Keeping this Discussion Alive: Clear Channel GM Defends KSSK, Still Backs Entertainment Format

As expected, the manager of Clear Channel’s stations on Oahu defended KSSK’s performance during the recent tsunami alert in response to our commentary in Pacific Business News. (If you want more along the same line, see our January 2009 PBN commentary.)

Unfortunately, Chuck Cotton brushed us off and did so with such dispatch that he asserted something untrue in his second graf.

I haven’t called myself a journalist for decades – not since I stopped reporting for KGMB-TV. I’m a consultant, as clearly stated at the end of my PBN piece.

My status aside, what have real journalists said about KSSK’s performance during emergencies? Here’s part of an editorial published by the Honolulu Star-Bulletin on December 29, 2008 that reflected on the emergency response to the island-wide power outage three days earlier:

“The designated emergency broadcast radio stations, KSSK-AM and its sister FM station, should receive credit for transmitting during the blackout.

“However, information that got on the air was frequently incomplete, misleading or contradictory. The on-air staff members were unable to separate crucial duties in an emergency from their usual drive-time, talk-show format.

“That's not to say a touch of lightheartedness has no place in such a situation; it can help ease listeners' tensions. But the hosts at times became abusive or mocked callers who sought advice or help for problems the hosts deemed minor under the circumstances.

“In one instance a caller who criticized Hawaiian Electric Co. - which shrewdly sent a public relations representative to the station early on - was scorned as someone who probably voted for Democrats.

“While such nonsensical remarks can be shrugged off, the primary problem with the broadcast was that the station's staff worked passively. Instead of seeking information from authorities, the station simply waited for them to call in. And when they did call, the staff did not ask astute questions to clarify or expand on the conditions.”

We had already posted our own commentary on KSSK’s performance when that editorial appeared. The pattern was the same in other emergencies, starting with the 2006 island-wide blackout after the two Big Island earthquakes that prompted this blog’s launch.

The now-defunct Honolulu Advertiser editorialized on October 17, 2006: “Civil defense authorities need to examine how well Hawaii was served by its commercial radio network.” A few days later we urged Civil Defense to opt out of the mutual love-in with local radio, primarily KSSK. CD and KSSK were in a closed loop, each praising the other’s performance.

When is a Crisis ‘Entertainment’?

That’s how we first introduced problems with KSSK’s emergency response procedures:

“It’s entertaining when listeners call in with their anecdotal stories about what happened at their house during the quake. It’s not essential to take those calls, however, and it’s even debilitating to do so when those calls block access by emergency responders. We’ve learned that HECO’s spokesman tried repeatedly without success to get through to the station, and so may have other responders. Encouraging callers to phone in with their stories presumably made matters worse.

“The ‘entertainment’ mindset obviously was in play Sunday evening when Oahu’s emergency broadcast station began airing a pre-recorded music show hosted by entertainer John Tesh while half of Oahu was still without power. Tens of thousands of customers remained blacked out into the night and had to be satisfied with news breaks on the half hour.”

The pattern is clear: KSSK habitually substitutes entertainment for a full-on emergency response mindset when citizens need information the most. It happened during our biggest emergencies in 2006, 2008 and 2011.

Mr. Cotton is having none of the criticism here by CHORE, as well as from the newspapers and others – unfortunately. Here’s his response in the April 1 edition of PBN to our commentary’s criticism:

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KSSK offered complete tsunami coverage

Clear Channel’s GM takes issue
with writer’s critical assessment

Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience.

Doug Carlson, who calls himself a journalist, wrote an article published in the PBN Commentary section on March 18. In the article, Mr. Carlson states that KSSK simply fills the airwaves with calls from listeners no matter what the call is about and that the station’s coverage of an emergency amounts to an endless stream of phone calls from listeners.

That simply is not true. It may be his opinion, but it is not objective journalism; it is uninformed speculation.

Yes, KSSK does air calls from listeners during an emergency because they are very often the first people to witness events and activities that are relevant to a developing situation. Time and time again, our listeners have informed KSSK and in turn our listeners of critical situations that guide citizens away from inconvenience or possible danger. The 2006 earthquake and blackout and the 2008 blackout are two examples of listeners providing important information. Another was the Sept. 6, 2006, H-1 freeway bridge collapse. Listeners did more to help stranded motorists than a hundred journalists could have done during the incident.

But, here is where I take issue with Mr. Carlson: He claims that all KSSK does in an emergency is air listener calls, and that is where Mr. Carlson fails as a journalist. Either he is not listening, didn’t bother to investigate, or he has a separate agenda.

He has not witnessed the effort that goes into our broadcast operation and the dedicated professionals who come to the station anytime day or night to gather information and deliver it to our listeners. During the recent earthquake and tsunami there were 17 people in the radio studios all night long, gathering information (and yes), screening listener calls, contacting government officials and first responders. They checked their facts and they made sure current and correct information was aired by our personnel on KSSK, as well as KHVH AM 830, KIKI AM 990, Star 101.9, Island 98.5 and 93.9 Jamz. We also aired live reports from the Honolulu City and County traffic Management Center and the Pacific Tsunsmi Warning Center in Ewa Beach. Our staffers were at both locations most of the night.

Unfortunately, Mr. Carlson is stuck in the 1960s 20-minute, radio news cycle which was innovative when it started in the ‘60s but has gone the way of other radio formats that listeners eventually rejected.

KSSK is Honolulu’s primary civil defense radio station; we take that responsibility very seriously. We go to great lengths to gather accurate information from all available sources, including our listeners.

We nothing else works, KSSK is that voice in the dark that keeps people talking, information flowing, and staves off panic…and without information during a crisis situation, people get very anxious. So, if you are going to count on a source during an emergency, you can bet KSSK and all of our Clear Channel stations will be there doing their very best to make sure you and your family have the latest and most accurate information. And you, our loyal listeners, play a very important role in that effort.

And to Mr. Carlson, the next time the earth shakes, the winds blow, the water rises and the lights go out, we invite you to come down to the Clear Channel studios on Iwilei Road and watch the dedicated local broadcast journalists in action. Then you will be an informed journalist.

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Here’s our last-word response to Mr. Cotton’s self-congratulatory piece: A dozen journalists working behind-the-scenes matters not a whit if their efforts are filtered through KSSK’s bottom-line format during emergencies – entertainment by entertainers.

That's the station’s format in and out of emergencies – entertainment. Even casual listeners can tell the difference between laugh-happy entertainment and journalism. Mr. Cotton either can’t or won’t see the difference, and that’s not a comforting stance for the boss of Oahu's primary emergency broadcast station.