Quake Creates A Hot Time On The East Coast

Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On

Radio's emphasis on being "live and local" certainly paid dividends for radio listeners around the nation's Capitol, as CLEAR CHANNEL Top 40/Mainstream WIHT/WASHINGTON, D.C. morning host KANE was the first person in the country to Tweet about this morning's 5.8 earthquake, according to BUZZFEED.

Not only that, but KANE  stayed on the air to keep the listeners informed despite being admonished by the local fire department. "[APD] Toby KNAPP and I almost got fined $1,000 by the fire department for staying in the building while the fire alarm was going off!" KANE  said, "We're in radio; we have no money.  We bribed them with a signed ASHANTI CD and a GINUWINE poster. Really!"

KANE and TOBY had a great radio moment today," CLEAR CHANNEL/WASHINGTON, D.C.-BALTIMORE Pres./Market Manager THEA MITCHUM  said. "They served our listeners with critical and timely information with a tad bit of humor and wit as only they can do. True pros and the best in the business.  Events like this show all of us how critical radio is to our local communities and the power of the mic.  I very proud of them both."

NAB: Good Thing Radio's Here...

Striking while the iron was still shaking, NAB EVP/Communications DENNIS WHARTON issued the following statement on information about the earthquake was disseminated:

"Policymakers debating spectrum policy ought to take note that the one reliable communications service during today's earthquake was the original wireless technology -- free and local broadcasting. It's easy to get dazzled by iPADS and smartphones, but all the spectrum in the world won’t ensure reliability of the 'one-to-one' cellphone network architecture during an emergency. When there's a crisis, it's hard to replicate the reliability of the 'one-to-everyone' local radio and TV broadcast signal."

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