Big weather brings the best of radio

  When Big Weather arrives, flipping on the radio is still what people do first.

(We're having a "snow event," as they say in newsrooms these days, a term we find as annoying as "window treatments," or "water features").

Bad weather is non-controversial, and irrefutable. It's a negative outrage perpetrated by God and not a politician, or your neighbor. Everyone experiences it simultaneously and has an opinion about it which usually boils down to: it sucks!

People love to talk about the weather. It's a perfect storm, if you will, for talk radio -- KOMO and KIRO's lines have been jammed all weekend with people who never call radio shows, but just want to bitch a little, share a harrowing experience or nugget of information from their neck of the woods.

We love hearing live radio on the weekend, and only wish this weren't so rare, and limited only to snowmeggeddon or other catastrophes.

Gotta admit, listening to KIRO bsack-up host Frank Shiers sans his deluded politics is an improvement; he's certainly better skilled at chat radio than his evening counterpart Jennifer Harriman over at KOMO. She did a yeoman's job, but comes from music radio, and hasn't had the hours and

Photo: KIRO's Frank "Shiver" Shiers)

hours and hours of talk radio that Frank had the opportunity of perpetrating on all of us over the years. (that's the closest you're going to get to a compliment out of us, Frank. We're just glad KIRO management didn't call on the insufferable Peter Weissbach who they recently stole from Fisher).

While his kind of non-adversarial talk warms our hearts, it bores the shit out of us... That said, we'll be the first to say: when this kind of homey, local radio of shared community went away -- a wide swath of audience left too.

(phot: Komo's Jennifer Harriman)

 We're always predicting the demise of radio, and bitching about how nobody but old people listens to it any more. But dump 12 inches of snow on a population and see how lame new media can be at connecting communities and disseminating information.

We've had the 2nd string in all weekend on KIRO and KOMO, but you can bet the first stringers on Monday will continue the weather talk, and the lines will keep filling up no matter what else is happening in the world.

Comments

[sparky]

Ok the power did go out last night at 8pm but was back on at 10:50pm. No biggie.

I have been streaming KATU tv watching the mess in Portland. Heh,..the reporter just told people to quit calling the station complaining that they are missing Martha Stewart, that this is a little more important.

I continue to be amazed at how it looks around here...it looks like Steven's Pass or the Santiam Pass outside my window.

That car in the photo above looks like my car out in the driveway!
Im glad I have my Dodge Ram in road conditions like this!!

[Shilly]

That is not Jennifer Harriman.

[joanie]

My girls upstairs are trying to get to Portland on Alaska Airlines but all flights have been canceled. I guess the airport is a mess!

Any news on how long with is going to last. I'm still loving it!

[Duffman]

I'm not normally a fan of Frank Shires, but in inclement weather coverage he is EXcellent! He's got a pacifying radio-voice that is perfect for calming callers in distress or who are worried about the sky falling. He handles the callers with respect and gets the most information out of them in a relevant fashion so that all listeners benefit from the call. This is exactly the type of person you want manning the airwaves in this type of situation.
Kuds's Frank - you're doing one heck of a job and no one (at KIRO) could do it better. You da man!

[Duffman]

..that obviously s/be 'kudos', sorry.

[bert]

Jennifer is a MILF, though she's from Texas and hasn't yet had a brain transplant.

[sanguine today]

Frank Shier's sincerity wears on me...

[DeviantX]

Jennifer did a pretty damn good job for the card she was dealt. She tried to throw in a little humor to at least make a few callers feel a bit better. I think once she totally finder her stride, she'll sound damn good.

That is obviously not Jennifer inthe pic.

[WILD BILL]

FRANK is a good radio man. If times weren't so horrible, Bonneville should've kept him on from 10PM to 1PM. I love KIRO, but Phil Hendrie,,,,I've tried, I've tried, but,,,,I don't know, there's something about him that just doesn't work...I'm really bumming no tbtl this week!

