As we all search for distraction, or try to attend to long-delayed tasks during the COVID-19 crisis, I’ve been trying to combine the two with some long-intended listening, hearing how my favorite stations, and some of yours, are responding in this time of need.

Nostalgia is a natural response. I’ve wondered how some of my early favorite radio stations are responding now. Most are not still the AM music stations of my childhood, but given the endurance of many heritage brands, many are still around in some form—often as News/Talk outlets, which makes them a natural to check out now.

So on Monday morning, March 30, I listened to three of the stations I grew up with.

WOL Washington, D.C.

As an R&B powerhouse of the ‘60s and ‘70s, WOL was the first radio station I remember, my first favorite station, and my introduction to current music. It was also my father’s home-base as public affairs director of the Sonderling group of R&B stations. I kept listening to “the Big ‘OL” through high-school, even after they were upstaged by WKYS, WHUR, and other FM competitors. In 1980, new owner Cathy Hughes made WOL the flagship of the eventual Radio One group as well as a pioneer in African-American-targeted News/Talk radio.

On Monday, morning host Madelyne Woods was interviewing Kizzmekia Corbett, the viral immunologist  leading the National Institute of Health’s search for a corona virus vaccine—one of 30 different vaccines in the global pipeline, Corbett noted. That vaccine is about a year away from deployment under the best circumstances, although Corbett pointed out that it was also a major expediting of what would normally be a five-year process.

Woods took Corbett through a series of true/false questions aimed at thwarting misinformation about COVID-19 from some of the most-established FAQs to some of the most outlandish misperceptions. She’s on the side of Tylenol, not Advil, if you’re still hearing conflicting info about that one, but inhaling your blow-dryer will not protect you. “Enjoy your summer when you do get out,” Woods told Corbett, after they established that summer was the earliest possible time when we might expect a respite.

CKLW Windsor, Canada

In the ‘70s and early ‘80s, CKLW was effectively a Detroit station, as well as one of the most influential and admired Top 40s anywhere. As for a lot of broadcasters of a certain age, CKLW is one of the reasons I’m in radio. Now, AM800 is now the Windsor station that Canada’s broadcast regulator always wanted it to be, and very successful as the market’s News/Talk powerhouse. In the fall, it had ‘70s style numbers in Windsor—a 17.6 share 12-plus, nearly twice what the local CBC gets. (CKLW’s musical legacy lives on sister AM CKWW.)

When I tuned in, morning hosts Mike & Lisa were also talking to a public health official, Windsor-Essex County medical officer of health, Dr. Wajit Ahmed, who was mostly recounting statistics about new cases over the weekend in both Canada and Michigan. The other local headlines were about changes at Canada’s airlines and cutbacks in rail service; the manufacturer of sporting goods that had switched from hockey jerseys to making masks; the upswing in popularity for both Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario premier Doug Ford.

There was, in between all of this, some morning team banter. Mike & Lisa were also talking about Sunday night’s iHeart Living Room concert for America, and playing clips from “I Want It That Way.” (CKLW owner Bell Media is iHeart Radio’s Canadian partner.) Mike asked if the guys at the station should start a boy band. There were the results of Friday’s listener poll—80% of respondents said they were still going to the grocery store. Then there was Monday’s poll: have you or a family member lost your job?

WPST Trenton, N.J.

While many of the stations of my childhood were now News/Talk AMs, WPST became one of the first music FMs I listened to on a regular basis during high school, when its program director was industry journalist Tom Taylor, during his equally distinguished radio programming career. Long before crosstown (and now co-owned) WKXW (New Jersey 101.5) popularized the slogan, WPST was interesting to me because it did its own thing musically—it was “not New York, not Philadelphia.”

Knowing what radio’s job is now is easier, if not easy, for News/Talk stations. But on Monday morning, I heard Chris Rollins and the crew negotiating, successfully, I thought, what a CHR morning show should be at this moment. (It probably helps that this was already a show dealing heavily with social mores in the smartphone age.)

There was still a “best of” phone prank—by listener demand, it was noted—but there were also team and listener shout-outs to medical and other front-line workers. That included the local police who brought up restaurant gift cards for local hospitals; producer/co-host Tiffany had been in a local sandwich shop when the officers came in. The Crew’s medical expert was Dr. Oz—who had been on recently and was scheduled to return during the week.

The “Daily Scoop” began with the news that Tom Hanks and Rhea Wilson had recovered from COVID-19 and were back home. It included how Costco was selling Easter dinner, and the prospect of doing Easter dinner with family via Zoom. That led to a bit about how Walmart was reporting a spike in the sales of shirts, but not pants, and the possibility that your co-workers were teleconferencing in their boxers.

And Now, A Word From …

There were a few recurring advertisers over the half-hour stretch of CKLW I heard that were worth mentioning. One was from the alumni association of local St. Clair College, thanking critical workers who remain on the job. Another was from Tim Hortons—talking about the steps they’ve taken to safely keep their drive-thru open. A few weeks ago, as crisis took hold, there was still a lot of holdover medical advertising from hospitals that would now probably discourage discretionary visits. WPST still had a traffic sponsorship from RWJBarnabas Health, but now the message was “stay home.”

Overall, as radio’s advertisers struggle, and broadcasters with them, it’s clear which advertisers are able to stay on the air, and they’re the ones who were most unavoidable under happier circumstances. I heard a live-read spot on a News/Talk station for Kars4Kids, which is still happy to “send somebody to pick up your car [or boat], contact free.” 5-Hour Energy tackles the issue of being “energy on the go, [even if] if you’re not going anywhere” by offering to keep you going through working remotely or tackling those long-postponed home projects. “It’s energy for hunkering down” now. And at this moment when radio again has the nation’s attention, but is still battered by layoffs and furloughs, the mission depends on advertiser willing to stay in front of people.

Throughout the crisis, I’ve steered clear of anything that sounds like a critique of individual broadcasters making their best efforts under extraordinary circumstances, and during what was already a difficult time for the medium. Over the last ten days, I’ve noticed the consumer press writing about radio for the first time in a decade—in each of several cases, it’s been about community and non-comm radio. But all broadcasters deserve respect at this moment.

In general, I’ve heard broadcasters doing a very good job in finding a tonal balance between emergency and stability. The harder part for music stations has been segueing to a full-service mode, partially because it’s been so long since music radio had news resources of its own. Radio has certainly gotten the important messages out—wash your hands, keep your distance, don’t go out. That’s not wrong, and clearly some people still need to hear it. But radio is still needed as a resource in the local community that can help you find a testing center, direct listener help to those in need, or know which stores are stocked today. What we need now is as simple as more PSAs–and that’s in our skill set.