The Media (E.C.)

As elsewhere, the Emerald City media market has been nearly wiped out, at least old forms of media. Ancient print media like newspapers and magazines stagger along like dinosaurs, looking for a spot to die. Safe beneath them are smaller electronic media, preparing to wage their own battle for supremacy wherein the younger and more agile enjoy a clear edge.

PRINT MEDIA

After peaking at three during World War II, Emerald City now supports (barely) only one daily newspaper, the Courier-Express. The venerable Courier-Express has a proud history predating the American Civil War, a wall full of awards for excellence, and a declining subscriber base that will send it in search of a buyer once 87-year-old owner Luther Heggs finally passes on.

BROADCAST MEDIA

Anointed for decades as print media’s rightful heir, individual television and radio stations now find themselves losing their audiences and influences to even newer technologies. The increasingly desperate broadcast media have responded in ways not always in keeping with the public’s best interests. That said, TV and radio en masse remain the greatest arbiter of public taste and sentiment. Emerald City’s new costumed heroes must learn to cope with a personality-heavy, fact-light, image-is-all invasive media environment that never rests. It’s not always fair-minded, but it attracts eyeballs, which is everything to station management and staff.
Emerald City broadcast television is the same mix of network shows and syndicated sitcom reruns found throughout the rest of the country. Only its local newscasts retain any sort of distinctive stamp, and even then, they remain committed to the human-interest-heavy, hard-news-poor style prevalent in the contemporary media scene. Any given hour spent watching Caleb Gardner pointedly empathizing with the myriad tragedies and inconveniences of his audience is much like any other, and nearly indistinguishable from the Gardner clones on the other channels.
As television surrendered to the blandest, lowest common denominator, FM radio was taken over by computer-programmed, corporate-approved playlists, and AM radio fell to the demagogues and crazies. True audiophiles continue to desert the broadcast airwaves for the diversity of satellite radio and non-corporate entities like college-run KECU, creating pressure for even more commercials on broadcast stations to make up for the lost listeners.
The state of AM radio is epitomized by Emerald City’s own KSKY talk radio. KSKY’s air time is essentially open to anyone who can sustain an audience and not get the station sued too often. Its broadcast schedule is a parade of conspiracy theorists and partisan political hacks of all stripes. Colin Hoke is the best known and most successful of the lot, but sadly is far from the most odious or obnoxious.

ONLINE MEDIA

The wonderful, terrible universe that is the Internet is a major facet of Emerald City life. Statistically, the percentage of Emerald residents who are online is comfortably above the national average, and the influence it has on their daily existence is nearly incalculable. When the Silver Storm irrevocably altered Emerald City life, large numbers of residents looked to the web to make sense of it all, and it is that most adaptive and innovative of mediums that has best adjusted to the new status quo.
USNet was the first to publicly respond to the re-emergence of super-heroes. In record time, the company established the TroubAlert social network site, which offers free access and accounts to “verified” heroes so they can keep in touch with the public and receive crowd-sourced tips and information. This system is in its infancy, but like many other Internet projects its potential benefits are tremendous.

MAJOR EMERALD CITY MEDIA OUTLETS

FM STATIONS

• KVTF 89.1 Public Radio
• KRXT 90.3 Contemporary Christian
• KPAR 91.3 Spanish Language
• KXLK 92.3 Top 40
• KSNV 93.5 Adult Contemporary
• KSLC 94.9 Country and Western
• KROV 96.3 Classic Rock
• KSLQ 99.1 Jazz
• KVBE 100.1 R&B/Hip-hop
• KZZI 101.5 Alternative Rock
• KJJX 102.7 Rhythmic Top 40
• KECU 101.7 Emerald City University Radio
• KSFF 106.1 Classical
• KJJS 104.9 Oldies
• KYYD 107.9 Easy Listening

AM STATIONS

• KVBE 610 Classical
• KFIR 910 Sports/Sports Talk
• KGMN 960 Urban Contemporary
• KRIS 1410 Religious
• KSKY 1480 News/Talk

BROADCAST TV STATIONS

• KOAY Channel 4—ABN affiliate
• KCYB Channel 5—NBN affiliate
• KTBS Channel 8—GBN affiliate
• KSET Channel 9—Public broadcasting
• KJHL Channel 11—CBN affiliate
• KLEC Channel 12 —FNA affiliate