[WILD BILL]

BECAUSE tbtl is the Baby Jesus, tbtl is the economic recovery program, tbtl is a hot greasy Dick's Deluxe steaming in the cold night air on Broadway, as the super drunk guy drops his pants in a whooosh and takes a rocket sled dump on the gang signs sprayed on the smashed window of an abandoned building across the sreet. tbtl is a Seattle Christmas Wonderland! tbtl is the third layer of white gooey fat on Mayor Mcheeze's third stomach handle. (For those International Blatherwatch readers, that refers to our provincial Mayor) tbtl, simply, is Salvation itself, from the Panic of 08, soon to be followed by the Monster Decline of 09! TBTL is HOPE itself!!!!

[Duffman]

Luke, is that YOU?

[WILD BILL]

NO, Sir Duffman (I like your threads), just local yokel WILD BILL, lifetime (44) KIRO listener, who loves the tbtl tones emanating!

[joanie]

I agree about Frank and the 10 pm slot I'm listening to so much Peter B. because there is absolutely nothing else on that I like. Ross isn't around this week; Big Ed is gone. The stand-ins just don't work for me.

It's been a meager week radio-wise.

I'd take Frank back anytime over Hedrie. Does anybody listen to Hendrie?

[AprilMayJune]

Frank is the ex-husband that looks good when you realize #2 is a psycho.

I listen to Phil H periodically; sometimes he has good guests, sometimes he is pretty "out there". I switch between PH & KGO, primarily KGO.

[sparky]

Who do you like on KGO?

[joanie]

And do you listen online or radio?

[Homer S.]

I tried to post something intelligent and I got a message saying it was potential 'comment spam' and was being 'held for review by the blog's author'. 5 bucks says it's rejected because it's honest.

[joanie]

Homer, very little is filtered on this blog. Can you find another way to say it? If it is intelligent, there must be several ways to articulate it.

[joanie]

Sorry, Homer. While I was posting, yours came through. Good post. But can't we have fondue and weather?

[Carlson (not John)]

I also would rather take Jennifer's Texas sensibilities over fondue any day of the week. She's a warm and inviting voice into everyone's vehicles (especially mine) when trapped in the middle of god knows where trying to get back home. She's funny, articulate, smart, and a fun girl to talk to.

I'd also rather be talking about something else than the weather, but when you have what I'd call Snowmageddon 2008 happening before our eyes, I'd rather listen to a girl from Texas than some burn out who barely talks about anything relevant on KIRO. At least Jenn is doing her part to provide LIVE AND LOCAL as opposed to a canned ham with a courtesy reach-around.

And yeah, that pic sucks, Jennifer is a babe.

[sparky]

The spam filter is triggered by a few magic woids. D'oh!

[blathering michael]

send my $5 bucks to the tip jar, asshole...

[Homer S.]

I'm going to guess the word "hillbilly", "supremacist" or "dump" triggered that spam filter. Thanks to the "genius" that writes this blog for letting the other side air it's opinion - and thanks to you Joanie for posting a reply with sense. You rock!

[AprilMayJune]

Question: If you are born in Seattle, live there all your life and then move to the country, when do they issue the banjo? I haven't gotten mine yet.

I listen to KGO on my CCrane radio. I like Gene Burns because he is so well-spoken and thoughtful. I like Ray Taliaferro because he is a wild man! I do not like Bill Wattenburg because he is pompous.

[Duffman]

The revealing factor was the 'CCrane radio'; on that basis alone you could conceivably qualify for the banjo. And kudos' to ya for it.

[lotus eater]

Yesterday I bravely attempted to jump start the economomy by driving haphazardly to local shopping areas. I turned on my car radio to KOMO, KIRO, KUOW and heard not a goddamn thing about any of the weather and driving issues, other than the regular news and traffic breaks. Seems like a huge missed opportunity to me, and totally inexplicable...

[Duffman]

Must be off...so would like to wish Bla'M and all herein a very Merry Christmas and the Best in the New Year. This blog continues to be entertaining and educational and I appreciate it. [to you too, Merci...]

[AprilMayJune]

Was the banjo supposed to come with the radio?

I have listened to KGO for 40+ years, even though I am a very young person. I listened in Seattle on a RCA clock radio. I guess you would say that I am a radio kind of person. I am confident that radio will survive, just as we all survived GW Bush. Isn't life grand?

[joanie]

Agreed! I can't imagine life without radio.

[Coiler]

I used to do a lot of dx in the day It was fun to see which radio had a better front end for am sens. Too much interference from all the rf crap has reduced the reception at home. One needs a receiver that will let you adjust the treble and the bass.

