Radio Prepares To Inform As Isaac Targets The Gulf Coast

Isaac's Path From The Weather Channel

Tropical Storm ISSAC skirted the FLORIDA KEYS, causing minimal damage, but has turned its force into the GULF, and now threatens the coast from ALABAMA to NEW ORLEANS as it grows in size.

KET WEST RADIO WIIS (ISLAND 107)/KEY WEST, FL survived the storm, and posted on their FACEBOOK page, "Boarded up, but still on the air at 107.1 FM and streaming live at Island107.com." 

CNN reports, "Thousands in LOUISIANA, MISSISSIPPI and ALABAMA were being told early MONDAY to leave their GULF COAST homes ahead of the arrival of Tropical Storm ISAAC as forecasters warned it was gaining strength as it followed the same path Hurricane KATRINA took seven years earlier. The governors of the three states each declared a state of emergency, with ALABAMA Gov. ROBERT BENTLEY ordering mandatory evacuations to begin at 8a for residents who live along the coast and for those in some low-lying areas inland."

ENTERCOM News/Talk WWL-A&F/NEW ORLEANS has already gone to full coverage of Tropical Storm ISAAC, posting on their website, "Latest Hurricane Center Update: NEW ORLEANS and SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA are under a Hurricane Warning. ISAAC is forecast to become a hurricane in the GULF OF MEXICO TODAY and continue on a path that brings it to THE GULF COAST. The official track from THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER continues to call for a landfall as a category one or two storm near NEW ORLEANS by WEDNESDAY morning... with winds and rain picking up TOMORROW. Top sustained winds are currently forecast to hit 90 miles per hour. Some computer models still call for a strike on ALABAMA or MISSISSIPPI... while other expect a landfall closer to MORGAN CITY, LOUISIANA or even LAKE CHARLES."

Listen to WWL here.

ENTERCOM Top 40 WEZB (B97)/NEW ORLEANS PD TOM "JAMMER" NAYLOR told ALL ACCESS, " ll weekend we were keeping everybody informed on the track of the storm. It was all over the place and moving every 6 hours. It got really real on SUNDAY when they moved the cone right over NEW ORLEANS. At that time we notched up the info a bit... 2-3x per hour we had updates on the track and intensity. We are blessed to have an amazing, top notch news team and staff lead by DIANE NEWMANN in our building which is WWL A/F and .COM. They somehow know everything and are a scarey machine when it comes to hurricanes and breaking news stories.

"As the storm gets closer we will utilize all of WWL's news/weather resources. Depending on the strength of the storm they may take our airwaves over as they have done in the past with KATRINA, GUSTOV, etc.

CCM+E/NEW ORLEANS OM DON GOSSELIN shared with ALL ACCESS, "We began running updates on all CCM+E/NEW ORLEANS stations last FRIDAY, plus utilizing all our digital and social outlets. WRNO has been wall-to-wall during our local programming and we are planning on all stations simulcasting wall-to-wall coverage starting TUESDAY morning.

"It is amazing to watch this team in action. As the news of ISAAC continues to unfold, this group of professionals with CLEAR CHANNEL/NEW ORLEANS knows exactly what to do. Most of these folks were the driving force behind the KATRINA coverage. Only CLEAR CHANNEL has the ability and resources to keep the community informed through a disaster. We have 20-25 people actually sleeping at the radio stations.

"Normally, radio is a companion and an entertainment source. But, there are times we become a lifeline of information. We anticipate power, internet, and cable being knocked out which is why radio is such a vital source of life-saving information.

"This team exceeded all expectations during KATRINA and I anticipate we will do the same for ISAAC."

CUMULUS MEDIA Urban AC KMEZ and Top 40/R KKND/NEW ORLEANS PD LEBRON JOSEPH tells ALL ACCESS, "Our stations will continue to give the latest updates, closures, contraflow starts, and most importantly weather updates for our listeners. If more happens, we'll keep you posted."

CLEAR CHANNEL Talk WRNO and Sports WODT-A (ESPN DEPORTES 1280)/NEW ORLEANS PD JIM FISHER shared with ALL ACCESS, "We're good here right now. Looks like we're going to take some sort of hit so we are preparing for wall-to-wall coverage across our eight-station cluster. That will likely happen TOMORROW morning or TONIGHT depending on the storm track."

GENESIS COMMUNICATIONS News WWBA-AM/TAMPA began live at 1p on SUNDAY, and continued throughout the day and night. Updates from STEVE SUMMER and CHRIS CURLEY provided school closings, storm track and road closures. The coverage also included frequent checks with TAMPA BAY’s Channel 10 Meteorologists as well as the NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER.

GUARANTY BROADCASTING Talk WBRP (TALK 107.3)/BATON ROUGE will simulcast its coverage of the approaching storm on sister WDGL (EAGLE 98.1) starting TUESDAY (8/28) at 5:30a (CT).  MATT KENNEDY and BRIAN HALDANE will kick off coverage with the TALK 107.3 morning show, with DARREN GAUTHIER and SCOTTY DRAKE holding down middays and BILL and KAREN PROFITA anchoring afternoons.  Sister Sports WNXX (104.5 ESPN)’s CHARLES HANAGRIFF and MATT MOSCONA will handle the evening shift until midnight, when the PROFITAS return to cover the overnight shift.  Coverage, including live reports from crosstown CBS affiliate WAFB-TV and updates from Chief Meteorologist JAY GRYMES, will continue throughout the duration of the storm.

“We are thrilled to bring unprecedented 24 hour live and local coverage to SOUTH LOUISIANA with the names and voices that carried this region through the likes of KATRINA and GUSTAV,” said GUARANTY VP/Market Manager GORDY RUSH.

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