United States

Yet more storms affecting radio stations – Tampa FL.
With Ian Threatening, Tampa Radio Moves Into Storm Coverage Mode.

It was the calm before the storm in Florida Tuesday afternoon as Ian emerged into the Gulf of Mexico as a Category 3 hurricane. The impact on Florida is expected to be severe, especially in the heavily populated Tampa and Fort Myers areas. iHeartMedia news/talk “NewsRadio” WFLA Tampa (970) shifted into wall-to-wall coverage early Tuesday with plans to remain in that mode through the duration of the storm. As the situation deteriorates, Tampa sister music FMs “98 Rock” WXTB, AC “Mix 100.7” WMTX, country WFUS, CHR WFLZ and urban contemporary WBTP planned to simulcast WFLA’s coverage. For now, iHeart’s 13 other stations in the Tampa-Sarasota region are airing news reports from WFLA every 15 minutes.

Florida is one of iHeart’s eight regional news centers. In addition to a statewide broadcast it will be providing, all of its stations in the state have partnerships with local television stations to bolster their own people in the market, Chris Berry, iHeartMedia Executive VP of News/Talk Programming, told Inside Radio.

“We have relocated some of our news anchor staff to Orlando, who will be able to continue to broadcast if there is any kind of a disruption at our studios in Tampa,” Berry said. Engineers from other markets have been brought into Florida should stations lose transmitter facilities or electricity. “In addition to our primary broadcast studios, we have the ability to relocate, if necessary, to a more hardened emergency broadcast location,” Berry added.

The plan is to simulcast throughout the Gulf Coast region while providing local content for sister stations, from Fort Myers, Sarasota, and Tampa up the Gulf Coast into Tallahassee and potentially Pensacola and Panama City, if needed.

“We have a lot of resources that are already in the state – in Tampa, Orlando, and Miami – and we have the ability to move people around as necessary to provide reporting on the ground and also from the studio,” said Berry.

Beasley Storm Center Updates

Beasley Media Group’s Tampa stations, including country WQYK and classic hits WRBQ, were promoting and airing hourly updates Tuesday with their ABC TV partner, amidst regular programming, while pointing listeners to their websites. Beasley stations also sent emails to their listener databases with a link to follow their Storm Center updates and “tips to get you through a hurricane” from ABC Action News meteorologist Denis Phillips.

CMG Airing Multiple Updates Per Hour

Cox Media Group’s Tampa music stations were following a similar blueprint, interspersing essential storm-related news with regular programming. “Our programming, content and engineering teams in Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville have been preparing for several days and are ready to give critical life-saving updates to our audiences,” CMG Radio VP of Audience & Operations Chris Eagan told Inside Radio. “Our stations are updating weather, closings, evacuation and giving news updates multiple times per hour to ensure listeners have the information they need and know how to stay safe.”

CMG news/talk WHPT Tampa was in storm coverage mode Tuesday although with the “real raw radio” attitude you would expect from “The Bone.” In addition to coverage from its local hosts, WHPT was airing updates from “Fox 13” WTVT-TV chief meteorologist Paul Dellegatto and local officials.

Cox owns television stations in Orlando and Jacksonville that it can partner with for more information and extended coverage. The company’s Tampa cluster has long standing content-sharing partnerships with “Fox 13” WTVT-TV and CBS affiliate “10 Tampa Bay” WTSP-TV.

“We’re utilizing all of our assets (on air, social, digital, push alerts from our station apps etc.) to make sure our audiences can get the information they need anywhere and everywhere,” Eagan said.

INSIDE RADIO 27/9

Steve Whitt to mwcircle iog (2022-09-28)

Cuba

Cuba radio silence amid electric grid failure due to Hurricane Ian.

Associated Press: Cuba without electricity after hurricane hammers power grid
https://apnews.com/article/hurricanes-cuba-caribbean-hurricane-ian-080599db41b3e492d41e55046cb13c23
“Cuba’s Electric Union said in a statement that work was underway to gradually restore service to the country’s 11 million people during the night. Power was initially knocked out to about 1 million people in Cuba’s western provinces, but later the entire grid collapsed.”
Consequently, there appears to be total radio silence from Cuba right now.
No traces of Radio Havana or any jamming — not on a handful of known frequencies I just checked, anyway.

Ricky Leong to WOR iog (2022-09-28)

Cuba

Yet more storms possibly affecting radio stations.
Hurricane Ian has caused Cuba’s electricity to collapse leaving 11m homes in the dark.
Presumably Cuban radio stations have standby power generators? Any station known to be affected?

