Radio - A Lifeline During Crisis

America's Gulf Coast is once more in recovery mode, this time after being bombarded by Hurricane Ike. You may not get hurricanes in your market, but crisis coverage is often weather-related. It's the chance to make your station shine in listeners' eyes and ears. An Arbitron study of listening during a typical hurricane season found radio use increased greatly during and after storms. Radio was often the only lifeline when the electric service was cut. Arbitron says radio is the #1 choice for information during hurricanes ... even though some stations actually broadcast TV audio.

Outstanding coverage requires preparedness.

Have generators and charged batteries, food stocked and sleeping arrangements for reporters, a top-notch contact list and a solid on-air execution plan. If your resources are more limited, consider a shared or simulcast broadcast with an area TV station or newspaper. It's also important to look to your staff for reporting chores from their homes or travel routes, or to assume positions at critical points (major intersections, shelters, visual vantage points, etc.).

Present news without sounding like the world is ending.

Sound smooth, calm and informative. Coverage mirrors listener life patterns. For blizzards, road reports should mirror traffic patterns, one to two hours earlier, so listeners can plan their travel. In floods and hurricanes, evacuees want to know when they may return home. Listeners want to feel in touch and in control, so open your phone lines for an old-fashioned party line. Live listener reports add realism and "high touch" to your coverage. The story of a studio in Florida surrounded by water filled with Ike-displaced gators is a stunning visual and would prompt interesting listener response.

Have a plan.

When a crisis or emergency occurs, you'll wish you had a plan for dealing with such events. It's the very reason why fire crews practice disaster drills. Earthquakes, blizzards, floods, tornadoes and hurricanes all have particular coverage strategies. The Lund Consultants can help develop your custom coverage plan for your market. If you live and work near the San Andreas or New Madrid faults, an earthquake plan is in order. If your station is in the Snow Belt, the plan deals with road closures, power outages, closings of schools and workplaces, etc. Coastal areas have hurricanes, and the Midwest gets tornadoes.

A crisis doesn't have to be weather-related.

9/11, school shootings and the recent California wildfires are tragic reminders of the necessity to be prepared and plan ahead in order to instantly react to the unexpected. Everyone has the threat of fires, explosions, civil unrest, plane crashes and terrorist actions. How you deal with each of these is different, but some common threads should be part of your plan.

What constitutes an emergency?

Knowing when to say something on your air is important. You want to provide timely information, but you don't want every parent in town showing up at a school bus crash.

Who is in charge?

Every battle needs a general who's in full command. This is no time for a committee.

Who goes where?

Assign staff members, including sales and office people, to special jobs. Add more people on the phones as needed, and have extra eyes and ears on cell phones for road reports, eyewitness stories, etc.

Who do you call?

A good phone list or Rolodex is vital. Know whom to call. Get their cell phones, pagers and e-mail addresses in advance. Murphy's Law of disasters is that the phone book always disappears when you need it, and the fire chief has an unlisted number.

Where are the batteries?

Some emergencies happen without electricity. Keep a battery kit on hand and freshly charged. Does your station have a generator to power the transmitter and studios?

The Lund Disaster Stylebook was created for and utilized by client stations across the US and in the Caribbean.