Houston Stations Help Residents Pull Through
KHOU, KTRK provide vital lifeline in aftermath of Hurricane Ike.
By Michael Malone -- Broadcasting & Cable, 9/16/2008 1:22:00 PM
Residents in the Houston DMA are turning to local stations for help as the No. 10 DMA recovers from Hurricane Ike.
With an estimated 70% of local homes without power, the stations’ on-air role may have diminished, but they are still providing a vital lifeline -- as well as a shoulder to cry on -- as the market gets back on its feet.
“Virtually everyone in the DMA is affected,” KHOU president and general manager Susan McEldoon said, whether they’ve lost power or water or have damage to their homes or property.
More than 5.5 million people live in the Houston DMA, which includes ravaged Galveston. Food, ice and gas are in short supply, traffic lights remain out of commission and schools will reportedly be closed for another week-and-a-half or so. Galveston residents are permitted to return home to grab essential items before clearing out again by this evening.
“They’re trying to close the island down because it’s just a mess,” KTRK spokesman Tom Ash said, mentioning a lack of power and water and a pervasive muck that’s rife with disease.
With so many televisions knocked out, stations, which largely relied on generator power during the worst of the storm, are using their Web sites to relay critical information. McEldoon reported of people with power stringing extension cords outside their homes to help others gain Web access. KHOU executive news director Keith Connors likened the station to a “public utility” in the Houston Chronicle. “We need to be there with consistent, credible information,” he said. “We’re just a conduit, like a faucet.”
Whereas callers flooded the switchboard during Hurricane Rita and its aftermath in 2005, McEldoon said e-mail has been viewers’ medium of choice. As the storm approached, people asked if they should leave their homes. During the storm, they asked when it would end. Now, they’re asking where the ice is and whether they should return to work.
McEldoon added that around 100 staffers stayed overnight in the station during the storm. Now they’re on 12-hour shifts. “This is the stuff news people live for,” she said.
Ash said morale has been high amid difficult circumstances. “The news guys and support staff pitched in and did an incredible job in the face of some difficult obstacles,” he added.
At a House hearing in Washington, D.C., Tuesday, an emotional Rep. Gene Greene (D-Texas) said more than 90% of his district was without power and his own battery-powered TV set was a lifeline to important news and information. He was using that to illustrate the importance of battery-powered TVs in emergencies like Hurricane Ike.
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we have 2 small children, no water!!-----no elect.!!------no ice , or food!!!------please send help to our home, the kids are 2 & 8------we have not seen any help whatsoever------ive signed up with FEMA !!--no ans. as of yet------dreanna barrett-----thanking you .
dreanna barrett - 9/17/2008 4:40:00 PM EDT -
This now illustrates what will be a shortage in the near future...battery operated HD/DTV sets.
While most people would rely on internet via computer as a news source, during ongoing disasters the web simply can't keep up as a live broadcast can.
Be it a tornado, flood, earthquake or hurricane the need for a survuval kit including a battery operated TV/radio is crucial... ask anyone who has been through one.
So with the government's coupons for DTV converter boxes...do they make a portable model???
DM - 9/16/2008 9:56:00 PM EDT
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