The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports because WIOD-AM Miami-Ft. Lauderdale airs Rush Limbaugh, some Democratic politicians in Broward County there don't want to renew with the station to broadcast official hurricane information.
WIOD has been the official channel for emergency info from Broward County government for the past year. "The County Commission, all Democrats, balked at renewing the deal Tuesday, unable to stomach the station also being home to Limbaugh's talk show," said the story.
Commissioner Stacy Ritter said she did not want to support a station that's out of step with area politics. Ritter, a Democratic stalwart in the state Legislature before being elected to county office, cited talk shows hosted by Limbaugh and Sean Hannity and WIOD's partnership with Fox News.
"They have every right to speak, but we don't have to do business with them," she told the paper.
The deal with WIOD would ensure that news conferences are broadcast start to finish live from the county Emergency Operations Center in Broward County. Emergency managers became concerned during hurricanes in 2004 and 2005 that radio and television stations preempted their announcements in favor of news out of Miami/Dade County.
WIOD Program Manager Ken Charles told The Miami Herald the county's emergency hurricane information will simultaneously broadcast on its other station, WINZ-AM Miami. That station is affiliated with the liberal Air America.
SmartMedia observation: WIOD has one of the best signals on the AM dial there. Shouldn't that be the issue? Official information/announcements shouldn't be politicized. People shouldn't have to search around for official information while the power is out and the wind is blowing at 100 mph.
