Fisher Plaza: Fire in the hole!

[LITTLEBOYBLUE]

I saw one post that suggests there should be better redundancy, etc.  One thing should be clear:  The engineering team has been asking for all kinds of foresight-related things.  They get shot down when the suits can't find "return on investment".  Today should be an interesting spreadsheet exercise for such return:

Amount of revenue generated in Seattle:  $0

P/R on the efforts to keep news the #1 focus are enormous, and I hope the "right" people appreciate that effort and result.  On the other hand, P/R nighmare with regard to the data center interruption issues are going to keeping at least one P/R firm word processor very, very busy.

Main thing ... engineers HAVE been fighting for what is right all along.  They don't deserve any unnecessary speculation about their skill set ... ESPECIALLY after the exceptional job they have done in the last 24 hours.

As far as triage goes...probably the right call to let KVI go.  So many switching issues involved with multiple satellite feeds, weekend shows, etc. that perhaps the ONLY easy alternative would have been to patch a Fox News 24/7 feed to the KVI xmitter; but the limited number of people have been appropriately busy focusing on news and other issues.  KOMO-radio is sounding very good considering what they have to work with!

[Jumper]

To be clear, the engineers at Fisher have not voluntarily reduced their numbers!  In fact, Fisher used to have Fisher once employed the largest, most advanced engineering dept. In Seattle. The business management "consolidation" madness that has pummeled the radio industry took it's toll yesterday.

Hats off to the staff who are left to cope with too large a circumstance such as this.

Though, someone obviously missed a detail around power failure, or else this facility would not be offline. Not to mention the lack of doomsday type facilities at *all* of the transmtter facilities.  Doesn't cost much to place a small automation node (a PC) loaded with audio...

There are plenty of recent stories about studio facilities getting "struck" by calamity and the resultant loss.

There is a god, and his name is Murphy! 

[Goldilocks94941]

I have to join in to agree that the airstaff and behind the scenes folks at KOMO-AM have come thru like the professionals they really are.   NOTE TO KOMO PROGRAM DIRECTOR AND GM:  As a part of their targeted audience, I think it actually sounded BETTER on Friday without the literal bells and whistles (so that's what they're using for "sounders" etc).  Get rid of the fakey voiced positioning statements two and three times in every commercial set, get rid of the kung fu wooshing sounds, and, at least in drive time, have a dual anchor team present news information and some not-inappropriate conversation between themselves and the traffic and sports presenters.  Adults talking to adults. 

It's really more listenable now, tho' I admit the lack of commercials helps to keep me from tuning away when annoyed by a screamer.    It actually sounds a lot closer to the relaxed and professional tone of NPR programming now, and this approach might be a real way to share more audience with KUOW by toning down the audio gimmicks  (which actually serve as tune-outs for mature, educated people), and offering the listener local hosts presenting news and info on a tight clock, with expert traffic, weather, sports presenters. 

The ABC radio mini "specials" they started to throw in in the evening were kinda lame, and hearing the full Sarah Palin resignation speech could have been delayed until after the hourly newscast.  Why not read more AP copy for national and international news, too?  And more news from neighborings states and BC, too.  (There's a lot of former Alaska and California residents here.)  That's what we're starving for, since there really isn't any spot news anymore on cable TV, apart from the local stuff on NWCN.   

Otherwise, as one who has likewise had to punt during power outages, tornados, earthquakes and floods, to deliver news and programming on the air --  kudos to the broadcast pros who don't take a vacation on a holiday weekend to lounge at their summer island home when there's work to be done and people to be served. 

Consider this to be practice for when the Big One hits Seattle.   

By contrast, I think KOMO's "people to people" open phones during the two week long snow emergency in December was pretty lame, yet was still the only thing out of all of Seattle radio stations to at least try to address the inability to get out of the house for two weeks to get to work, appointments, etc.  "Just stay home if you don't have to be anywhere!" really didn't help when major arterials never saw a snow plow, and a little salt on a sunny afternoon would have actually melted the ice on the hills.  But the city sold us short, and KOMO could have help their feet to the fire, as it were, at the time.   

Maybe next time, having a few well-connected people with DOT, city hall, etc on the air to answer questions and be accountable will raise the open phones above the level of the anonymous bad advice on sliding your car in neutral.  That seemed to be the only topic I heard all day back then when I was trying to figure out how to safely get off of Queen Anne hill and get to the airport in time for an expensive nonrefundable flight out of town!   

But I digress.

Thanks again, KOMO folks, for rising above your circumstances to provide programming.  The TV newscasts on the balcony were also great.  Not bad on a hot holiday weekend for us viewers to join you on the patio, actually.  The sales department can wait to do make goods.  It's the news and information that, as it has in this case, should always come first. 

[swhyde1980]

I remember when our last "big one" hit in February 2001.  I was in Mike Scott's class at Bates when that one happened (during the earthquake, turned to one of my classmates under the desk, and said "now this is fun!").  KBTC-TV got knocked off the air for a few seconds.  I ran over to Master Control (student-run at the time in Downtown Tacoma, next to the classroom), and helped get everything back on the air (albeit about 2 minutes of bars & tone, while helping get all the stuff back on).

