FLORIDA'S BROADCASTERSSERVING EVERY LOCAL COMMUNITY
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More than 4,000 pet owners and their wagging best friends showed up on a Saturday morning in February to participate in the local "Walk for the Animals," a fundraising event cosponsored by WLYF-FM in Miami, Fla., every year. The event raised $195,000 for the Humane Society of Greater Miami in 2007, a 42 percent increase from 2006. Talent from WLYF hosts the walk and live updates air every hour. In the weeks leading up to the fundraiser, the station uses live and recorded announcements to invite its listeners to join the "LITE FM Paws Patrol" team or create their own. The station Web site lists information and acts as a gateway for the registration process. "Thanks to the airing of public service announcements, live mentions and deejay endorsements before the event, we can ensure that more than 3,000 people join our efforts. At the event, WLYF puts on a show and ensures that everyone has a memorable time," said Emily Marquez-Dulin, the executive director of the Humane Society of Greater Miami. "This event could not be what it is without WLYF."
Raising awareness and funds to help children fight cancer and other catastrophic illnesses comes easy to WQYK-AM/FM in Tampa, Fla. The stations held their annual "St. Jude Kids Radiothon," a two-day event that included live broadcasts, music and on-air personalities discussing how even small donations add up to make a big difference in the lives of those affected by pediatric cancer. This year, the station’s efforts raised $327,000. The money helps provide medical treatment to children who come to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital from the immediate area, as well as nationally. The stations’ 19-year total for the radiothon tops $5.5 million. Operations Manager Mike Culotta says the effort is a success because "everybody at the station works together as a team." The radiothon is part of the thousands of minutes WQYK provides to local charities, community projects and awareness campaigns each year.
WPOZ-FM in Altamonte Springs, Fla., provided expectant moms and parents of young children with free health and safety information at its second annual “Little Ears Expo.” The expo featured informational booths covering such topics as CPR, parenting techniques, insurance and financial planning, children’s fashions, scrap booking, car-seat demos and more. Attendees also had the opportunity to learn about preschool options, health, nutrition and behavioral patterns of young children. In addition to visiting various booths, expectant mothers in their second and third trimesters received a free live 4-D ultrasound at the expo. Throughout the day, experts also delivered seminars on pediatric first aid, what to expect in a baby’s first year, breast feeding and pool safety.
A year-long, comprehensive campaign launched by WLTV-TV in Miami, Fla., together with radio stations WAMR-FM, WRTO-FM, WAQI-AM and WQBA-AM, was pivotal in getting citizenship information to the 600,000 permanent legal residents in the area. The "Ya es Hora ¡Ciudadnia!" (It’s Time Citizenship Campaign) promoted nationalization through public service announcements, special editions of public affairs programming, call-in phone banks that allowed residents to ask questions and extensive information on the stations’ Web sites. The stations also promoted citizenship centers and hosted citizenship application events throughout South Florida. In addition, the radio stations broadcast a series of interviews with legal experts and top immigration lawyers, which allowed listeners to call-in questions. The campaign was timed to encourage legal residents to apply for citizenship before a planned 69 percent naturalization fee hike was implemented by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. "It is critical that permanent legal residents in South Florida have all the relevant facts to make timely citizenship decisions," said Enrique Teutelo, an anchor for WLTV who regularly covers the real-life stories of immigrants.
For the listeners of WQBA-AM in Coral Gables, Fla., budget cuts in higher education was a top issue last year, so the station took action and organized a town hall meeting. The community wanted to discuss the effects the cuts would have on the quality and availability of community colleges in South Florida. The forum offered students and educators the opportunity to address elected officials and college presidents about how the loss in funding would impact the quality of available education. WQBA’s Oscar Haza and Bernadette Pardo moderated the event. The community was invited to join through promotional announcements throughout the week prior. Live cut-ins during the meeting broadened the reach of the discussion. Station staff contributed 75 hours to the event. WQBA organizes regular town hall meetings as a venue for area residents to discuss issues facing their communities and neighborhoods.
In support of the United Way, WFLA-TV in Tampa, Fla., volunteered its talent and time to produce a series of six public service announcements. The station rounded up community leaders and local celebrities to inspire viewers to "Live United." The mayors of Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jeff Garcia are among those featured in the spots. To augment the reach of the campaign, the station left its logos and branding off the announcements and distributed them to television stations throughout the Bay. All six announcements are receiving airtime on WFLA. "Simply put, without WFLA’s contribution of creative talent, production and airtime the United Way of Tampa Bay would have not been able to reach our community stakeholders with any degree of impact or frequency," said Douglas Arnold, vice president of marketing and communications for United Way of Tampa Bay. "WFLA demonstrates the highest level of community service to the people of Tampa Bay and continues to provide United Way support that truly makes a difference in our regional operations."
