowing what to do when situations occur that warrant crisis coverage. Be sure to inform and engage part-time talent, too. Everyone on your team should know what to do and how to do it in the face of a possible disaster. During such situations, the sales department may also activate to approach those businesses that can provide comfort and convenience during a crisis or disaster.
Being prepared for the next crisis should be standard operating procedure. Every radio station should have a First Aid Kit on hand. Multiple flashlights and extra batteries. A supply of water. At least two days of non-perishable food supply. Moist towelettes, garbage bags, and plastic ties for personal sanitation in case water pressure is lost. A wrench or pliers to turn off utilities. A manual can opener for food. A charged cell phone and a backup charged cell phone. There should be a contact list in your studio. Something “old school” on paper. If the power is out or digital is down many of the devices we use for communication will be inactive.
Crises are unplanned. Planning for them is how we best serve our communities.
Mike McVay is President of McVay Media and can be reached at [email protected]. Read Mike’s Radio Ink archives here.
Do we spend more time here daily with radio’s problems than we do in solving them? Yup. I noted another blog post from Eric Rhodes posted in 2018 talking about additional problems with radio-(none of those have been resolved either)-but this is most important. In 2001 in San Diego we had the resources to cover all of our 15 (yes there were 15) stations in our building. In 2003 when wild fires ravaged the county we could do the same. In 2023 when a hurricane scraped the area -we had to rely on L.A. radio to keep us informed. So, when the next disaster strikes we can do this all again-and hope there’s someone left in the local stations to at least keep the transmitter on because in a disaster, “More Hit Music” is really important.
My partner and I were on the air when it happened and we had a TV monitor on (volume down) in the studio that morning (we usually did, just in case news broke.) I remember glancing over and thinking, “What the Hell?” when we saw the replay. We immediately called our local FBI contact, the head of our city’s airport security, my brother (who was based with a major airline and flew out of New York,) our mayors and state police, asking them what measures were being taken to keep our city safe. We got answers from ALL of them because we were local, we always talked about local civic events. They answered our call, and we all did our best to reassure our city and keep them connected to what was happening on a tragic and terrifying day. We went from being a music station to being a news/talk station for the next few hours. We had full support and encouragement from our program director (Jon Zellner.) That’s community radio.
Thank you, Mike. It’s necessary, appropriate, very very important to remember what we should be doing when those extreme situation’s happen in our communities. This is why Radio needs to be LIVE and NEEDS to be L. O. C. A. L. Does your station have an emergency plan prepared?