Houston Radio: Remains On Duty Despite Rising Waters

Sports talker Matt Thomas will be ready at some point to talk about the Astros' playoff drive, the Texans' quarterback choices and the James Harden-Chris Paul combination for the Rockets.

Matt Thomas

"Just not now," he told The Houston Chronicle.

Thomas averaged nine hours on the air daily from Friday through Monday, working the emotionally fraught overnight shift, as iHeartMedia's radio stations, including all-sports KBME 790 AM, moved to simulcast mode to track Hurricane/Tropical Storm Harvey's ravages upon Texas.

CBS Radio and other local chains radio have taken a similar approach. CBS, unlike iHeart, has no news-talk presence, so the station has combined hosts from its music stations and all-sports KILT (610 AM) for a simulcast program.

Thomas had similar duties in 2015, when he was on the air from 11 p.m. until 4 a.m. after a Rockets playoff game as the Memorial Day floods crushed portions of southwest Houston. That experience taught him what he thinks the audiences have needed to hear during his marathon stints during Harvey.

"They want to hear each other's voices," he said. "They want to know what areas are being affected, what is happening in other areas. As much as they want to hear from meteorologists and civic leaders, there is a part of them that wants to hear from fellow citizens on how they have been navigating these waters."

Thomas had not seen his family since last Friday. "I love sports," he said. "But first I have to help us get through this as a community and then take a couple of steps back before I can focus again on the more enjoyable part of my life. I need to vege."

KILT sports hosts Mike Meltser, Sean Pendergast and Paul Gallant have been working on-air shifts for the CBS Radio cluster along with a group that includes George Lindsey, Erin Austin and Nick Russo of KILT (100.3 FM), and Sarah Pepper, Lauren Kelly and Geoff Sheen of KHMX (96.5 FM).

Since Saturday afternoon at 4:00 PM, CBS RADIO Houston has been hard at work connecting local area residents to relevant and timely information during hurricane Harvey.

The cluster is running a four-station, commercial-free simulcast of long-form coverage across KILT-FM/AM, KHMX-FM and KKHH-FM featuring storm updates, evacuation information, disaster relief resources and taking live calls.

Sports station KIKK 650 has been turned into a continuous loop of evacuation information, routes and shelters. The station was granted Special Temporary Authority by the FCC to run for 24 hours during this emergency period.

Spanish station KLOL-FM will air a commercial-free simulcast of Telemundo until further notice.

Once the live simulcasts began running across the stations, the phone lines were inundated with questions and needs that CBS RADIO Houston is helping to answer and connecting residents with immediate help. KILT, KHMX and KKHH are the only FM stations in Houston broadcasting continuous live storm coverage.

Employees, many of whom can’t make it home, are camped out in the CBS RADIO Houston offices or in a nearby hotel. Food and water were stockpiled ahead of the storm and local residents and grocers have even brought food to the office.

Chief Engineer Robbie Green has been continuously onsite since Friday and any and all on-air hosts that were able to make it safely to the stations were pulled in to provide continuous live updates: George Lindsey, Cowboy Dave and Mo, Nick Russo and Erin Austin from 100.3 The Bull; Geoff Sheen, Sarah Pepper and Lauren Kelly from Mix 96.5; Sean Pendergast, Mike Meltzer and Paul Gallant from SportsRadio 610.

Evacuation and shelter updates are also being offered on the stations’ websites and social media pages. Over the past 24 hours, The Bull’s Nick Russo has reached over 251,000 people on his Twitter page while the station has reached over two million. The combined reach of the stations, on-air and online, is massive.

CBS RADIO Houston SVP/Market Manager Sarah Frazier stated, “Our employees are 100% dedicated to broadcasting the latest information to help evacuate Houston residents, keep them safe and connected to loved ones. This is a difficult time for everyone in the area but we are all working together to get through it. In emergency situations such as this, the power of local radio is undisputed, unparalleled and reaches everyone in the community. We are all proudly #HoustonStrong.”

Cumulus Media-Houston's 104.1 KRBE Program Director Leslie Whittle reports this morning that, while some rescues are still happening, Houston is definitely entering the recovery phase of this effort. Also, according to Whittle, the forecast for Houston today is sunny.

In the meantime, KRBE's live, local coverage continues. Whittle said: "The whole crew is at the station, so Kevin Quinn, Freddy Cruz, Corinna Delgado and Phoenix (who have all been on the air since Sunday morning), are finally able to get some rest.  At one time, we had over 600 reported areas of significant high water around the city, so of course one of the biggest services we continue to provide are road closure/high water updates at least twice an hour.  We remain focused on keeping our listeners safe and informed, and I couldn't be more proud of the job the entire KRBE team has done serving our great community."

Whittle continued: "One bright spot came from Coldplay's concert in Miami last night, where they performed "Dreaming of Houston".  It's a song dedicated to our entire region during this time of devastation. We began playing it today and the response has been enormous. As we begin to recover, we continue to ask for the continued prayers and assistance from our fellow broadcasters."

Terri Thomas, Operations Manager, Radio One Houston is living onsite at the station with a skeleton crew of dedicated talent and engineers; and working remotely with a team of digital marketers to ensure the listeners of The Box 97.9 FM and Majic 102.1 FM are informed, inspired and entertained.

Thomas said, “As long as the power allows, we will be live and local providing our listeners with the real time information they need, the inspiration we all seek and yes, the entertainment to lift us during this tragic time.”

Jay Stevens, SVP, Programming at Radio One adds, “In times like these we see the continued importance of radio being live and local to service the need of listeners.  We are proud of our team and standing guard to support them in any way possible.”