Who owns wtop radio

One example of how it fits in: those updates on the eights, said Dave Statter, who handled traffic reports and spot news stories at WTOP from to He marvels at its growth in the plus years since he moved on. Which schools are closed?

I need the score of the Wizards game. The medium itself, he explained more recently to WTOP. For listeners, that value and reliability begets a close, ongoing relationship between you, the audience, and us. Other dramatic local stories had national relevance. For example: John Hinckley Jr. And then there was a snowy, frigid afternoon in January , when Air Florida Flight 90 struck the 14th Street Bridge and sank into the Potomac River.

The crash was but one part of a major news day : Just 30 minutes later, three people were killed and 25 were injured when an Orange Line train derailed near the Smithsonian station. It was the first fatal accident for Metro. A collision on the Red Line took a worse toll, killing nine and injuring Two enormous tragedies had occurred that would have lingering impacts on the area — particularly its traffic. They need information to make the decisions immediately and in the coming days.

McConnell braved frigid conditions that day to provide constant updates. Also covering it was Statter, even though he was not on the payroll yet. He was actually between jobs on Jan. Statter was at home in Pentagon City and had his police scanners on.

He heard talk of an aircraft down, so he called the WTOP assignment desk. The editors assigned reporters to get down there. Not content to sit on the sidelines, Statter assigned himself to do the same. He avoided traffic by navigating the back roads of Crystal City and Pentagon City and made his way to the old Twin Bridges Marriott, which was near the crash site.

He went up to the top floor. And they put me to work the next day. What Statter remembers most about covering the story into the evening, he said, was hearing the sirens scream for hours, and comprehending how a jet could end up between those bridges. The crash shut down the bridge. And that shutdown, along with the fatal derailment, impacted traffic around the area for days. One, in particular, began after the morning rush hour on Dec.

Clad in a motorcycle helmet and a blue snowsuit, he claimed to have explosives and threatened to blow up the monument unless there was a serious discussion on banning nuclear weapons. After 10 hours, he tried to drive off, leading to fears of a bombing somewhere else in D. Journalists, contrary to what some folks say, are usually nice people, too. And it can be difficult to cover something with a detached professionalism when the story is shocking, as with the cocaine-related death of Maryland basketball standout Len Bias , the murder of Redskins safety Sean Taylor and the attack on members of Congress during a baseball practice in an Alexandria park Mike McMearty, now the news and programming director, started his extensive career here back in He remembers how nobody needed to be asked to work long hours and how people were showing up in the newsroom that day even if they were off.

As terrible as that all was, the tragic day stands as a moment when WTOP did some of its best work, Oxley said, even amid traumatic circumstances. Just a year later, fear would grip the region again, when John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo killed 10 and wounded three during their day sniper shooting spree in D.

Some of those victims were gunned down while filling up their cars with gas. Others were shot in parking lots after shopping. One was sitting on a bench reading.

Staying on top of the story was especially fraught as well, Taub said. With everyone on edge, anything that looked slightly suspicious meant a phone call to the police. And the newsroom had to filter out rumors and unconfirmed information that could have caused a panic among listeners. Such traumatic events do take their toll on a newsroom.

We live here, too, after all. A: Former vice president of news and programming Jim Farley coined the term about 20 years ago, current news and programming director Mike McMearty said.

Certain inaugurations and protests through the years count as feel-good local stories depending on where you sit on the political spectrum. Snyder advocated for restaurants and supermarkets to share unwanted food with the homeless instead of throwing it out. The Massachusetts senator was among several dignitaries sitting at a long table, she said, and the one thing separating her microphone from its necessary placement you gotta get that audio for your story was a rather-dense gaggle of cameras and reporters.

The On January 4 , WTOP station owner Bonneville International announced that the station would move to a new primary frequency of Fittingly, this new partnership also signaled the Post' s re-emergence into the radio scene on the very same dial spot WTOP once held.

An HD Radio digital subchannel of the In , the WTOP radio configuration was realigned once again. That sponsorship concluded the end of Other sponsorship continues, with sportscasts being "fed" by Ledo Pizza.

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