Friday, June 26, 2009

Did We Or Didn't We?

That's the question many are asking about how radio handled Michael Jackson's death. Did radio do what it does best--bring the immediacy of current events to the air? How did we do compared the to last time someone of Jackson's fame and stature past away?

No matter what the coverage was there will be some to complain it wasn't enough. And in some cases I am sure that is true. However, I have to believe there were countless stations who not only covered it, but covered it well--news, music, listener interaction, social media, and commentary.

Bottom line: News that's as big and as universal as this stations must cover it live, break into regular programming, and provide your listeners as much information as possible. When things like this happen your format doesn't matter, your clocks go out the window, and all that matters is seizing the moment in the most appropriate way for your format and station. Period.

What did your station(s) do? What did you hear around your market? Bad or good...feel free to share your experience and leave a comment.