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<v Speaker 1>You're listening to Bill Handle on demand from KFI AM

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<v Speaker 1>six forty KFI Handle here on a Tuesday morning. It

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<v Speaker 1>is a Taco Tuesday, January twenty one, and I want

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<v Speaker 1>to spend a minute or two talking about the coverage

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<v Speaker 1>of the LA wildfire. And it is a story of

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<v Speaker 1>the La Times that really struck me as I was

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<v Speaker 1>thinking about that, and it sort of followed what I thought,

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<v Speaker 1>or I followed what it wrote about. And it has

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<v Speaker 1>to do with local coverage of the fire, particularly local

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<v Speaker 1>TV news coverage. Now, usually I don't give much credence

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<v Speaker 1>to local TV stuff. It's a lot of happy talk.

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<v Speaker 1>It's a lot of stories that are kind of they're

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<v Speaker 1>just stories, feel good stories. They don't spend a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of time on what I consider hard news, which is

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<v Speaker 1>why I don't pay much attention to local TV. I

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<v Speaker 1>pay lots of attention to national TV, certainly CNN, Fox,

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<v Speaker 1>I watch BBC, and so I pay attention to that

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<v Speaker 1>because I'm much more interested in that. But local TV

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<v Speaker 1>during the fires was extraordinary. Now, obviously I'm a big

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<v Speaker 1>fan of radio because I make my living at it.

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<v Speaker 1>But one of the things that radio does that TV

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<v Speaker 1>will never do is a theater of the mind, and

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<v Speaker 1>that is it's such a powerful medium that when I'm talking,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm explaining, or people are involved in reporting, it's in

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<v Speaker 1>your head and you are hearing it and imagining it

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<v Speaker 1>from you. You don't do that in local TV or

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<v Speaker 1>national TV. It's all visual. Well, what happened during the

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<v Speaker 1>fires was where local TV not only dominated or nominated,

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<v Speaker 1>but it was really the only way for people to

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<v Speaker 1>experience the fires that weren't in the middle of it.

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<v Speaker 1>And even in the middle of it, people were not

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<v Speaker 1>turning to Netflix. Local TV was the was the go

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<v Speaker 1>to for residents who wanted immediate information. The anchors, the

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<v Speaker 1>correspondents spent hours and hours in the field because it

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<v Speaker 1>was literally wall to wall coverage for three days. No

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<v Speaker 1>one else did that, and on the air, life saving

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<v Speaker 1>details were provided, evacuations, damage, as well as the emotional support.

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<v Speaker 1>The emotional support part, you know, I don't think that

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<v Speaker 1>the mayor is saying we care about you, or a

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<v Speaker 1>public official will say a lot of kumbai ya. I

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<v Speaker 1>get really impatient with that. When they were doing these

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<v Speaker 1>news conferences eight o'clock every morning, usually right on time,

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<v Speaker 1>which those of us in the media appreciate and love.

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<v Speaker 1>So outside of that, what we all wanted were facts.

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<v Speaker 1>What was burning, Where were the evacuation areas, Where were

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<v Speaker 1>the firefighters, Which way was the burn going? Where could

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<v Speaker 1>people go if you had a large animal, if you

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<v Speaker 1>had a horse, for example, or let's say a rhino

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<v Speaker 1>or a restaurant or an elephant. There were evacuation centers,

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<v Speaker 1>There were shelters for large animals horses. There were shelters

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<v Speaker 1>that were other for people. There were shelters available for

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<v Speaker 1>small animals, dogs and cats predominantly. We needed to hear there.

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<v Speaker 1>We needed to hear them. Where do I take my dog?

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<v Speaker 1>Because I Am now living in a hotel where I'm

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<v Speaker 1>scrambling or I'm in the car for the next few days.

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<v Speaker 1>The performance of local stations were for phenomenal. Jonathan Wall,

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<v Speaker 1>the veteran TV producer, has worked for NBC CNN and said,

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<v Speaker 1>in the face of incredible tragedy, they are knowledgeable, they

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<v Speaker 1>keep their heads as they cover what's happening, and there

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<v Speaker 1>is well a real quick one. Traditional TV viewing has

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<v Speaker 1>been in steady decline while we're streaming things and about

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<v Speaker 1>half of all video consumption is online. But even with

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<v Speaker 1>these ratings going down, down, profits going down down. We're

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<v Speaker 1>experiencing that right here. The number of people actually listening

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<v Speaker 1>to me right now is a whole lot less than

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<v Speaker 1>it was five years ago. Now, it turns out most

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<v Speaker 1>of the people have left still listen online. It's not

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<v Speaker 1>the same as live radio. It just isn't the same.

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<v Speaker 1>So what ended up happening was the local real time

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<v Speaker 1>TV particularly was where we went to. I had the

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<v Speaker 1>TVs going and it was all local during the entire

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<v Speaker 1>time here in the studio on my monitors, watching every

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<v Speaker 1>minute of it. And why because it was real, it

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<v Speaker 1>was visual. I mean, we had to see what was happening.

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<v Speaker 1>We saw the firefighters at work, we saw what the

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<v Speaker 1>houses look like, the neighborhoods look like. I mean, that's

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<v Speaker 1>important stuff. And those press conferences. We had the fire chief,

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<v Speaker 1>we had the police, we had the DA, we had

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<v Speaker 1>first responders. That was critical information. The Kumbaya stuff I

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<v Speaker 1>could live without, but the rest of it was critical.

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<v Speaker 1>And for the most part, that's what we got. And

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<v Speaker 1>then there's one more aspect. I want to share with

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<v Speaker 1>you what local TV did which nobody else did at all.

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<v Speaker 1>The local television coverage was so extraordinary. Now, this was

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<v Speaker 1>an international story. This was a national story, but it

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<v Speaker 1>was a bigger local story. I just did an interview

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<v Speaker 1>with the Barrett Media where I think came out today,

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<v Speaker 1>where I was asked about local coverage on the radio side,

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<v Speaker 1>and I compared what we did and what happened here

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<v Speaker 1>to what happened nine to eleven. Nine to eleven, of course,

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<v Speaker 1>was a massive international story beyond comprehension. It was also

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<v Speaker 1>a massive national story, but it was also a local

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<v Speaker 1>story because people knew who were in the towers, and

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<v Speaker 1>it became a local story. This fire. Even though these fires,

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<v Speaker 1>even though there it's a huge national story, and if

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<v Speaker 1>you watch national news, which I did, eighty percent of

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<v Speaker 1>the news for days was our fires, and then there

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<v Speaker 1>was just a couple of other stories. Well, here we

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<v Speaker 1>were walled wall, and here the big difference is not

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<v Speaker 1>only did a lot of us know who lost houses,

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<v Speaker 1>who had to be evacuated. My family had to be evacuated,

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<v Speaker 1>Marjorie had to be evacuated, my daughter, one of my

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<v Speaker 1>daughters had to be evacuated and didn't know if the

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<v Speaker 1>fire was going to hit their houses or not. But

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<v Speaker 1>here is also I want to add something to this,

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<v Speaker 1>is the local reporters were part of the story. They

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<v Speaker 1>knew the area, or they do know the area knowing

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<v Speaker 1>people knew the geography. I mean, I knew where the

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<v Speaker 1>palisades were. I knew where these streets were. A national

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<v Speaker 1>reporter doesn't know that. It just comes in, does the news,

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<v Speaker 1>or is maybe has a bureau here. Nothing like living here.

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<v Speaker 1>I've been living here for well. I came to Los

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<v Speaker 1>Angeles when I was five years old. I've spent my

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<v Speaker 1>life here. I know this town and I can give

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<v Speaker 1>you a perspective that a national reporter, national radio reporter

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<v Speaker 1>simply can't do. And that came out and that's why

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<v Speaker 1>local TV did so well. That's why the national programs

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<v Speaker 1>use local feeds, use local reporters, because we just have

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<v Speaker 1>a connection that simply doesn't exist if you are not local.

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<v Speaker 1>On top of it, know the people, can talk to people,

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<v Speaker 1>know who was affected, know the areas, maybe being evacuated yourself.

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<v Speaker 1>That's why local TV did so well. Station saw viewership

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<v Speaker 1>double triple for news programs or news programming. Long local

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<v Speaker 1>TV reporters and anchors and people on radio. We have

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<v Speaker 1>ties to southern California. Well. Here at KFI, we've had

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<v Speaker 1>several people that lost their homes. I had a meeting

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<v Speaker 1>with one of the management people and I got a

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<v Speaker 1>text saying I lost my house, I lost my businesses

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<v Speaker 1>or my wife had a business. She had a couple

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<v Speaker 1>yogurt shops on Pacific Coast Highway and we lost it.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean that's real, that's real, and that is what

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<v Speaker 1>makes or made local TV a very different way of covering.

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<v Speaker 1>And of course, and here's the difference between radio and TV.

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<v Speaker 1>And usually, as I said, you know, happy news, et cetera,

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<v Speaker 1>is usually local TV. This is a time when visuals

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<v Speaker 1>were critical. We had to see what was going on.

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<v Speaker 1>We had to know what areas so our reporters knew

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<v Speaker 1>that that street over there is not as important as

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<v Speaker 1>that other street over here, because there was a better

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<v Speaker 1>story we wanted to know. And local TV brought it

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<v Speaker 1>to the table. And there should be some big wins

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<v Speaker 1>for local TV. They scored beyond scoring. I mean, usually,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, a woman in Pacoima has a pet clam

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<v Speaker 1>that can talk to you. I mean, just really nothing

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<v Speaker 1>TV and it's just crap. Well this was real. Okay.

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<v Speaker 1>Now let me talk a little bit about the ash

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<v Speaker 1>problems in the Atlantic interviewed a family lived in Santa Monica.

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<v Speaker 1>The house was fine, air quality was quote good. Schools

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<v Speaker 1>will reopen. The ash from the palace sides palisades fire

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<v Speaker 1>burning five miles north came all over Santa Monica, coating

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<v Speaker 1>the car, and the interviewee don't have his name, walked.

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<v Speaker 1>He said. Next morning we walked to school, looked at

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<v Speaker 1>blue sky, but the eight year old pointed out piles

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<v Speaker 1>of ash by the curb, and a city owned sweeper

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<v Speaker 1>went past. And how the sweepers work is the bristols,

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<v Speaker 1>of course go clean the streets. Well, when they hit

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<v Speaker 1>pocket of ash, kicked up these plumes of ash, sending

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<v Speaker 1>all of this back up into the air. On Tuesday

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<v Speaker 1>last the debris was continuing to fall. Gardeners armed with

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<v Speaker 1>leaf blowers were blowing the ash to the next door neighbor.

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<v Speaker 1>So you don't have it in front of you. La

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<v Speaker 1>County temporarily you banned leaf blowers because they threw up

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<v Speaker 1>in do throw up so much dust. But no one

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<v Speaker 1>knows exactly how do you clean this mess? And it

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<v Speaker 1>is dangerous stuff. And I'm going to make a point

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<v Speaker 1>in just a moment. With smoke, you see it, you

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<v Speaker 1>smell it, you get out of the way. You get

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<v Speaker 1>air quality indexes with smoke, but they don't measure ash.

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<v Speaker 1>And what is safe We don't know. But I tell

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<v Speaker 1>you the residue from house fires is far more dangerous

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<v Speaker 1>and residue from the wildfires that happen out in the brush.

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<v Speaker 1>Why Well, houses have PBC pipes, lithium ion car batteries,

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<v Speaker 1>plastic siting, flooring, everything else that goes up in the air,

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<v Speaker 1>and a soup of chemicals nickel, chromium, arsenic mercury doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>exist out in the wilderness. Boy does it exist. And

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<v Speaker 1>older homes also have lead an asbestos, and it all

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<v Speaker 1>goes up in the air. And we happen to be

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<v Speaker 1>an outside town. I mean all year long, people are

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<v Speaker 1>eating outside. We're in the middle of a cold snap.

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<v Speaker 1>It's in the sixties. No rain in the forecast that

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<v Speaker 1>will tamp down or wash out the ash. But where's

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<v Speaker 1>the ash gonna go into reservoirs? The water goes into reservoirs,

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<v Speaker 1>goes out to the ocean. I mean, we don't know

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<v Speaker 1>what's going on. And once ash comes into your home,

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<v Speaker 1>because it can be really small, microscopic, it comes through

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<v Speaker 1>doors and windows, and it's on shoes and clothes when

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<v Speaker 1>you step out and come back in the house, it

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<v Speaker 1>is a lot harder to get rid of it. Cleaning

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<v Speaker 1>can actually bring that kind of pollution into your home,

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<v Speaker 1>which makes it very hard to get rid of. And

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<v Speaker 1>the real questions regarding health and how long is it

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<v Speaker 1>gonna last? No one knows when it comes to ash.

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<v Speaker 1>Researchers have only recently started to investigate how the ash

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<v Speaker 1>differs from that of wildfires. The one's the structural fires,

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<v Speaker 1>and all we do know it is way way different.

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<v Speaker 1>By the way, clearing ash and fire zones is a

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<v Speaker 1>regulated process. However, the ash flies up in the air

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<v Speaker 1>and goes miles and miles. You go out to the ocean,

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<v Speaker 1>I mean some great view. Did you notice the sunsets

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<v Speaker 1>when there's ash in the air? I mean gorgeous? Go

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<v Speaker 1>out there, take a deep breath, take a picture. Use

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<v Speaker 1>that when you are when you're diagnosed with lung cancer

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<v Speaker 1>and you're in your coffin because you've died. But make

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<v Speaker 1>sure that the picture they put of you has that

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<v Speaker 1>sunset in the background. Let's talk about tourism. Let's talk

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<v Speaker 1>about this fire and tourism. Now I'm gonna give you

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<v Speaker 1>a couple of facts. Do you know what the number

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<v Speaker 1>one the number one city in the United States, that's

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<v Speaker 1>the most visited any idea? Amy New York City, that

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<v Speaker 1>is correct. What is there to see in New York

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<v Speaker 1>City buildings? Virtually nothing? All right? You walk around and

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<v Speaker 1>there's New York City. Now there is Broadway, but not

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<v Speaker 1>for straight guys, so that doesn't exist. Number two city,

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<v Speaker 1>any idea? What the number two city is? Las Vegas. No,

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<v Speaker 1>not even Las Vegas. I don't even think it is

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<v Speaker 1>in top five. Miami. Miami is a number two city.

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<v Speaker 1>What does Miami have? It has a bunch of Cubans

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<v Speaker 1>and my mother these old Jewish yentas. That's Miami. Number

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<v Speaker 1>three is lostient. And what does Los Angeles have? Look

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<v Speaker 1>at the theme parks, look at the ocean, look at

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<v Speaker 1>the mountains, I mean extraordinary. I think we have more

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<v Speaker 1>theme parks here in Los Angeles than anyplace else. And

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<v Speaker 1>of course the original theme park is here, Disneyland nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>fifty five. So you would think we'd be the number

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<v Speaker 1>one place in the country. We're at number three. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>tell you what's really important to us more so than

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<v Speaker 1>New York and I think more so than Miami are tourists.

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<v Speaker 1>Tourists are really critical to our business. By the way,

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<v Speaker 1>we of course have Hollywood too, so people come out

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<v Speaker 1>here to look at movie stars. And have you ever

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<v Speaker 1>gone on those star tours? You know they have those

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<v Speaker 1>vans look at the homes of the stars and you

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<v Speaker 1>get to drive around. You know, all those stars have

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<v Speaker 1>been dead for forty years. Kerry Grant used to live

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<v Speaker 1>right there, but moved out in nineteen fifty six. It's

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<v Speaker 1>just a quick aside that I thought I would share

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<v Speaker 1>with you. In any case, we rely on tourism, and

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<v Speaker 1>there is right now a precipitous drop in people coming

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<v Speaker 1>to Los Angeles. Why because the obviously because of the

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<v Speaker 1>fires and the aftermath. Now there wasn't one major tourist

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<v Speaker 1>attraction that was burnt down, not one, not even fairly close.

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<v Speaker 1>Yet the fire struck tourism just as we recovered from COVID.

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<v Speaker 1>We were almost there to pre COVID levels in terms

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<v Speaker 1>of COVID, and then boom these hit and so a

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<v Speaker 1>big component of the tourist industry is still scheduled to

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<v Speaker 1>go as planned. For example, the lineup includes one of

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<v Speaker 1>the big ones is the National Association of Anesthesiologists, of

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<v Speaker 1>which NPR just won. By the way, I just want

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<v Speaker 1>to let you know that was number one radio station

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<v Speaker 1>for the anesthesiologists. And most of the conventions are still

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<v Speaker 1>moving ahead. That is the better news. Annual meetings are

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<v Speaker 1>really hard to cancel, so that seems to be okay.

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<v Speaker 1>And the hotels are all there, and the events are

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<v Speaker 1>all there, right, and the convention setters are all there.

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<v Speaker 1>They haven't been affected. But the hotels. Can you imagine

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<v Speaker 1>where people are trying to get to every hotel within

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<v Speaker 1>miles of the burn zones. Occupancy in LA typically hits

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<v Speaker 1>a low point in January and it's way down. Normally

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<v Speaker 1>it goes that goes dropped to below sixty percent. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>it's certainly gone up. The average daily rates jumped that

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<v Speaker 1>this is the really bad news, thirty percent over last year.

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<v Speaker 1>Now you don't get thirty percent jumps in hotel rates,

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<v Speaker 1>certainly not in January. Yet it happened. So the bad

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<v Speaker 1>news of this fire, in addition to the extraordinary heroics

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<v Speaker 1>and people opening their homes and restaurant owners feeding masses

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<v Speaker 1>of people for free and clearly losing buckets of money,

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<v Speaker 1>and the donations that have gone on. Well, the other

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<v Speaker 1>side of it is the looting, which is still relatively small,

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<v Speaker 1>but the overcharging, the gouging, and we've just seen the

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<v Speaker 1>beginning of the gouging. And now it's let me tell you,

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<v Speaker 1>people do come back New Orleans. Remember Urricane Katrina in

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<v Speaker 1>twenty two thousand and five. Napa Valley came back after

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<v Speaker 1>the wildfire in twenty seventeen. Maui is still going on

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<v Speaker 1>and all of Lahina burnt. And now they're asking people

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<v Speaker 1>to come back to Maui. I was going to do that.

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<v Speaker 1>I was going to take a vacation in Maui just

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<v Speaker 1>to give them business. I couldn't believe what they were

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<v Speaker 1>charging for Maui. It was just weird. And you remember

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<v Speaker 1>in Maui, the originally said don't come, and then they realized,

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<v Speaker 1>wait a minute, we get our money from these tourists.

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<v Speaker 1>And now they're saying, please come. Are they up to

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<v Speaker 1>the levels? No they're not. We're just building and rebuilding,

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<v Speaker 1>and we're going to come back as most cities do,

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<v Speaker 1>and we're going to come back in a vengeance. And

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<v Speaker 1>I'm not big with the you know, Boston Strong those

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<v Speaker 1>statements because I don't live there, so I don't feel that.

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<v Speaker 1>For the most part. I report it, but I don't

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<v Speaker 1>feel that. LA strong. You bet, you bet. I'm feeling that,

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<v Speaker 1>And I will go on all day saying and wear

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<v Speaker 1>T shirts LA Strong. But Amy gave me one that

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<v Speaker 1>has Costco on the front of it. So which one

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<v Speaker 1>are you gonna wear? Oh? The Costco one? Okay, give

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<v Speaker 1>me a break, of course. And I don't believe there

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<v Speaker 1>was one Costco that was affected? Was there not that

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<v Speaker 1>we can report at this time? Okay, there we go.

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<v Speaker 1>We're done, guys, we are finished. Gary and Shannon are

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<v Speaker 1>up next. They have a lot to cover. Also, they'll

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<v Speaker 1>be post inauguration news and commentary and everything else that

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<v Speaker 1>Gary and Shannon do. I will see you tomorrow when

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<v Speaker 1>we do this all over again. Amy starts with wake

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<v Speaker 1>up call at five am. The rest of us are

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<v Speaker 1>here through nine o'clock, and I'm done. Off we go

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<v Speaker 1>until tomorrow. KFI AM six forty Live on KFI AM

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<v Speaker 1>six forty. You've been listening to the Bill Handle Show.

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<v Speaker 1>Catch My Show Monday through Friday six am to nine am,

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<v Speaker 1>and anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio app.