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Web A Valuable Lesson learned from hurricane Francis: the World Wide Web can be a very valuable and dependable resource for local news and emergency information. While most of Marion County and much of Alachua Country were in the dark, and the storm prevented even the Ocala Star Banner from distributing its printed paper last Sunday, information on the Web was still available. For those with laptop computers with wireless connections, or those who had laptops and still had telephone connections, the Web was still available even during the worst of the weather. And for the fortunate few, like we at CStation, who never lost power the Web was a reliable source second only to local radio. We were limited only by the lack of use that many media, organizations, and some government agencies made of their Web site resources. Even for those who lost phone service in many cases the phones came back on before their electricity, And now with Ivan on the way local residents should be aware that the Web can keep them informed of a lot of vital information if they just know where to look. While radio still has the largest potential reach when the lights go out, the Web offers the immediacy of information available through TV and radio, along with the stability of print journalism. If you know where to look you don’t have to wait for information to be repeated on the Web. CStation Hurricane And Emergency Web Site Listings Unfortunately, local area television and radio stations made poor use of their Web sites by providing little information about Frances. After a slow start both the Gainesville Sun and Ocala Star Banner began updating stories several times a day, The Star Banner made its news information available on Sunday even when the print edition was not widely circulated. This Week CStation sent requests to numerous area media outlets, including most TV stations, some radio stations, and both the Sun and Star Banner, asking what kind of information would be available on their sites during Ivan’s visit. Only John Sears of WCFL Fox 35 in Orlando responded with this reply “We have a sizeable number of Central Florida residents without phone service. I think up in Ocala you are having significant phone problems. One person told me he was told by a customer service representative from BellSouth today that he could expect his service to be restored between this weekend and the 24th of September. “Cable Service is no guarantee either. Brighthouse customers are still having problems getting service restored. If phone lines and cable go down websites won't be enough. If power goes out, tv is out...but battery-powered radios will be on. We will be simulcasting on 3 Infinity-owned FM radio stations in Central Florida if Ivan makes a run at us.” John is right about radio being the most dependable source of information during a hurricane, but he underestimates the reach of the Web. And for whatever reason, phone companies seem to be able to get their lines up and running usually before power companies, with TV cable companies running a distant third. There are ever increasing numbers of cell phones that can also access the Web as long as they have battery power. And then there the people who leave the area but can access local Web sites from anywhere. Both the GRU and Progress Energy utility companies had information about hurricane preparation and safety warnings posted on their sites before Frances, and are offering outage repair reports on their sites now. Hopefully both the Star Banner and Sun newspapers will continue to develop the use of their Web sites as news and emergency information sources during Frances-like situations. And, just as hopefully, as those who rely on information from others for their business, they will be a little more responsive to interview requests from others in the future. As during Frances, CStation, www.cstation.info will continue updates and provide links to information about Ivan before and during the storm. But we do not have the resources and direct connections to area information sources that both the Sun and Star Banner enjoy. The World Wide Web has become one of our major sources of information, and its use and availability will continue to grow rapidly in the near future. With experts predicting that central Florida can expect this kind of hurricane season for the next decade or more, it would be a good idea for local government and emergency organizations, along with the media, to get important information on their Web sites as soon as possible.
Web Watch, the area's only local Web Directory publication, will begin distribution this November with a 10,000 copy circulation. For more information see CStation's Web Watch section.
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