My 98-year-old movie pal, Jack, and I have long spent Saturday afternoons enjoying classic films.
asserted
pal → spend → films
Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn starred in the first movie, followed by the laugh-out-loud comedy, Some Like It Hot.
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Some → star → It
As the afternoon progressed, I heard a loud crack of thunder.
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I → progress → thunder
I pulled back the curtain and saw the darkness — the rain pouring down, and the wind was howling.
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wind → pull → darkness
Here in the mid-South, it’s amazing how quickly the weather can change.
asserted
weather → ’ → South
Glancing at my security camera app, I discovered my home was without power.
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home → glance → power
As wind and rain battered the neighborhood, I realized that Ava, my loyal mixed-breed canine companion, was home alone in the dark.
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Ava → batter → dark
I needed to head home immediately.
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I → need → ?
I wished Jack well, grabbed my sack of uneaten popcorn, and headed home.
asserted
I → wish → popcorn
The winds were topping 70 miles per hour, branches were flying off trees and striking cars and roads.
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branches → top → cars
Several minutes into the trek home, a large tree had been uprooted and fallen onto the road, blocking traffic.
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tree → uproot → traffic
Cars had pulled to the roadside, their flashers warning other drivers.
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flashers → pull → drivers
I still had about 10 minutes until I got home.
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I → have → minutes
I gripped the wheel and pressed toward home.
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I → grip → home
Once there, I ran inside, only to find Ava quite relaxed in her bed, probably wondering why I made such a commotion upon arrival.
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I → run → arrival
Out of habit, I turned on light switches and even grabbed the TV remote to watch our local meteorologists.
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I → turn → meteorologists
Oh yes, I forgot, I have no power.
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I → forgot → power
I also realized my smartphone isn’t so smart after all.
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smartphone → realize → ?
It doesn’t self-charge.
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It → charge → ?
It was dark, getting warmer in the house, and the 70-mile-per-hour winds were attacking all that stood in Mother Nature’s path.
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that → get → path
What is one to do when the electricity, computers, and cable TV are gone, a landline canceled years ago, and a battery drained cellphone is the only remaining connection to the outside world?
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cellphone → do → world
But then I remembered, this really isn’t the case.
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this → remember → ?
My 1970s RadioShack portable radio still sits on my kitchen sill.
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radio → sit → sill
I use it often and always have backup batteries available.
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batteries → use → it
I switched it on and heard weather alerts and local updates.
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I → switch → alerts
While my television and internet were useless, that little radio continued doing its job.
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radio → continue → job
For many residents, local radio remained the most dependable source of information while the storms battered us.
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storms → remain → us
I recently wrote about the “news deserts” — communities that have lost reliable local journalism.
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that → write → journalism
The consequences extend beyond the loss of city council coverage.
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consequences → extend → coverage
During emergencies, news deserts can become information blackouts and a genuine threat to public safety.
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deserts → become → safety
The problem extends well beyond severe weather.
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problem → extend → weather
Tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires, cyberattacks, and disruptions to the electrical grid can disable digital communications when people need information most.
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people → disable → information
When radio stations do their jobs well, communities are less likely to be left without vital information.
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communities → do → information
Broadcasters must remember that the privilege of using the public airwaves carries a responsibility to serve the public interest.
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privilege → remember → interest
Maintaining backup power, personnel, and emergency capabilities may not produce immediate ratings or revenue, but when disaster strikes, those investments can protect lives.
uncertain
investments → maintain → lives
When everything else went dark in Memphis, an old battery-powered radio reminded me of something our increasingly digital world sometimes forgets: terrestrial radio is not obsolete.
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radio → go → something
William Pollack has spent more than four decades owning and operating local radio stations, television stations, and movie theaters.
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Pollack → spend → stations
