-
Get involved.
We want your input!
Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.
After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.
After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/
Thanks in advance and have fun!
RadioDiscussions Administrators
WBZ not covering Bush funeral?
- Thread starter ssetta
- Start date
Covering a past President's funeral wall-to-wall?
1.) By "covering it"...you mean covering it wall-to-wall, cancelling all other programming and canceling out all the spots?
2.) Do you think that's called for?
1.) By "covering it"...you mean covering it wall-to-wall, cancelling all other programming and canceling out all the spots?
2.) Do you think that's called for?
Deleted User
Star Participant
As much as I respected the late President G.H.W. Bush, a multi hour funeral with people doing long winded eulogies is not conducive to radio.
If a station chose to go wall to wall with it, that is their choice, but it certainly not something I would listen to for more than a few minutes....
I did catch a few minutes on the radio with pictures, and I'm sure we will be getting sound bites all night on the news, but IMHO wall to wall news station with a 30 minute wheel is not good radio, or necessary.
J
Jul
Guest
KYW 1060 in Philly aired the event today,.
channel99
Leading Participant
Exactly. A funeral is a visual event - the overall atmosphere, the attendees and speakers, their reactions and emotions, etc. Anyone interested in live coverage would go to TV, or streaming, if possible - only resorting to radio if they have no other option. So a radio station with full coverage gets mainly those who would rather be watching elsewhere, and annoys those who wanted news-weather-traffic.
Other radio stations in the area may have covered it.
Channel 83
Frequent Participant
In my radio "dial-surfing", I also caught NPR live funeral coverage on WBUR-90.9, and Rhode Island Public Radio's 89.3
They love those long form events at NPR. Especially in town remotes. Very easy to do.
Nope! Not at all.
But, iNorm, I'm back to my previous question re: wall-to-wall coverage: "2.) Do you think that's called for?"
Two of the stations on that list (WOR and WGY) are owned by iHeart. so there was no corporate reason why WBZ chose not to run the funeral, and it's obvious they had access to it.
Are you saying that Talk 1200 did not air the funeral? Or did you not attempt to listen to it there?
Personally, (IMHO!) I don't think so. I was not interested in hearing a funeral. I would have been more interested in a discussion of his Presidency, and not choirs singing, and a play by play of the hearse arriving/departing.
I think a few clips of speakers, maybe the complete George Bush (the son) speech, but an update or extended report top and bottom of the hour would suit me fine. I would not enjoy having my traffic and weather (together!) reports cancelled so we can hear a description of the casket. ;-)
That said, it's just another opinion, especially when WGBH was voering it wall to wall.
I am also guessing that WBZ didn't want to reschedule all the daytime spots.
Personally, I think shutting down the stock market, the post office, federal govt. and airing the funeral live for a former president is overkill so I have no issue with their decision not to carry it. Especially if a couple other stations were already carrying it that is more than plenty. I'm surprised in NYC that both WCBS and WINS carried it - one could have while the other kept their normal routine going.
channel99
Leading Participant
I'm sure businesses dependent on the Post Office were delighted by the unexpected closing.
There may be a certain amount of randomness in the decisions to carry or not carry - quick decisions by manager or PD without waiting for the slow moving bureaucracy. Once coverage is announced, its hard to back out.
Still, anyone really interested would avoid radio and watch on TV or via streaming.
raccoonradio
Walk of Fame Participant
I work at a postal sorting center.Only about 1% of employees got Wed off.Rest of us get to take a day of administrative leave within the next 6 months.(No delivery or open offices though.) We also got a similar day of mourning when Reagan (2004), Ford(2006), and Nixon (1994) passed.Been there since '86.Was working.
channel99
Leading Participant
That leads to the obvious question of what the point of closing is? A symbolic gesture, apparently. They might as well have kept the offices open, possibly with some simple display honoring the former president, and offered 100% of the staff the admin leave day.
- Status