Many East Coast radio broadcasters got a workout during the recent blizzard, and the February issue of the NAB’s Licensed to Serve noted that. But not every act of community service from local broadcasters was blizzard-related.
For instance, the water problems in Flint, Mich., brought about waterthons from iHeartMedia WNIC(FM) in Detroit and a pair of Cumulus Media stations in Indianapolis, WJJK(FM) and WRWM(FM). The WNIC event saw participation from Fox TV’s WJBK and radio stations WDFAN(AM), WDTW(FM), WJLB(FM), WKQI(FM) and WMXD(FM); collecting 240 tons of water. In Indy, the radio stations collected 20,000 gallons of water along with cash.
In Augusta, Ga., WKXC(FM), a Beasley Broadcast property, raised $50,000 in Rock 4 Cops, a concert to benefit the Post Critical Incident Seminar training for police officers after traumatic incidents.
In the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, CBS Radio’s WCCO(AM)’s seventh annual “Let’s Kick Hunger Day,” pulled in more than $260,000.
Cumulus Media’s Dallas cluster of KPLX(FM), KSCS(FM), WBAP(AM), KLIF(FM), KTCK(AM) and KESN(FM), pulled together for several events in 2015, raising over $1.2 million for numerous causes. Included in the total were over $205,000 for Cook Children’s Hospital, $300,000 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and $500,000 for Austin Street Center. Other recipients included the Red Cross, National Pancreatic Cancer Foundation, Special Olympics Texas, Mothers Against Drunk Drivers, Charles E. Nash Elementary School’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Learning Center and the Denton State Supported Living Center.