Radio's Live Coverage, Mixed Signals

By Peter Goodman | STAFF WRITER

September 12, 2001

On a black day in American history, New York radio did what radio does best: go local and live. From news stations WCBS/880 AM and WINS/1010 AM to Howard Stern on "K-Rock" (WXRK/92.3 FM), most broadcasters tenaciously covered the attacks. The local news helicopters provided invaluable images to their television stations and called in traffic coverage for the radio.

Four stations with transmitters at the World Trade Center lost their signals, in most cases temporarily. In the first hours after the attacks, there were the usual rumors, contradictions and falsehoods. WCBS reporters contradicted one another about which tower collapsed first; there were early reports that Camp David had been attacked.

But listeners also heard WCBS radio reporters scrambling away from the explosions, panting and huffing and never stopping their eyewitness reporting. There were civilians calling in on cell phones, others interviewed by news anchors, and a steady stream of very local coverage. Talk WABC/770 AM kept its morning team of Curtis Sliwa and Ron Kuby on the air, joined by program director Phil Boyce and afternoon talker Sean Hannity. Both Stern and Don Imus on sports WFAN/660 AM stayed long after their shows ended, doing their best to provide serious coverage.

Classical WQXR/96.3 FM, which is owned by The New York Times, stood out among the few stations that did not change their broadcasts. No one at the station could be reached for comment.

Among the stations transmitting from the Twin Towers, contemporary hit WKTU/103.5 FM switched to a backup site. Spanish WPAT/93.1 FM had no backup, according to general manager Cary Davis, but by late afternoon it was broadcasting live English reports. Of the two public WNYC stations, WNYC/820 AM transmits from Kearny, N.J., and never left the air; WNYC/93.9 FM lost its signal for a while, but Dean Capello, programming vice president, said he believed the "FM will have a backup transmitter on the air in a few days."

On Long Island, most stations were airing live commentary, taking listener call-ins and giving news coverage late into the afternoon.