When radio deregulation can be dangerous

Thanks to the 1996 Telecommunications Act, the government has worked to give more choices to us radio listeners:

The revised national multiple radio ownership rule will eliminate caps on the number of AM or FM broadcast stations which may be owned or controlled by one entity nationally. The revised local radio ownership rule will increase the number of commercial radio stations an entity can own in a local radio market.

That's why one radio group now owns the major stations in each market, including here in Houston. It's that way in Waco too. Since two companies have the largest stake in that market, some might say the need for competition is not as important.

So the less heard positions like overnight air talent are cut. Many stations are now run by computer from midnight to somewhere around 6 am. Management will tell you it helps the stations compete more effectively because they can cut costs. But then a tornado recently blew through Waco.

To give a little historical context, a tornado wiped out half of the city in the 1950s - it still hasn't been fully rebuilt since then. The weather is odd in Waco, tornados are a recurring problem and understandably folks are a little more skittish as a result.

The May 6th, 2006 tornado formed in the middle of the night. A couple of the TV stations took power hits (and one had its roof ripped off), so they were forced off the air.

Leaving the Wacoans with no weather coverage, but they were provided some music to calm their nerves. The Waco Tribune-Herald has more:

Both Clear Channel Communications'’ five Waco radio stations and Simmons Media Waco's three Waco stations rely on television stations KWTX, Channel 10 and KXXV, Channel 25 for severe weather coverage.

When the storm knocked both TV stations off the air, there was no one at the radio stations to pick up the slack: Waco's 13 stations run prerecorded or satellite programming during overnight shifts, a widespread industry practice.

"“We thought we had a very effective system in place,"” said Evan Armstrong, Clear Channel's Waco and Killeen market manager. "“But we didn'’t expect Channel 10 (KWTX-TV) to lose power."”

The article says in the past the city applied for a low powered station for emergency broadcasts, but the FCC denied them. Many broadcasters argue the low power stations could interfere with their stations' signals so licenses have been slow to be approved by the government. Who knows if this had something to do with it?

In the meantime, the Waco radio executives told the newspaper they will rethink putting a live body in the overnight position. The Tribune-Herald says the executives are also working with the city to develop new plans:

"It caught us with our pants down,”" one admitted privately.

This is not the first time a city has been threatened by dangerous weather with no local broadcasts to turn to. That is a scary prospect for citizens in a city like Waco. Espcially in a place that seems to be a tornado magnet. Remember Jarrell? CONTACT: Leave me a Houston or Texas media news tip | COMMENT: Click to leave your thoughts on this post here