[Puget Sound]

KGO- Ronn Owens. Been listening to him since the late 70's. He's the 9-12 morning guy now. I first heard him when I was a kid and he did the 10-1 am shift. He was followed by a jazz legend Al 'Jazzbo' Collins who had the great Count Basie theme song 'Blues in Horse Flat' as his intro. Al is gone now but Ronn still is on top at KGO.
Back in the 70-80's you had Owen Spahn/Jim Eason to go along with Ronn Owens. What a powerhouse of local SF Radio.

[Puget Sound]

no cranky, just amused.

so sparky et al, what's your opinion on the likely upcoming Caroline Kennedy appointment as Senator?

does this feel 'right'

[Puget Sound]

so far i've been happy with the economic transition team. but as michelle malkin notes obama's people who have felt left out over the rick warren selection are also starting to take a look at this 'change we can believe in' as just 'politics as usual.' how perfect that obama holds an internal investigation to tell us that all is okay, we did nothing wrong with Gov Blago. nothing to see. just keep moving people. watched a little mad-cow last night and as james warren from the trib kept laying it out she sooooo earnestly wants to believe that obama's chief of staff is just too darn smart to get caught doing this kind of stuff. watching the cartwheels she'll be going through over the next four years will be entertaining. not to worry, the rest of us will be sure to call her on it. from michelle malkin:

"That Obama campaign line about how electing John McCain would mean four more years of Bush is getting more snort-worthy every day.
After retaining President Bush’s Defense Secretary, we now learn that Obama is keeping on most of Bush’s political appointees at the Pentagon. WT’s Bill Gertz reports:
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has asked most Bush administration political appointees except those targeted for dismissal to stay on in the Pentagon until replaced by the Obama administration in the coming months.
“I have received authorization from the president-elect’s transition team to extend a number of Department of Defense political appointees an invitation to voluntarily remain in their current positions until replaced,” Mr. Gates said in an Dec. 19 e-mail to political appointees.
The chance to stay is “available to all willing political appointees with the exception of those who are contacted individually and told otherwise,” he stated…Geoff Morrell, Pentagon press secretary, confirmed that Mr. Gates wants to retain most political appointees. He said the policy of keeping so many holdover officials is unusual for a transition from a Republican to Democratic administration.
Continuity you can believe in."
If Gates is staying on you can bet that one of his conditions would be that his key people will stay.

Seems like Obama has figured out that maybe W did 'a damn good job, Brownie'

Just laughing right now.

[Habu]

Zero is getting off to a shaky start. The Blago mess has the potential to mar his presidency from the start:

http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/blagogate-and-obama-still-many-open-questions/

His farce of an internal review is much like a doctor self treating or an attorney self defending.

Would any reasonable person expect a self examination for potential criminal activity to find anything but a pristine outcome?

I think not.

We may yet get "chains" we can count on.

[Puget Sound]

now HABU!
are you telling us that if it had been W that had performed such an internal investigation of this sort that the libs/media would have been any less believing? i find that hard to believe.
after all, they wanted W to succeed as President of the United States, right?
No partisanship, eh?

oh HABU, the pain you bring to us.

[Nevets]

I think the Investigation should focus on who forced the Tribunes hand to publish the story. Obama was getting security briefs right. Could this investigation have slipped into one of those briefs. Did Obama then pressure the Tribune to publish the story to stop the investigation. If so, he needs to be chargeed with obstruction.

[Habu]

I know, I know, how delvish of me on such a gorgeous day.

The Metrosexual Mesiah with manboobs and a pencil neck has done and can do no wrong.

Just think, on Jan 20, all pestulence will end, world peace will break out, there will be no more unemployment or need for welfare, Joanie will have an unending supply of wine, blather will have little to blather about, the military can be disbanded, Bin Laden will surrender, and we can continue to pour all of or lifes energy in to the black hole called education that currently pays so little in dividends. There will be no need for snow removal equipment as global warming will prevail and the few $ not squandered on education can be thrown at the hoax of GW.

BTW-why do college presdidents make more than the pres of the US?
Perhaps Christine could explain to the tax payers in this dire time of budget famine?

[Puget Sound]

Spot on Nevets.