To make viewers aware of their option to vote by absentee ballot, WKMG-TV in Orlando, Fla., teamed with the League of Women Voters for a "Stay at Home and Be Counted" campaign. In the month leading up to Florida’s presidential primary, the station broadcast public service announcements (PSAs) hundreds of times showing the ease of voting by mail. The four station-produced announcements featured WKMG’s top anchors voting on their schedule and in the privacy of their own homes. Viewers were directed to the League’s Web site for details on ordering absentee ballots within the seven counties covered in the station’s viewing area. In production and airtime, WKMG donated $75,000 worth of services to the campaign. Absentee ballot requests were up 300 percent when compared to the 2004 primary elections, and the League credits the campaign with the results; similar efforts are being recommended across the country. To continue this voter momentum into the general election, WKMG has partnered with the League for a "Central Florida Video Challenge." High school students, film and college students, and the community at large have been asked to create 30-second PSAs about how their votes count. For each of the three categories, the top videos will be posted on the station’s Web sites so viewers can vote for their favorites. The winning spots will be played for a two-week rotation to inspire those in the Sunshine State to get out and vote.
WSUN-FM in St. Petersburg, Fla., uses its "Green Room" to record live performances of major and local artists. These in-studio performances are released in an annual 97X Green Room CD, with all net proceeds going to an environmentally minded charity, most recently the Nature Conservancy, which has protected 1.2 million acres of natural lands in Florida and heads up the Florida Reef Resilience Program. The "Green Room CD Project" raises critical awareness of the benefiting organizations. Promotions for the most recently released volume as well as CD inserts include information on the Nature Conservancy and steer listeners on how to get involved. More than 15,000 copies have been sold to date, and 97X Green Room volumes have consistently been the number one selling rock disc in Tampa during the first week of sales. In a related effort, WSUN is working with the Ocean Conservancy to recruit volunteers for the organization’s annual coastal clean up. A Memorial Day benefit concert organized by WSUN raised $6,000 for the Ocean Conservancy, doubling its budget for this year’s clean up; recyclables that were placed in bins set up at the concert are being converted into material that will be used to make sweaters for children. "I’m a native Floridian. The environment is what we live for," said WSUN on-air personality Shark. "As a radio station, we can get people involved with conservancy and raise awareness about organizations doing good in the area."
WJXT-TV in Jacksonville, Fla., partnered with the Baker-Gilmour Cardiovascular Institute to help alert its female viewers about the threat of heart disease, which kills more American women than all cancers combined. Since the "Take It to Heart" campaign began in 2003, free screening events have been a cornerstone in the program’s outreach efforts to the community. The 2007 event provided cholesterol and blood glucose testing as well as blood pressure measurements to more than 1,700 people. WJXT aired live coverage throughout the day, and the mayor of Jacksonville proclaimed February 7 as "Take It to Heart Day." News stories and public service announcements support the campaign, as well as billboard messages. Businesses are invited to bring "Take It to Heart" to their employees by distributing risk awareness sheets and other materials developed for the campaign. To date, 20 businesses have participated. The program has been recognized with several awards, including a state award from the American Heart Association and a Wellness Council Award for workplace health. In 2008, the screening event grew to include three local hospitals in three counties within the station’s broadcast area.
"Buddy Check," a program developed by WTLV-TV and WJXX-TV in Jacksonville, Fla., in partnership with Baptist Medical Center, is helping women find breast cancer early, when it is easiest to treat. Every 12th day of the month, the stations run stories during the morning, early evening and late-night newscasts, reminding women to perform breast self-exams and encouraging them find a buddy who will remind them as well. To highlight the importance of the program, the stations run a monthly feature story about a person who credits finding her breast cancer to "Buddy Check." To date, 285 local women and men have contacted the station to say "Buddy Check" saved their lives. The program was implemented by Jeannie Blaylock, an award-winning anchor whose enthusiasm and dedication to the mission of educating women on the value of early detection has remained one of the program’s greatest strengths since its inception 16 years ago. Blaylock continues to speak to groups around the community about the importance of breast self-exams. More than 2 million free "Buddy Check" kits have been distributed to women throughout the globe, and the program has been duplicated in more than 50 U.S. cities.
