Comment on Mandel quote
Well, we asked for comment on yesterday's opinion on the NYC strike from Jon Mandel, Chairman/MediaCom US and Chief Global Buying Officer MediaCom Worldwide (12/21/05 RBR #248) and we got it:
"What does the commuter tax have to do with people in the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island not being able to get to work? I have to laugh at the Manhattan elite that forget REAL NYers reside in the 'outer boroughs'.
I thought the spirit of the article was going to be about NYers having to drive to work and listen to more Radio; now that would have been refreshing.
Anonymous (I still want to get bought by Mediacom)."
Indeed, the New York Daily News story, "Nothing can beat radio info during strike," detailed how as the transit strike tied knots around the city, local radio became both information central and an opinion forum that suggested annoyance with the inconvenience and yet considerable support for the transit workers.
excerpts from the story
All-news WINS (1010 AM) and WCBS-AM (880) both dropped virtually all other coverage through the morning, as did news/talk WABC (770 AM) and WWRL (1600 AM).
WINS executive editor Mark Mason said all vacations were canceled and the staff was put on a schedule of 12 hours on and 12 hours off.
News/talk WOR (710 AM), public radio WNYC (820 AM) and local morning host Mark Riley on Air America (1190 AM) devoted most of their shows to the strike. It was also a primary topic on WBAI (99.5 FM).
Many music and entertainment stations noted it only in passing, and several hosts like Howard Stern of WXRK, Imus of WFAN and Steve Harvey of WBLS were on vacation. Still, the strike became a focal point on WRKS (98.7 FM) and WQHT (97.1 FM), with commentary as well on WWPR (105.1 FM).
WWPR host Star played audio clips of remarks by Transit Workers Union President Roger Toussaint with sound effects of bullets whizzing past his ears and Star saying, "This is an SOB who needs bulletproofing."
WINS, WCBS-AM and WABC focused on nuts-and-bolts coverage, including alternative transportation and analysis of where the TWU and the MTA disagree on a new contract.
"We had the whole staff on it," said news director Tim Scheld of WCBS-AM. "It's the kind of story where everyone in the city depends on you."
"There wasn't even a discussion on devoting most of the morning to it," said program director Rennie Bishop of WWRL. "It affects 7 million people."
Bishop noted that radio also provided a real-time outlet for people to talk about the impact of the strike, and like programmers at other stations, he said lines were jammed all morning.
In a WWRL poll, 71% of respondents blamed the MTA and only 14% blamed the transit workers, which Bishop said he found "a little surprising. I would have thought it would have been more even."
Almost every station that took calls found support for the transit workers. "I've used the transit system for years," said Margaret, a caller to WOR, "and I've talked with many workers about the horrible conditions. We need to support them."
On the other side, some callers and hosts were angry.
Mid-morning host John Gambling of WABC called it "an outrage that the TWU has struck and put this city in jeopardy."
"It's personal and it's selfish," said WWRL co-host Karen Hunter. "Seven million people shouldn't be treated this way."
In the bigger picture, several programmers said no medium can match local radio on this kind of story. "Our reporters, editors and managers have literally hundreds of years of collective experience and ride the same trains and buses as our listeners," said Mason. "There's just no substitute for that kind of local knowledge and seasoning."
"I keep hearing about the music on satellite radio," said Boyce, "but satellite doesn't do you any good on a day like this."
"People say radio is a dinosaur," said Scheld, "but when something like this happens, they want us there."
Good Morning - Gain a personal edge on today's business day. Are you reading this from a forwarded email?