What kind of Prosecutor halts the investigation when you could get the actual crime on tape?
The talk from Fitz about wanting to stop it before the Gov took an unalterable step forward is hogwash. Even if the Senator was appointed the Senate can impeach same. Which is what would happen if say, Jesse Jackson Jr. was shown to deliver a million bucks to purchase the Seat and Gov Blago appoints him.

There is a lot to this. Not to worry, we'll get to the bottom of it. Hillary and Bill will make sure that the story gets out.

Usual crowd remains quiet. Very quiet.

[Puget Sound]

Gov Christine doesn't need to explain. Queens aren't required to do so. (Just ask Princess Caroline)

Hey, people are starting to see parallels to Clinton.
First he started off with a Travel Gate (here we got Blago Gate) and then Clinton went ahead and had issues with Gays in the Military while here we got Obama having issues with Gays and Rick Warren.

Meanwhile, the professionals will be in charge of our defense. Thank you Mr. Robert Gates.

[Chuck from Tacoma]

Can you all just imagine how much better off our nation would have been if the investigations would have stopped when Nixon publicly professed "I am not a crook"? I am pretty certain that our left leaning friends would have still had a question or two.
I can just picture coiler or joanie saying "screw it, let it go, he says he is clean". Pretty sure Bla'M would have dropped it and invited us all to the Empress for tea.

[Puget Sound]

yes, and then we would have had a good time singing Kumbaya around the 'Holiday Tree'...

it's the hypocrisy that galls. but they've had a grea time on offense for the past 8 years and now they get to play some defense. should be interesting.

Bush 41 told Clinton to let the Special Prosecutor law lapse and not to renew. To his everlasting regret he renewed it.

Can one imagine how excercised Henry Waxman would be if you swapped out Obama/Emanuel/Blago for W/Rove/Tommy Thompson.

Yikes. You couldn't keep his pie hole shut.

[Nevets]

Good comparison Chucks. As Puts would say. Spot-on.

[Coiler]

The difference is Nixon's own party was willing to feed him to the wolves. You guys both know how it turned out--your side is always big on revisionism, so nothing is new here.

[Chuck from Tacoma]

You are so very right there Coiler. Barry Goldwater and other prominant Republicans schooled Nixon and convinced him to resign. If Nixon had been a Democrat, the wagons would circle and protect him at all costs. That is something I noticed when I was still a Democrat. Have as yet to see anything to the contrary.

[Puget Sound]

So Coils
What you're saying is that faced with the same decision the Dem Party won't do the right thing?
For the good of the country?
Surely -and yes I am calling you Shirley- you wouldn't want blind obedience to 'the Party' now would you?
It's so early right now. But 'Shirley' we are not getting off on the right foot with the most ethical Administration in history?
Don't worry Coils, the Clinton's will always be standing slightly off to the side willing to give a needed push -shove?- when necessary.

[sparky]

It has been snowing here since 1 am and has not stopped. It is like being in a snow globe. It is certainly beautiful out, and a treat to have a White Christmas. I remember growing up, being able to go right outside to ride the new bike or play with other toys because all we had was a little quiet rain. As much of a pain it is to drive in, this snow makes everything look fresh and clean.

I hope you can all manage to have a nice Christmas, despite your meager attempts to cling to any nugget of possible bad news you can find out about President Obama.

[Chuck from Tacoma]

By the people that brought you "the most ethical Congress in history".
Ye, right.

[Coiler celebrting out first black president]

No, what I'm saying is you guys never got over it. History is history, there was no dem in office then. How can you make a comparison? And this "when I was still a democrat" is utter bullshit. Are you "ex dem" by chance?

[Chuck from Tacoma]

Nope, just chucks. Yes, a vocal supporter of Geo McGovern and Jimmy Carter. Carter showed my the error of my way. Only voted for him once. He was like tequilla, good at first, but once you got your fill and puked a few too many times, you just can't go back.

[Habu]

The dims very own party rag is going belly up at a rapid pace:

NEW YORK, Dec 24 (Reuters) - The New York Times Co's (NYT.N) November advertising revenue fell 20 percent, the company said on Wednesday, illustrating how the financial crisis is aggravating dizzying revenue declines at U.S. newspapers.

Pity.

Not.

Suggest a radical fix: report without the leftist slant.