New Year’s resolutions to eat right and work out are always easier to keep with a little encouragement, which is why WPOZ-FM, WMYZ-FM and WHYZ-FM in Orlando, Fla., started “Ellis and Tyler’s Dash for Health.” The stations’ morning show team, Ellis Feaster and Tyler McKenzie, invited listeners to join an eight-week wellness initiative, with an ultimate goal of getting both themselves and their fans healthier. Each weekday, local health experts went on the air to give helpful advice about everything from eliminating high-fat foods from the dinner table to finding a balance between family, work and a healthier lifestyle. In addition, weekly emails containing tips and practical recipe ideas were sent to participants, and free “Dash for Health” exercise classes were offered at area YMCAs. “We feel this is an amazing opportunity to join with the community to learn how to make healthier lifestyle changes a priority in 2009,” said McKenzie.
When two police officers lost their lives in the line of duty, WMXJ-FM in Miami, Fla. organized a benefit concert to support the families left behind. The "Cop Rock 2007 Friday Night H.O.P. (Help Our Police)" event starred Chuck Negron and the Classic Rock All Stars at an outdoor venue. In addition to raising awareness of the violence that law enforcement faces to keep neighborhoods safe, ticket sales and donations brought in $30,000, which was spilt between the Miami-Dade County chapter of The Police Officer’s Assistant Trust and the Sheriff’s Foundation of Broward County. During the two weeks prior to the event, the station aired two interviews with the bands during its morning show, more than 100 public service announcements and pre-recorded promotional spots and more than 100 live mentions. Station talent emceed the concert and the station donated 336 staff hours in total to make "Cop Rock" a success. A five-hour live broadcast of the concert allowed listeners throughout the community to partake.
When Lazaro ’’DJ Laz’’ Mendez of WPOW-FM Miami, Fla., heard that a local family was struggling to pay for funeral services after their three children were tragically killed in a car accident, he went to the airwaves. During five hours of broadcast, Mendez brought the community together, raising more than $50,000 for a proper burial. Many listeners called in to share their own stories of loss and remembrance, and others came to the station to give in-person donations, including children who brought in their piggybanks.
Situated in the path of Atlantic hurricanes and located in the state hit by the most tornadoes each year, WPBF-TV in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., has a commitment to preparing and protecting the people in its community when severe weather threatens. The station produces an annual hurricane special and devotes a special series to protecting families, pets and property in the face of a storm during newscasts. A "Hurricane Homepage," which includes an interactive radar map to track weather activity and a Hurricane and Storm Survival Guide, makes up a comprehensive section of the station Web site. Viewers are invited to meet the WPBF Weather First meteorologists in person to discuss the latest in hurricane protection and awareness at three major hurricane expos each year. In addition, the Weather First team goes into the classroom and in front of groups to talk about severe weather and how to stay safe throughout the year.
Drowning is the number one cause of death for young children in Florida. To help reduce that number, WMOR-TV in Tampa Bay, Fla., started its "Pool Patrol" initiative. The station has run hundreds of spots covering four different topics: pool safety and what to do in case of an emergency; swim safety and the benefit of swim classes; securing pool areas with proper fencing and alarms; and the importance of "Water Watchers" supervising all children younger than 14 when near a pool. The station doesn’t stop at the microphone. It also prints and distributes 20,000 water safety activity books through the Pinellas County Health Department and member agencies of the Hillsborough County Water Safety Team, which includes a wide variety of civic, community and public health groups. "We feel these books are a valuable asset for informing children and their caregivers about staying safe in and around water," wrote Kathy Moes of the Children’s Board of Hillsborough County in a letter to the station. "Thank you so much for producing this valuable community resource."
Part of a close-knit military town, WYCT-FM in Pensacola, Fla., adopted local Naval Reserve Battalion 11 before it shipped out to Kuwait. Days before the sailors’ departure, a crew from the station went out to the base and recorded live interviews with these brave men and women. On the day of their departure, the station gave the sailors a send off and provided box lunches. During Thanksgiving, WYCT’s morning show host Dana Cervantes went to visit the battalion overseas and hand-delivered 14,000 "Letters from Home." The station also linked up with WEAR-TV to air personal messages from the sailors via satellite for family members back in the United States. WYCT’s efforts will continue until the battalion arrives back home safely. The station has made a commitment to make sure these men and women know how much their community and country care. WYCT was a National Association of Broadcasters’ Crystal Award Finalist in 2008.
For more examples of how Florida’s local radio and TV broadcasters are serving every local community, please contact the Florida Association of Broadcasters .