{"id":4785,"date":"2012-10-31T12:12:45","date_gmt":"2012-10-31T16:12:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=4785"},"modified":"2012-10-31T12:12:45","modified_gmt":"2012-10-31T16:12:45","slug":"bbg-hurricane-sandy-fails-to-stop-voa-broadcasts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2012\/10\/bbg-hurricane-sandy-fails-to-stop-voa-broadcasts\/","title":{"rendered":"BBG: Hurricane Sandy Fails To Stop VOA Broadcasts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Though this press release rightfully focuses on the staff at VOA headquarters in DC, we should take our hats off to the good folks that kept the Edward R. Murrow Transmission<\/a> site running in North Carolina as well.\"\"<\/p>\n

(Source: BBG<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Pounding rain and 80 mile an hour winds from Hurricane Sandy shut down U.S. government offices and the Washington, D.C. public transportation Monday and Tuesday, but it didn\u2019t stop VOA journalists, technicians and support personnel from delivering news around the world in 43 languages.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had people sleep on couches around the building, and one used a cot, but the cots are not very comfortable,\u201d English Branch Chief Terry Wing says.\u00a0 \u201cSome folks came in early on Monday, some stayed late, a couple are still here, I think some are going on 30 hours or more.\u201d<\/p>\n

VOA Director David Ensor says every show aired on schedule.\u00a0 \u201cIt was extraordinary, hundreds of programs went out, we never missed a beat.\u201d\u00a0 Ensor says many language services provided constant updates to network affiliate stations around the world.<\/p>\n

Executive Editor Steve Redisch says, \u201cThe Spanish Branch did more than 50 live shots to affiliates in Latin America and had a reporter on the New Jersey beach. The Russian Service was on with their affiliate, and the Indonesian Service filed for 20 radio and TV affiliates.\u201d\u00a0 Redisch says those are just some examples of what went on during the storm.<\/p>\n

Newsroom Deputy Managing Editor David Jones, who spent the night at a nearby hotel, says it was all hands on deck.\u00a0 \u201cPeople were great.\u00a0 We had TV and radio packages on the weather, and our political reporter did a story on how the hurricane affected the campaign, but most of our coverage was international \u2014 the fighting in Syria, Secretary of State [Hillary] Clinton\u2019s trip to the Balkans, the Ukrainian Election, and \u00a0\u00a0there was something on South African politics,\u201d Jones says.<\/p>\n

Executive Editor Redisch says there was a lot of resourcefulness.\u00a0 The French-to-Africa Service found a French speaking meteorologist at the National Weather Service, and the Mandarin Service TV show was anchored by an alternate who borrowed clothes so she could host the program.<\/p>\n

While VOA journalists were hunkered down in Washington, videographer Daniela Schrier managed to capture something that nobody else had, footage of flood waters rushing through streets of Lower Manhattan Monday night.\u00a0 Schrier, who was trapped in her apartment in New York\u2019s East Village, managed to upload the video to Washington just before she lost power.<\/p>\n

