Mainstream Media working for he common good?

Mainstream media without commercials bringing important information about the local community to the local community?  Has anyone ever seen this before? 

 I have. 

I’m talking about KCRG-TV9 the local ABC affiliate in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  For the past day, I’ve been streaming a live feed of their broadcast on my computer.  There is major flooding in Eastern Iowa – Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Coralville, Columbus Junction, and more are all slowly sinking under the Cedar and Iowa Rivers.  The broadcast team at KCRG has been broadcasting live updates on the flooding nonstop throughout the crisis.  They have been sending their reporters around the area to find out what’s happening.  They even bring their producers in on the production aspects during a crisis.  The production quality of KCRG broadcasts does fall slightly during crises of this nature because the station brings information to the screen as soon as it is available. 

I used to live in Iowa City/Coralville, Iowa and I’ve been paying attention because I still have family in that area.  From my time there, I knew that during a crisis, KCRG preempts the national ABC programming in favor of local programming of import to the area.  They provide quality information quickly and accurately.  This is a breath of fresh air when compared with KFXA’s normal response to a crisis.  I remember that when I lived in Coralville, a tornado went through Iowa City.  KCRG let us know it was coming and suspended normal programming until the crisis had passed.  KFXA broke in during commercial breaks and ran a tornado warning at the bottom of the screen.  KFXA continued to run normal programming during that crisis. 

KCRG has a refreshing sense of commitment and responsibility for the community that they serve.  The reporters are relatable and are clearly members of the Eastern Iowa community.  During a crisis, they bring common sense to the screen and provide a cool head and sensible advice to help the community deal with the extraordinary conditions.  I have always been a loyal NBC viewer because of the NBC station in Washington, D.C. where I grew up.  When I moved to Iowa City/Coralville, KCRG was simply the best broadcast network in the area that I switched to ABC there.  I admire the commitment KCRG has to Eastern Iowa and feel that this particular affiliate transcends many of the negative aspects associated with mainstream media.  For this affiliate, public safety in Eastern Iowa is more important than the revenue lost from advertisers when a crisis is facing the community. 

Thank you, KCRG for the great job that you do.