Almost choked on my teeth this afternoon listening to CHQR.  

The Afternoon show found an eyewitness to that tragic helicopter crash in Cranbrook this afternoon.  The witness Bufus from Cranbrook saw it all.  Went on and on in graphic detail describing how the helicopter came down at a 45 degree angle exploding into a fireball right before his eyes.   He described it hitting a pedestrian and that he thinks he got decapitated.    A bystander dragged the decapitated body from the flames......"but he was already dead".   This guy went on and on about the burned bodies still in the wreckage just in front of him on his lawn.  "They were all goners....never had a chance any of them."  "They took most of them away now, there’s not much more to see anymore"      The witness seemed excited to be on the news.  You could hear the radio playing in delay in the background.

In my opinion it was far more graphic than I ever  needed to nor wanted to know.   I thought about the families or friends of anybody who knew these poor souls hearing this awkward and insensitive interview.  The interviewer also seemed taken back and it was very obvious nobody pre-interviewed this guy.  The cat was out of the bag and the word helicopter was used over and over again throughout.    

Sitting in traffic, I was kind of shocked by all this, but I never expected what happened next.   The interviewer in a very maudlin manner wrapped up the interview and said goodbye to Bufus.........then after just a very short pause proceeded with an enthusiastic " Now its time for CHQR Helicopter Traffic in the CHQR Traffic Helicopter ...Heres Jemma Lynn!!!!!!!    Even Jemma was shocked.  

Obviously all hell broke loose in the hallways at CHQR.  The word "Helicopter" was not used again all afternoon.    Heres Jemma with Traffic...........

Did anybody else hear this.....am I outta line with my read on this?  Your thoughts..........

then after just a very short pause proceeded with an enthusiastic " Now its time for CHQR Helicopter Traffic in the CHQR Traffic Helicopter ...Heres Jemma Lynn!!!!!!!





Appears to be a case of the announcer doing is job as normal with the various intro's positioned by the station. I honestly think it was not maliciously intended but said due to repetition. Experience plays a factor as well.

I did not hear it. BUT if the account above is accurate, my response is this. whoa. Chalk it up to repitition? I have a hard time with that, but again, that's just me. Experience? Again, no way. It's a basic human decency thing AND basic common sense in this business, new or old.

I bet the halls were quite busy around that building this afternoon. There's nothing like a good "scurry" to get the afternoon juices flowing!

Gimme a break.

You're suggesting newsies gotta start judging what the guy on the street says?  He's a friggin eyewitness - that's the immediacy and beauty of radio.  The eyewitness calls it as he sees it.

There are no issues here.

Carnage has a way of being... oh, I dunno... messy...?

"Live" reporting from an amateur would have the immediacy, the congruency and the sincerity of the individual.

Everybody else was just doing the job. Chances are the chopper reporter never heard much beyond the cue as she is working for... how many stations......?

Great feedback- thank you for your honesty.  

Perhaps I have failed to communicate properly what surprised me most about this situation.   Let me try again.  

I like QR77- I listen to them 30-40 percent of the time I listen to radio. I find them first class and pro most of the time.  I like the developing story on the fly concept, the live interview.      I was just surprised they found themselves in the heat of a developing story and after the graphic content and tone of the interview; the interviewer didn't see the obvious conflict coming.  I felt it would have been much more prudent to have gone to commercial break out of that interview and then go to helicopter traffic on the other side of the break.  It just didn't feel appropriate to me the way it went to air.      The fact they stopped mentioning helicopter traffic after that indicates to me they felt uncomfortable about it also.  

Keep it coming.   I enjoy your thoughts.

I certainly don't have a problem with that kind of reporting on a news station like QR. I would think the PC co-ordinating of terms would be difficult and I'm glad they let it evolve without trying to make sure it was spun right and PC. I'm personally quite sick of that crap.

I can see where, if that was done on a normally wall to wall mindless muzak station, that it would ruffle the feathers of those 3 or 4 people who were actually listening and not using it for noise, but it didn't, it was on a news station and it was news.

They done good in my opinion.

In the old days on the air I still remember the standing rule about pulling any airline commercials following any crashes on the news.  I taught that to all the recruits.  Wonder if anyone preaches that anymore?  

At any rate, if it's happening in your town you should be on it.  In fact no matter your format at the time, you're now a news station with this going on.  At least that's the way I would have handled it at the time.  Programming goes out the window.  

I don't think the airlines buy much radio anymore. Travel companies do, though.

Nothing surprises me about QR, the pin-heads who are running a "Talk Show Idol" contest (lifted from U-S markets.) Brushy Ridge you're right, they should have gone to a break. Period. Common sense. Radio sense. Any third year radio guy knows that., But we're dealing with some pretty pathetic excuses for radio pronouncers at QR, from Rutherford's shallow, fake bluster to Mike Blanchard's stumbling, aimless, lightweight hosting in the afternoon. In future, flick over to CBC.  

Ra2000... what wildly successful talk station do you consult or program?  It'd be great to know so we could attribute your clearly skilled monitor of CHQR against your track record.

[/sarcasm]

Quoted from Ra2000

Nothing surprises me about QR, the pin-heads who are running a "Talk Show Idol" contest (lifted from U-S markets.) Brushy Ridge you're right, they should have gone to a break. Period. Common sense. Radio sense. Any third year radio guy knows that., But we're dealing with some pretty pathetic excuses for radio pronouncers at QR, from Rutherford's shallow, fake bluster to Mike Blanchard's stumbling, aimless, lightweight hosting in the afternoon. In future, flick over to CBC.  

And how do you REALLY feel?  

Quoted from Ra2000

Nothing surprises me about QR, the pin-heads who are running a "Talk Show Idol" contest (lifted from U-S markets.) Brushy Ridge you're right, they should have gone to a break. Period. Common sense. Radio sense. Any third year radio guy knows that., But we're dealing with some pretty pathetic excuses for radio pronouncers at QR, from Rutherford's shallow, fake bluster to Mike Blanchard's stumbling, aimless, lightweight hosting in the afternoon. In future, flick over to CBC.  

Not to mention CKNW also ran a Talk Show Idol, and a Traffic Idol.  Last time I checked, they were number one in the market.

But yes, I do think common sense should have prevailed, but I also agree lack of expierence also played a role in all liklihood...someone with more savvy would've handled the situation better and improvised a bit more.

Talk Show Idol was fun to listen to on CHED a few months back... I hope the guy gets a shot.

As for QR, I wonder if the liner was sold, and the announcer was locked into it.  A break might have lost the spot, with the heavy schedule the chopper traffic reporter has between all the stations they handle.  If it was sponsored, it would have been a costly loss.

But as far as listening goes - definitely awkward.  The announcer should have kept the liner in a down tone, not pumped up for it if he/she did.