VOA broadcasts more than 1,700 hours of radio and television programming around the world each week from its headquarters in Washington.\u00a0 The programs are delivered on satellite, cable, shortwave, AM, FM, the Internet and on a worldwide network of affiliate stations.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Though this press release rightfully focuses on the staff at VOA headquarters in DC, we should take our hats off to the good folks that kept the Edward R. Murrow Transmission site running in North Carolina as well. (Source: BBG) Pounding rain and 80 mile an hour winds from Hurricane Sandy shut down U.S. government […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[56,3],"tags":[406,936,1124,1454,1453,10,379,182],"class_list":["post-4785","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-broadcasters","category-news","tag-bbg","tag-broadcasting-board-of-governors","tag-edward-r-murrow-transmitting-station-re-dedication","tag-frankenstorm","tag-hurricane-sandy","tag-voa","tag-voa-greenville","tag-voice-of-america"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-1fb","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6940,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/07\/bbg-watch-edward-r-murrow-site-appears-safe-in-fiscal-year-2014\/","url_meta":{"origin":4785,"position":0},"title":"BBG Watch: Edward R. Murrow site appears safe in fiscal year 2014","author":"Thomas","date":"July 27, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"This is good news for our friends at the Edward R. Murrow Transmitting Station (click to read tour): (Source: BBG Watch) Thanks to efforts by Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) member Victor Ashe, support of his board colleagues Susan McCue and Michael Meehan, and intervention from North Carolina congressmen\u00a0G.K. Butterfield\u00a0(D-NC)\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Edward R. Murrow Transmitting Station campus as seen by Google Earth (Click to enlarge)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/VOAfromGoogleEarth-300x264.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3425,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2012\/05\/the-edward-r-murrow-transmitting-station-voa-site-b-re-dedication-means-a-new-name-plus-a-future\/","url_meta":{"origin":4785,"position":1},"title":"The Edward R. Murrow Transmitting Station: VOA “Site B” re-dedication means a new name plus a future","author":"Thomas","date":"May 1, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Last December, I had the honor of receiving a personal five hour tour of the VOA transmitter site near Greenville, NC, USA. It was literally a dream come true for me, and providing a more in-depth understanding of the history, the equipment, the antennas and, most importantly, the people who\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/MonitoringTimesCoverMarch2012-230x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3494,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2012\/05\/edward-r-murrow-transmitting-station-re-dedication-videos\/","url_meta":{"origin":4785,"position":2},"title":"Edward R. Murrow Transmitting Station: re-dedication videos","author":"Thomas","date":"May 9, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week, we noted the upcoming re-dedication of the Edward R. Murrow Transmitting Station and the significance of this particular broadcasting location. Videos of the event have now been posted on the BBG Watch website, including this one, which features the original dedication of the site in 1963: Local CBS\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17992,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/03\/any-requests-heading-to-the-edward-r-murrow-transmitting-station\/","url_meta":{"origin":4785,"position":3},"title":"Any requests? Heading to the Edward R. Murrow transmitting station…","author":"Thomas","date":"March 31, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm planning to visit the Edward R. Murrow transmitter station for a few hours on Friday (tomorrow). This will be my third trip to the station and I'll be hanging out with the chief engineer, Macon Dail. I plan to take more photos--especially of some recent transmitter upgrades. Any questions\/requests?\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"VOA-Greenville-Curtain-Antennas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/VOA-Greenville-Curtain-Antennas.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/VOA-Greenville-Curtain-Antennas.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/VOA-Greenville-Curtain-Antennas.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/VOA-Greenville-Curtain-Antennas.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":17824,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/03\/breaking-news-oig-report-on-the-edward-r-murrow-transmitting-station\/","url_meta":{"origin":4785,"position":4},"title":"Breaking news: OIG Report on the Edward R. Murrow Transmitting Station","author":"Thomas","date":"March 18, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I've just received a copy of the Office of Inspections (OIG) report on the VOA transmitting station in Greenville, NC.\u00a0The full OIG report is now in the public domain as a PDF. Here are a few highlights... A summary of what OIG found: The Broadcasting Board of Governors Special Committee\u00a0on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Fullscreen capture 3182016 51138 PM","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Fullscreen-capture-3182016-51138-PM.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Fullscreen-capture-3182016-51138-PM.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Fullscreen-capture-3182016-51138-PM.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Fullscreen-capture-3182016-51138-PM.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3377,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/bbg-watch-ashe-seeks-comments-on-u-s-international-broadcasting\/","url_meta":{"origin":4785,"position":5},"title":"BBG Watch: Ashe seeks comments on U.S. international broadcasting","author":"Thomas","date":"April 23, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"This is a great opportunity to communicate directly with a BBG member who wants your input regarding upcoming changes to US international broadcasting: (Source: BBG Watch) Often referred to as a senior Republican member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), Ambassador Victor Ashe has invited the public, including BBG\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/BBG-Logo-300x207.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4785","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4785"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4785\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}