Local Broadcasters Step Up with OK Storm Coverage

RADIO ONLINE | Tuesday, May 21, 2013 | 3:52pm CT

In response to local radio and television broadcasters providing lifeline news coverage of yesterday's devastating tornado that struck Moore, OK, Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters President/CEO Vance Harrison said that radio and TV "provided severe weather coverage which was accurate and timely. Countless lives were saved due to the extraordinary efforts of every broadcaster when it really mattered."

He continued, "As we've seen during every single severe weather event, Oklahomans have relied on the experience and reliability of their local broadcasters to keep them out of harm's way."

In a statement, NAB President/CEO Gordon Smith said, "NAB salutes our Oklahoma broadcasting brethren who are performing a public service that simply cannot be replicated by any other communications technology. Time and again during a crisis, local radio and TV stations have saved countless lives with 'boots-on-the-ground' reporting and advanced weather meteorology. There is no doubt that local broadcasters face new competitive threats in the form of social media, SmartPhones and the latest apps. But it is equally true that broadcasting's 'one-to-everyone' transmission architecture remains indispensable as a lifeline service in times of danger."

Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin thanked local media at a press conference in Moore, OK, Monday night for providing wall-to-wall coverage of the approaching storm and informing people to find shelter. "I want to say thank you so very much to the media. The media has done a superb job over the last couple of days of keeping people informed about the current weather conditions, especially our weathermen and those that have been on the ground driving and calling and tracking the storm itself," he said.

Gov. Fallin also spoke to NBC's "Today" Tuesday morning about cellular network outages and their impact on recovery efforts. "One of the things we've had challenges with is that our cell phone service and our telephone service throughout the city has been dead. As you can imagine immediately after the tornado struck I couldn't even call my own cabinet secretaries. We had to use handheld radios to get in touch with people. It was very challenging with the phone networks itself, power's been out in this area, and there was so much going on at a particular time, people rushing up to the scenes, coming in from all over."