Well folks, here we go into February. With the exception of some technical malfunctions we have had lately, J1 has been running fantastic. TLH (Total Listening Hours) has been up at its highest points in a few years ago when we had higher listener caps and it was easier to listen to the station. I have been receiving letters from listeners thanking us for running the station and we are even getting letters acknowledging the news and information J1 is now airing. I feel that this aspect of J1 is very important not only to Tokyo but to the rest of J1's world.
Monday's station failure was attributed to a bad VoIP adapter on the network. We have removed that device. While we were taking care of that, we have done some minor remodeling at the J1 Control Center (pictured above) where we keep a watch on the news and other events taking place in J1's world.
Some of you make requests through the listener feedback on Live365. I do my best to fill those requests but at the same time, I need to look at what else is scheduled. The weekly playlist for J1 is built on Friday night when we compile the charts and air the New Music Show. Just keep in mind, any request that I am able to fulfill on the air must be delayed by one hour from the time you sent your request. This is not my policy, it is U.S. federal law. With have some new technology that allows us to better manipulate our playlist remotely. A system for taking requests is on our wish list for 2012.
That ability to control our playlist like that was installed a couple of weeks ago and since then, we have launched our first application on that platform. This functionality allows a major earthquake early warning (EEW) to actually interrupt the music to play the alert. This is only on Shindo intensity 5-lower, 5-upper, 6-lower, 6-upper and 7 earthquake activations. Intensity 3 and 4 quakes will still receive the short tone over the music. When you hear that tone, go to j1fm.com to see the information on the quake.
This past weekend, we have installed an improved method of broadcasting EEW. J1 receives EEW activations through Twitter. In the past, we would run a task once per minute to check tweets for an EEW. Then we had another application that would check every 10 seconds for a pending EEW message. If one is found, then the message would be rebroadcast. J1 now uses a internally developed application that monitors the Twitter stream and once the alert is received, the announcement will go immediately over the air (for 5-lower and above) or on the 10-second check for 3 and 4 quakes. Fortunately, J1 has not had to use this new system in live production. Hopefully, we will not have to use it often. Just a reminder on our use of EEW. We provide it as a convenience for both those inside as well as outside of Japan. Earthquakes are very important and we need to be aware of them so you can be prepared just in case one happens where you live. Inside Japan, we do note that internet delay will slow the delivery of the alert when compared with local radio or television. This functionality we put in is a significant improvement over what we had.
Speaking of earthquakes, my heart goes out to those who have been killed or injured in Tuesday's earthquake that affected Negros Oriental and Cebu City in the Philippines. The last report I had heard was that the death toll is just over 2-dozen people who perished in a landslide.
When we have major breaking news stories, you will usually find them on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/J1_NEWS
http://twitter.com/J1_Staff
and on Facebook:
http://facebook.com/j1radio
Please keep your support coming in. From the J1 website, you can help support us by purchasing a Live365 VIP membership, purchasing Japanese goods from CD Japan or Rakuten or subscribing to Hardcore J Friends. (Hardcore J is our old branding before we became J1 in 2009.. we are working with that provider to change that imaging).
If you have any comments for J1, please contact us through the Live365 form or at j1@j1fm.com
J1 LOVES JAPAN.. J1 LOVES YOU!