Steve Whitt to mwcircle iog (2022-09-28)

Kiribati

Radio Kiribati (846 kHz.) off the air on Wednesday and Sunday.
On Sept 21 (Wednesday), I also found 846 was noticeably silent. Yes, again off the air again today (Sept 28 – Wed.).
Their regular schedule must be off the air on Wednesday and Sunday, as we have been observing.

Ron Howard, California to WOR iog (2022-09-28)

Russia

Atamanovka (near Chita, Sibiria): There are 3 new masts, I don’t know the purpose of them yet.
51.828461603574404, 113.71466023542864

There are also some white buildings that draw a “trail” to the transmitter house, rather strange.

At this site are already facilities to broadcast shortwave, longwave and medium wave, so I don’t know why the build something new.

Marco (2022-09-26)

Puerto Rico

Radio stations in Puerto Rico were facing numerous obstacles to returning to normal service five days after Hurricane Fiona swept the U.S. territory.

Roughly half of the archipelago’s 125 stations were either operating with emergency generators or were off the air as of Sept. 22, according to Felix Bonnet, executive director of the Puerto Rico Broadcasters Association.

He told Radio World that numerous factors have hampered stations returning to service. These include lack of power; difficulty accessing transmitter sites due to flooding or forest debris; flooding of studios; damage to towers and antenna tuning units; lack of internet or microwave links; and the absence of personnel who are dealing with storm damage themselves.

“Apart from those issues, there is now a diesel shortage due to demand and distribution logistics,” he said.

“Radio by law in Puerto Rico qualifies as ‘first responders’ for emergency supplies, but even that privilege is useless because of logistics or scarcity.”

Bonnet himself was without power when he emailed Radio World Thursday using his cellphone.

He said then that some stations have been able to maintain their internet streaming and are airing public service programming to support authorities and first responders. Radio World reached out to Bonnet for an update over the weekend and will post new information as we get it.

The FCC has supported Puerto Rico broadcasters by issuing extensions on regulatory fees and EEO report deadlines. Bonnet said the association also has received offers of help from the National Alliance of State Broadcasters Associations, the National Association of Broadcasters and the Broadcasters Foundation of America.

Fiona struck most heavily in the southern and western part of Puerto Rico, with the San Juan are less affected. Bonnet said this has allowed better coordination of assistance than was the case five years ago during the Maria emergency.

NAB spokeswoman Ann Marie Cumming told Radio World, “Our hearts go out to Puerto Rico, and we commend the heroic broadcasters in Puerto Rico that continue to provide lifesaving information and updates to those affected by this devastating hurricane.”

Some areas got over 30 inches of rain, NPR reports, and hundreds of thousands of people are still without water.

As of midday Sunday Sept. 25, seven radio stations officially reported still being off the air via the FCC’s Disaster Information Reporting System; but participation in that system is voluntary.

About 19%  cell service sites in the affected area still were down as of midday Sunday, according to the FCC’s Communications Status Report. The commission noted that the number of cell sites down does not necessarily correspond to the availability of service because cell infrastructure overlaps and providers may use temporary facilities to fill in.

Update on the evening of Sept. 25: Bonnet tells Radio World, “Most stations are restoring service through emergency temporary repairs and using borrowed equipment, although some are still off. PR’s only electricity transmission  company, LUMA, has slowly been restoring power. As of this writing, they claim 50% of their clients are  ok and promising that by Friday 91% will be restored. The predicament is that where still power is unavailable, there is a diesel fuel scarcity, apparently due to an unusual high demand combined with distribution logistics. After Hurricane Maria in 2017 and  the earthquakes, emergency power is now a household and business must.  hat has resulted in a huge demand. The  government agencies, hospitals, communications companies, food providers (supermarkets) and broadcast industry now compete with thousands of households that installed emergency plants.”
https://www.radioworld.com/news-and-business/headlines/in-puerto-rico-radio-stations-cope-with-fionas-aftermath?utm_source=SmartBrief&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=0028F35E-226C-4B60-AC88-AB2831C8A639&utm_content=369A07B2-35BA-485A-96CB-EFC4DD033E81&utm_term=CA316074-A1D7-49B8-AF83-B04729A190FA

Radio World (2022-09-26)

Moldova (Transnistria)

Dear friends. You can request a QSL card for receiving broadcasts from the Pridnestrovian Radio and Television Center through group messages or by sending a report to e-mail andrey_hamradio@mail.ru
The center currently broadcasts in the medium wave range at frequencies:
621 kHz (Radio 1+ Transnistria, Transworld Radio on schedule
999 kHz (Radio Russia) 24 hours
1413 kHz (Vesti FM) 24 hours
1548 kHz (TransWorld Radio – TWR Europe scheduled

RUS-DX Sept. 25 via WOR iog (2022-09-25)