Snowstorm Slams Northeast Over The Weekend

Up To 40" Of Snow

The weekend was spent digging out from wnter storm NEMO on the EAST COAST, with parts of MASSACHUSETTS, CONNECTICUT and NEW YORK seeing between two and three feet of snow. Particularly hard hit was BOSTON, where radio jumped in to help listeners get through the weather that literally left hundreds and thousands on roads that became impassable.

"All safe and sound in BOSTON! said CCM+E/BOSTON OM DYLAN SPRAGUE about Top 40 WXKS (KISS 108) and Top 40/R WJMN (JAMMIN 94.5). "Our guys were amazing.  We stocked up the station fridge early FRIDAY with lots of eats and drinks -- then just kinda hunkered down!  Each station was offering formal information/news/weather/traffic updates pretty much every break FRIDAY afternoon and night, then throughout the hour on Saturday morning and afternoon and again Sunday afternoon.  Social media and websites were updated as information was released.  Our digital team of DENNIS O’HERON, MARC PROVENZANO and JOE MAZZEI were awesome."

"The governor and mayor did such a great job of controlling traffic," continued SPRAGUE. "They shut down the subway and trains at 3:30p FRIDAY and there was a complete driving ban by 4p FRIDAY. So at that point everyone was just camping out and waiting and we were BOSTON's information and entertainment source!  DJ PUP DAWG started mixing at 5p and was still at it around midnight.  Maverick and Bobby Blaze handled the jock duties – and the requests and social action was crazy all night.  JACKSON BLUE pulled a seven-hour marathon on KISS 108 with phone calls and info deep into the night.  I basically just sat in front of TWITTER all night and sent important info to the guys periodically so we would stay up to date across all platforms."

SPRAGUE noted, "Authorities were so serious about the driving ban one of our jocks was pulled over driving the couple blocks from station to hotel!  Media exemption, of course, so BOBBY was okay! But we ended up with a few station campers at that point not wanting to make the trek after things got really nasty."

Across town, GREATER MEDIA met the challenge of the weekend's winter storm head-on with its five stations in the BOSTON market.

Alternative WBOS kept its listeners safe and informed throughout the blizzard via social media with continuous updates about concert postponements, traffic bans, power outages, and the MBTA service closings. Classic Hits WROR informed listeners with updates on FRIDAY afternoon with on air personality JULIE DEVEREAUX and used social media to keep in touch with listeners.

In addition, all GREATER MEDIA stations expressed their appreciation to the hardworking plow drivers who worked around the clock to clear the streets by airing on-air salutes to thank them for all of their help during the storm.

AC WMJX (MAGIC 106.7) aired updates from the station’s FOX 25 TV partner once per hour on air. In addition to continuous on-air updates and closing announcements by WKLN (COUNTRY 102.5) on air personalities, the station posted timely traffic updates on the station website and invited listeners to post their thoughts and observations as they battled the storm.

In an effort to keep employees safe during the storm, GREATER MEDIA/BOSTON staff secured rooms and brought in food for on-air talent, engineers and personnel who worked throughout the weekend.

"We are very grateful to our entire staff for all of their efforts to keep our listeners safe and up-to-date as the winter storm blanketed our region," said Pres./CEO PETER SMYTH. "It is yet another example of the importance of local radio and the vital role it plays in our communities during these challenging events."

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