Beasley Media Group is among the radio companies coping with the impact of Hurricane Ian, though its facilities seem largely to have weathered it pretty well.
The company is headquartered in southwest Florida and owns a number of stations in the state. Employees began returning to its HQ in Naples on Friday.
In Tampa, Beasley has about a half-dozen stations. Steve Triplett is VP and market manager there. The cluster’s tower at Fort Lonesome supporting WLLD(FM) was inaccessible on Thursday due to downed trees, debris and an overflowing creek, according to a company email. That site was without power but running on generator.
By Friday the WLLD(FM) and WHFS(AM) sites that were running on generators had received fuel deliveries.
Many employees in Tampa were expected to work from home until Monday. Triplett noted that some employees had no power at home and were dealing with cleanup themselves.
Beasley also has a half dozen or so stations in Ft. Myers-Naples-Marco Island. AJ Lurie is Beasley’s VP and market manager there.
Starting Wednesday evening that cluster covered key dayparts with a simulcast across its stations using local talent. On Wednesday evening the stations carried several hours of coverage from the local NBC TV station affiliate.
On Friday, Lurie provided an update: “We’ve had over 2,000 calls and texts since we have opened up the mic to connect with people impacted by the hurricane- sharing important information regarding food, shelter, gasoline, water, services and more, and providing a lifeline to the communities we serve.”
Beasley also announced that it will run a “Community of Caring Radiothon” to benefit people harmed by the hurricane, partnering with the Red Cross; and it is using its Quu visual content channel to promote the fundraiser to compatible car dashboards:
The on-air part of the radiothon is scheduled for Monday morning drive time across the company’s markets, though Tampa planned to run it immediately.
Beasley also is partnering with two Waterman Broadcasting TV stations in Ft. Myers/Naples to encourage listeners and viewers to support Red Cross relief efforts.
Radio World welcomes updates from any stations affected by Ian; email radioworld@futurenet.com.
