Good that an organization is stepping up.
Currently tuned into WION Ionia (AM Stereo 1430), they are live and local with a tornado warning. Interesting listening.
Itâs actually a severe T-storm warning and a tornado watch FYI.
They do two weather reports an hour normally, so in a sense, thereâs always someone on standby for a situation like this.
Ironically they published an article today to emphasize that there wonât be an overabundance of provided warnings.
https://i1430.com/2026/04/14/too-many-warnings-from-too-many-places/
No, there was a tornado warning issued (which escalated from the tornado watch whilst I was listening). But I donât think anything came of it, luckily.
We are quite blasĂ© to the tornado risk in Australia. It will take one hitting a large centre to change that I think (Kurnell doesnât count).
Listening to Super Hits 93.5 Rochelle IL . The usual syndicated Rick Dees program replaced by rolling coverage of severe weather simulcast from local TV.
Earlier, the coverage was interrupted every 10 minutes or so by the Emergency Broadcasting Service with tornado warnings for Rochelle itself. They had now expired but after about 30 minutes severe thunderstorm warning was issued. The coverage has now finished and Rick Dees is back on.
The EBS messages seemed to have lower quality AM source including some static.
Most stations (especially those that are mostly automated) are setup to automatically relay EAS (not EBS) warnings from a primary source. In this case, it is likely an AM station that is originating the warning audio, hence the quality youâre hearing.
Storm chasers in the area yesterday.
Los Angeles will get its first full-time FM sports station next month, as Audacy takes the FM simulcast signal away from news station KNX-AM and makes it â97.1 The Fan.â While the sports format has struggled in Australia, most major US markets have multiple sports stations, many are on FM, and many of the largest are huge moneymakers because of the targeted demographics they are able to deliver.
Because there are three US national sports networks. Down under, one is struggling enough.
Thatâs before we get onto SiriusXMâs offering.
Most of the sports networks are used to cover dayparts in off hours - or entire schedules on the second and third tier stations. The top tier stations generally have local talent and shows during prime hours (6a-7p) or at least drive times. It also helps that there are four sports with major league franchises in most major US metro areas (and strong college programs in many cities too), creating intense geographically defined fanbases (though basketball and hockey doesnât generally move the ratings needle like American football and baseball.) With those four sportsâ cycles, there is hardly a week of the year when there isnât something happening to generate talk-worthy content. While there are certainly plenty of sports and sports fans in Australia, the dynamic is totally different.
Additionally, fans (and commentators also) shop around across different sports much moreso than in Australia in my experience.
Speaking of sportsâŠ
Talking about shooting yourself in the foot.
97.1 has consistently been between 4th and 6th in the LA radio ratings table, drawing at least 4.0. Meanwhile KLAC draws 1.0 and KSPN is not even rated.
Lineup will be announced Wednesday.
Needless to say KNX is back to the good old days.
KNX has consistently hovered near the bottom of the Top 20 in the 25-54 demo, while fellow news operations in NYC, Chicago and San Francisco are all consistently in the Top 15 (Top 10 in WINSâ case.) KLAC is AM only. There is obviously more money to be made with an FM sports station than continuing with the KNX simulcast, otherwise they wouldnât have made this move. Sports stations have one of the highest billing ratios in the US, with many sports stations (Dallas, Detroit, Philly) being at or near the top of their marketsâ billing ranks despite not necessarily being at the top of the ratings.
We are devastated to hear about the passing of John Sterling, a WFAN and Yankees radio icon whose voice was synonymous with an entire generation of Yankee fandom. Rest in peace, Johnâ
â WFAN Sports Radio (@WFAN660) May 4, 2026
He called 5,731 Yankees games between 1989 and 2024.
The station temporarily switches to a sombre visual branding for the day.
WKRP is now finally a real station in Cincinnati.
Hopefully as part of the rebrand they rent a helicopter and do a turkey drop at the Pinedale Mall.
And with that, some MW affiliates have had to switch to Fox News and others. Handy to know if seeking DX from across the pond.