I’d be remiss to not include an update from a great local radio station – one that our last blog didn’t give enough credit to and one that the chatter on the message boards sold short last week in the wake of the ice storm. WEIM AM was back on the air Friday night, December 12 with the help of the Fitchburg Fire Department and their Station Manager Ben Parker. Here is an example of the best of local broadcasting. Parker worked around the clock to keep the station running and was on-air delivering important emergency information to stricken communities of Fitchburg, Leominster, Gardner and several surrounding towns. In a time when our stations are cutting corners, personnel and promotions to save money, this station did what it needed to do to help residents through a crisis. They should be commended. See more information below. Have a great localism story to share? Please send it to me at deanna@massbroadcasters.org.

AM 1280 The Blend, (WEIM-Fitchburg, MA) has been providing extensive coverage of the on-going ice storm cleanup in North Central Massachusetts. Residents of Leominster, Fitchburg, Gardner, Lunenburg, Westminster, Ashburnham, Ashby, Townsend and the surrounding communities have been turning to AM 1280 for up to the minute information since the storm ended last Friday.

The station, owned by Central Broadcasting Company, LLC has been taking phone calls from area residents and has interviewed the area mayors and officials throughout the week also providing updated power outage reports, shelter information, school and business closings, phone numbers and debris removal information. Station Manager and morning show host Ben Parker who has been anchoring much of the coverage says “the radio station is doing what it can to provide information and is again showing how important such radio stations are to the areas they serve”. “People have been calling to tell us that we are a lifeline for them”. Many people have called and received help because of the stations broadcasts explains Parker. “One gentleman told us he was out of firewood and with an ill wife might only make it a few more hours. He gave his phone number and got several calls, and the firewood he needed to stay safe and warm”. Morning Blend co-host Scott May has been providing news and information and says “having lived here all our lives, Ben and I are familiar with the towns that we serve, the neighborhoods and the people. I think that provides a deeper understanding of what folks are going through, and a level of comfort that the listeners won’t find anywhere else.”

AM 1280’s Kate McCool has been providing news reports in the afternoon. Ray Chalifoux, David Letters, Anne Bisbee, Dave Clark and Randy Feldman also contributed to reports. AM 1280’s “Mega 1280” which provides evening and weekend reports in Spanish also relayed information to the Latino Community.

Operating on generator power from their transmitter site on Alpine Hill and using generator power for the first 36 hours of coverage from their Water Street studios, AM 1280 has been able to coordinate information and relay it to approximately 200-thousand residents in the Heart of New England. Among those who have joined the station to relay information directly to residents were, Leominster Mayor Dean Mazzarella, Fitchburg Mayor Lisa Wong, Gardner Mayor Mark Hawke, Lt. Governor Tim Murray, House Speaker Sal Dimasi, State Rep. Steve Dinatale, State Senator-Elect Jen Flangan, Ashburnham Selectman Chris Gagnon, Lunenburg Selectman Thomas Alanzo, Lunenburg Police Chief Dan Bourgeois, Westminster Selectman Nick Hay, Lunenburg School Superintendent Loxi Calmes and Worcester County Sheriff Guy Glodis.

General Manager Bill Macek says “this is the type of thing a radio station like ours is supposed to do, and in a world of corporate radio, AM 1280 continues to serve it’s communities with important information.”

Since the Northeast Ice Storm first hit a week ago, a number of stations in Central Mass have helped residents with emergency information. While nearly all of them were initially knocked off the air by the crippling storm, they were back on with generator power soon and providing around-the-clock news and information for those left without power – proof that LOCAL broadcasters are still thriving here in the Bay State. A number of calls and emails have come into the Association and many more people, once power and Internet were restored to them, left comments on message boards and blogs. Here’s just a few:

Comments coming in from some message boards:

I just wanted to put it out there that WTAG had very good live coverage and information about the ice storm last Friday.  We live in Fitchburg, and WEIM was off the air until Saturday when the Fitchburg Fire department helped them get a generator going.  We turned to ‘TAG, as WBZ wasn’t providing enough local info for those of us up here in North Central Mass.  WEIM also had very good local coverage on Saturday when they resumed broadcasting.

Thank goodness for local live radio!

I’ve been driving around the affected area for work, and I also must say that WTAG has been providing outstanding coverage. They’ve blown off Glen Beck and Rush Limbaugh all week! At times, it makes me forget who owns the station! Some of the calls they get from people wondering when they’ll get their cable back on are a little silly, but overall, they’ve been doing a great job, considering they’re taking unscreened calls.

WEIM has been providing good coverage in the morning the past few days.

1340 WGAW in Gardner has also been doing a good job. Monday they were live and local a lot later than they usually are, providing what seemed like commercial free coverage

I too would like to echo what a great job WTAG is doing with their live and local coverage. I have heard caller after caller thanking them for doing the continuous coverage. What WTAG is doing proves there is not only a place for live and local radio but that the listeners prefer it. Now if we could only get the corporate suits to buy into this.

I have to agree WTAG Has produced FANTASIC coverage. They have proven to be the news and information station for central MA.

When their phone lines were down they were having people text them to someone’s personal cell phone. WTAG should be very proud of everything they have done in the last week.

Email I received this morning:

Is there some form of award or commendation that your organization might give for WTAG’s handling of the ice emergency in Central Mass.? They have done an outstanding job disseminating information and helping those in need. They have cancelled all their regular broadcasting to stay on the air to help with storm information.

You may have heard by now that next Tuesday, December 9th the MBA, along with all of Boston’s over-the-air TV stations and cable providers will conduct a “DTV Day.” This is an unprecendented collaborative effort among these outlets, in close cooperation with Congressman Ed Markey to ensure viewers in the Boston DMA are prepared for the Digital Television Transistion on February 17, 2009.

Our sincere thanks to all the groups participating in this effort, as well as to Congressman Markey and his staff and our media partners helping us spread the word including our radio members and local newspapers.

Boston’s ‘DTV Day’ participants are: