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WUSA traffic reporter Shari Elliker, watching different feeds from hundreds of traffic cameras throughout the Washington metro area, prepares to broadcast an update.
Jerry Edwards waits for a cue from WRC-TV in his office at the Metro Networks operating center in Silver Spring, Md.
News producer and traffic reporter Jacqueline Farkas (center) talks with WTOP traffic reporter Lisa Baden in the main room |
The Free Lance-Star
S ILVER SPRING, Md.--At 6 a.m., Fredericksburg-area commuters hear a radio traffic reporter talk of bottlenecks on northbound Interstate 95.
Minutes later, listeners in Frederick, Md., hear the same voice on an AM station there, this time warning about clogged areas on Interstate 270.
To those listeners of western Maryland station WTRI-AM, known as Vegas radio, the reporter is Chip Bets. But to listeners of WBQB-FM in Fredericksburg, he's Robert Workman.
Workman juggles traffic reports in the Washington area for several radio and TV stations every few minutes during the morning rush hour.
"It's hard--a little stressful," Workman says of his work. After a moment's pause to jot down some notes, he adds with a chuckle, "I used to have hair when I started this job."
Room with many viewsWorkman, who seems to be in many places at one time, is one of a dozen Silver Spring-based traffic reporters heard and/or seen every weekday morning on 44 radio stations and six TV stations. They all work from the same studio in a high-rise office building in the Washington suburbs.
The studio is one of 75 traffic centers across the nation operated by Metro Networks/Shadow Broadcast Services.
Two Cessna airplanes, one helicopter, two mobile-unit vans and five traffic cameras, plus hundreds of other cameras provided by the transportation departments in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia, put detailed data on the entire region at the reporters' fingertips.
"My office has the most beautiful view in the world," says Metro Networks airborne reporter Bill Michaels.
Flying a thousand feet above the capital area in a Robinson R-44 helicopter, he reports traffic and breaking news for WUSA-TV and radio station WTOP. He's also the airborne videographer for WUSA.
"I get to watch the sunrise over the nation's capital and the sunset over the Blue Ridge Mountains," Michaels says.
Allison Oakley, Michaels' wife, is a part-time traffic reporter for Metro Networks, joining her husband on Sundays in its Silver Spring office. Her reports are broadcast on WMAL and the Sirius Satellite radio network.
Oakley also works Monday through Friday as the traffic reporter for Fredericksburg-area radio stations WBQB and WFVA, and does on-camera traffic reports "as needed on TV's Fox 5," Michaels says.
Oakley has been filling in for Fox's regular reporter, and will continue to appear on camera through today.
"She's taking a nap on the couch right now," Michaels said yesterday afternoon, confirming his wife's busy schedule.
The couple, who live in Spotsylvania, formerly were on-air personalities at Fredericksburg's WFLS radio, where they met. Michaels left WFLS three years ago, Oakley five years ago.
Inside the Metro Networks studio, staffers' workstations are set against a backdrop of several TV monitors beaming in views of different roads across the area.
At 5:08 a.m. Thursday, amid the hum and static of police scanners and the occasional ring of telephones, on-air reporters describe the commute to a small but growing audience of listeners on the road and viewers at home.
Traveling companionsSteve Hershorn, traffic reporter for WFLS-FM in Fredericksburg, begins his 5 a.m. report with the conditions on northbound I-95, since most of his listeners are heading that way.
Hershorn envisions the road as he describes the commute.
"I try to imagine I am a passenger while you're driving," he says off the air, scrolling through camera shots on trafficland.com, an Internet-based traffic service that many reporters use. "On the radio you're talking to one person, even though 10, 000 might be listening. I take them on their rides."
While Hershorn's report is limited by the size of the station's listening area, other reporters deal with a wider range of commuters.
"I try to lead with what will impact the most people," says Lisa Baden, traffic reporter for WTOP-FM and WJLA, a Washington TV station.
Nicole Nichols, traffic reporter for WETA-FM in Washington, WFLS at noon and a slew of other stations, puts it more succinctly: "Whatever's causing the biggest problem--whatever's worst first."
Veteran reporters can predict traffic patterns.
For example, at 5:20 a.m., Hershorn pauses on a shot of northbound I-95 near State Route 123.
"Like clockwork, it slows down at 5:20," he says, pointing at the screen. "If there are no accidents, I can not look at [the screen] and say things are slowing down. But I always like to look first."
Teaming up with the DJsHershorn readjusts his headphones onto his head and leans toward the microphone. "Oh, hey, Brian," he says to WFLS morning disc jockey Brian Strobel about a minute before going on the air for another report. Strobel usually alerts Hershorn shortly before airtime, and the two sometimes chat.
"It's Thursday-like today. Usually, Monday and Friday are slow, but it's summer--summer makes a big difference," Hershorn continues in a casual voice. Then, straightening up and speaking louder, he begins his next update.
Hershorn and other traffic reporters have mastered the art of slipping seamlessly into broadcasts of morning shows throughout the region--at the top and bottom of the hour, and every time in between.
"Generally, I would say most people think I'm in the [Fredericksburg] studio, sitting across from Brian," Hershorn says. "It doesn't matter. My aim is, one--to make sure I'm accurate, and two--that there are no surprises for commuters. If they're leaving Fredericksburg at 6:10, I want them to know what's happening. I don't care if they think I'm sitting in his lap."
Nichols says listeners are supposed to think of traffic reporters as part of the morning show.
"We're supposed to fit into the program. We yuck it up," she says of the reporters and DJs.
Calls from the roadBy 7:23 a.m., the morning rush hour is in full swing. Over constant telephone rings, a couple reporters huddle close to their microphones in preparation for their next broadcast while others call across the room to one another.
"Things around here can go from quiet to a fire drill real fast," says Jim Russ, director of operations, picking up a ringing phone.
Commuters on the road constantly call the traffic center to contribute traffic updates, which the reporters then verify through cameras or by calling the jurisdiction's police, Hershorn says.
"Because the listening area is so vast, it's impossible to be everywhere at all times," Baden says. "The commuter needs to take a more proactive approach--that's where cell phones come in. I'm sure they've saved thousands of lives. That's why they're so important and vital."
Baden also says that if certain roads are clogged, cell phone callers are helpful in suggesting alternate routes--something she says reporters try to avoid doing unless the road is closed and they know for a fact that the alternate road is in better condition.
"I'm not shy about having others call me and say how their [alternate route] is so I can share it with others," she says.
Hershorn says he avoids telling drivers they "should" take certain alternate roads.
"I'll say things like, 'You could try such and such, but you won't be alone' or 'You'll have company'--expressions like that," he says.
Although Hershorn lives in the Washington area, he says he travels on I-95 enough that he can relate to commuters.
On the other hand, Jamee Whitten, traffic reporter for WMAL-AM, lives less than two miles away from the office.
"I know traffic well enough that the last thing I want to do is commute to work," she says.
Traffic reporters sometimes run into their own traffic problems.
"Sometimes, we are late to work," Nichols says. "It just shows that nobody's immune to traffic."
'I try to be myself'At 7:49 a.m., Baden is on the air for another update: "The George Washington Parkway--bada-bing!"
A quirky personality is Baden's trademark, something she says helps her give creativity to a dull subject--one of the best parts of her job.
"I try to be myself. People come up and they feel like they know me, and they do," she says. "I also don't take myself too seriously, and when you don't take yourself too seriously, you're allowed to have fun. And that's where the creativity comes from."
By 8 a.m., accidents and backups are picking up because of spotty rain.
"Oh good, it's raining there. That rocks," Baden exclaims to no one in particular, laughing. "I need a life, if that excites me. Don't tell anyone that."
Baden says waking up at 2:30 every morning is the only part of her job she doesn't like. Her first broadcast is at 5 a.m.
Workman agrees that getting up so early is the worst part, but it's a small price to pay to end his workday at 9 a.m., when many people are just beginning theirs.
"I get to spend time with my wife and little girl when they get home from school and work," he says. "Also, flying in the helicopter is really cool."
At 8:10 a.m., Baden's voice is heard above the studio's din.
"Rain, rain--You're the one who did the rain dance! Make sure you turn your headlights on and you know the No. 1 cause of accidents is"--she snaps her fingers--"following too closely."
While some stations allow more conversational and energetic broadcasts, others are more to-the-point. Most stations generally allot about a minute for traffic broadcasts, but allow for more time if there's a major accident.
At 8:20 a.m., slick roadways in some areas are causing problems. Baden begins an update with some cheerful advice for commuters stuck in traffic:
"Blame it on the weather--why not?"
Some of the reporters use fictitious on-the-air names, often because they report for more than one station. Others have found their real names don't sound good on radio.
Lisa Baden, for example, is not the real name of the 14-year traffic veteran.
"I enjoy my anonymity," she says.
News intern Melissa Nix contributed to this report.
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