I also remember during September 11th 2001, KBTC-TV was simulcasting KOMO-TV, but cutting away during their promos and commercials, and also some cut-ins with Paul Jackson, doing a live interview over the phone with the president of Bates Technical College at the time, who happened to be in Washington D.C. for an educational conference and witnessed some of the news there.  I Got to switch that day.... PBS wasn't doing anything in the way of news coverage, so we decided to provide KOMO's news coverage (whom in turn, was broadcasting ABC's coverage), mostly for the over-the-air viewers south of Tacoma and on the coast, who may not have had cable, and no easy reception of the Seattle stations.  (or Portland stations, as the case with south Lewis County and south Pacific County, relying on KCKA and K65BU)

[djdan]

I must admit I tuned in to hear what was happening on KOMO, KPLZ and KVI, plus KOMO-TV.  I agree they all did a very good job.  KOMO-AM went wall to wall news with no commercials and it sounded better than they usually do with more time to tell the information in a relaxed way.  I did not miss the loud voicers and staging at all.  Might be something to this.   KPLZ went wall to wall music which was very smart and could lead to some big numbers if their PPM system was operational.  In fact both KOMO and KPLZ could get some big numbers out of this with the publicity.  Of course if they weren't encoding they will be killed, since we are no longer in a diary world.  KOMO-TV looked damn good and fun for a holiday weekend.  Only KVI was off the air.  Sounds like everyone got back on by the time I got up this morning.   I fell asleep with KPLZ on and no commercials.  I even enjoyed the music.   Guess the PPM will tell the story of the day.

[Joe_Capitano]

Sounds like KOMO's news team got a trip to Kerry part a day earlier than expected, before their 4th of July broadcast!

Perhaps you haven't heard the news: There is no fireworks show on KOMO this year. Ivar's show is defunct.

However, KOMO did get some good use out of its porches in this nightmare.

BTW: In a sense I consider this a "Revenge of the Gods" considering that I and thousands of other viewers were without Fisher stations for 25 weeks due to a fee dispute.

[xmtrland]

KOMO had fire works..... Thursday night in the Parking Garage at Fisher Plaza (bet it cost tons more than Ivars). And again Friday during the 11pm news some quick thinking folks in West Seattle realized they could get there fire works on Camera when KOMO had a shot of the news anchors with West Seattle as the background. I saw at least one nice fire works display in the background.

[Goldilocks94941]

Yeah, the occasional fireworks from W Seattle and Uptown in the background was a nice touch.  So were the changing colors of the Pacific Science Arches which they framed as their backdrop.  A genuine sense of place there on an unusually hot 3rd of July that all of the computer generated graphics and sound effects could never convincingly convey.   

With all of the noise and bigger than ever bugs and visual/audio distractions that so many stations seems convinced they have to do "Why?  because Fox started it??"  - I'm wiling to bet that one that just tones it down and gives us good reporting and delivery of the news might just be the one that actually stands apart from the visual and audio clutter that's making it hard to focus on what's being said anymore. 

Anyone at KING/ KONG paying attention to this?  The twirling supersized bug in the lower right corner seems inconsistent with the tone you otherwise convey.  Same thing for the whooshing at the start of the news.  We're not infants needs sparkling shiney things to get our attention!

[sdwulfdawg]

It is shocking and sad to me that American broadcasting has been reduced to such a sorry state to the point that a major player as KOMO/Fisher would be brought down to its knees with a small fire in a parking structure. If anything this could be interpreted as shadowing to terrorists around the world that if they want to do their evil works, they can plan something, Heaven forbid, something more devastating by targeting ill equipped major broadcasters as a first line of hits.

Here in San Diego, now more than ever a colony of Los Angeles, Clear Channel no longer maintains a local news and information presence. NBC Universal now outsources weather news to a weathercaster in Los Angeles.

Simply said, radio and television broadcasters need to be MORE than relayers of commercials and infomercials for Shamwow and colon blow. The concerned American public needs to demand "the Messiah" at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue order a rollback of the corporatization of radio and television remind and demand that broadcasters of their duty to serve the public interest, convenience and necessity.  Having a situation where a broadcasting station does not have redundancies to prevent a total collapse is totally unacceptable.

With an allusion to recent critical comments about "The Messiah" by comic Bill Maher, that would mean Obama would actually need to spend time at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and not be constantly flitting around the world with his family or posing in front of every television camera at every opportunity....and we know that won't happen anytime soon.

[Jumper]

Well said.  Here in Seattle, if anyone's version of the "Big One" were to hit our marketplace, the skeleton crews remaining at the broadcasting stations simply couldn't cope. As they couldn't for KVI or Star 101. I can't *even* remember how long it's been since this sustained level of technical failure (off air) last occurred.

Local stations should serve local communities!