ARE YOU READY FOR WAR? Chris Byrnes The U.S. is about to go to war. There is a very good chance this will happen during the current ratings sweep. You need to be ready, so as not to lose audience to TV or to a competitor who is providing better coverage.
The U.S. President has requested permission from Pakistan to use its airspace, and he has asked for and got the full backing of all NATO countries including Canada. So it’s not a matter of if, but when “operation infinite justice” will be launched against Afghanistan, and/or other countries.
So now is the time to put your plan together. Music stations should be ready to drop music in favor of wall-to-wall news coverage if they are to hold their audience. Some people who have a TV available to them may well go there, but given the poor coverage from CNN on September 11th I believe a lot will stay with radio providing we have the information and can present it in a clear and concise manner. Here are some ideas you might find useful.
Cut Promos: Have your corporate voice cut ID's, promos, sweepers and special News update sounders. Don’t forget to produce material that supports the troops and members of the service from your area. “XXXX-FM is behind the troops serving our nation… We salute Major Bill Smith, who is serving our country in the Middle East… XXXX-FM… Supporting those fighting for our nation…”
The Instructions: Write an instruction manual with step-by-step instructions and procedures and put it in the control room. An attack is most likely to happen at night in the Northern hemisphere, if your station in not normally live overnight, you need to have a plan the deal with this.
Get the Experts: Develop both local and U.S. news sources and setup relationships, so you can get the local, national and international angles. If you are located near a military base, you must been tuned in closely. Your audience may be the first affected if ground forces are mobilized. Military personnel, the family of your listeners, could be the first to move out. Know people at the base. Your station should be THE OFFICIAL source for neighbours and friends. If your station is news intensive or an all-news station, now is the time to locate experts in your area for use on the air. Historians, Government members, and experts at local universities should have a hotline number to call, and you need all their contact phone numbers. Gulf War veterans and experts in the area are also tremendous resources when it comes to the ambiguity of war. Persuade them to call when you are doing talk programming
Your Website Is Important: Look at your website and brainstorm ways to best use the web to keep your target audience informed, and keep your station sounding uncluttered. Provide links to obvious areas of interest such as an international weather forecast for the areas involved in hostilities.
The Music: Put a list together of songs you will remove because of title or lyrics and songs you will add.
Listener Feedback: Decide how best to allow your listeners to interact with your station especially in the first 72 hours [phones/emails/faxes]. Make sure you have your email database up and running and have a strategy to keep your database in touch with events and what your station is doing.
Involve All Staff: Assign duties to each member of staff, so that you can cover all the bases, and you are able to sustain the level of service over days or perhaps weeks if required. Have a contingency plan in place to provide hotel rooms near the station for staff in case they need to stay overnight. Arrange to provide meals and toiletries for staff working long hours.
What To Leave Out: Decide if you will drop inventory/contesting and for how long. Have sweepers and promos cut to reflect this.
Local, Local, Local: Decide how best to cover the LOCAL angle. Compile a list of phone numbers for local emergency management officials and media contacts for local fire and police departments in case there are bomb threats or other local incidents. Contact local schools and colleges for information on any changes in their classroom activities and extra-curricular events.
Staying Power: Decide how long you will stay all-talk, at what point you will add some music back into the format, and how you will handle breaking news, news updates etc. This could be a long slow campaign, fought on a number of fronts and even in a number of countries.
Get Connected: Have engineering wire a TV audio feed directly into your board. This will give the jock the ability to take a TV audio feed live, or at the very least record and edit material for later broadcast.
Geography: Hang a map in your newsroom and control room that includes Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Afghanistan. Make sure your staff knows the geography. Afghanistan is about the size of Saskatchewan, is one thousand miles form any ocean and has a population of 25.6 million people in case you didn’t know.
Positioning: If you are a music station, stop running “12 In A Row,” “Super Long Sets,” and “Music Marathons.” “News For Your Life and Family” is more important than playing “12 In A Row” today.
Local Changes: Check for changes in security precautions or closings at Federal, Provincial, and local buildings.
Calm the Nerves: Setup local contacts so you have the information to reassure the public about the availability of food and gasoline.
Follow the Moneymen: Interview local bankers and investment advisors regarding the security of banks and financial institutions.
Other Information: Provide information on prayer services and vigils organized by local churches and synagogues. Many college campuses will also schedule these events.
The Local Angle: While your local news coverage will set you apart from your competitors, keep in mind that the most important news will be on the national and international levels. Network news access will be essential.
Conclusion: Perhaps the most heart-warming part of radio's coverage of the attacks on the U.S. was how quickly most stations dumped their spot loads and abandoned music formats to provide their listeners with very important news and information. But, like all other industries, there are those who will seek to take advantage of the war to increase ratings or revenue. Your listeners are smart enough to tell the difference between honest emotion and an attempt to exploit death and destruction for cash. Those who cry crocodile tears and wrap themselves in the flag while making transparent efforts to use these tragic events for their personal benefit will be universally condemned - and remembered with scorn for years. It will be part of your job to alert the public and appropriate authorities about those who may engage in price-gouging - as we saw in some areas on September 11 - or who attempt to stir up fears or create artificial shortages for their own gain. Make sure your station isn't on that list.
Thanks to Mike McVay, and Bob Moody of McVay Media who contributed to this article. |