Back on The Air

WCTI (New Bern) began broadcasting again after the station was evacuated during hurricane Florence after water started entering the building.

The station is located less than a 1000 feet from a river and for years they have talked about the need to move.

After Florence, we’re sure those talks will heat up once again.

“I was just there," WCTI General Manager Matt Bowman said in an interview. “It is just heartbreaking to see 20 plus years of hard work and dedication in news reporting in devastation.”

Employees remained at the station until the water levels rose to roughly 6 inches and compromised the station’s generator.

Sister station WPDE in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina stepped in to help provide coverage until the station can broadcast again.

Even though the WCTI-TV NewsChannel 12 team had lost the traditional medium of broadcasting, their reporters and meteorologists went out into the community and used social media to broadcast and stream to their viewers.

Bowman explained that the station has a partnership with Craven County Community College where the WCTI-TV NewsChannel 12 team will broadcast from temporarily until they can get their studios back online.

He thanked the community for their kind words after his team evacuated.

“A lot of positive thoughts went out there after we had to evacuate," Bowman said. “Just like the viewers we are trying to help out there; we are going through the same things they are,” Bowman stated.

One of the more significant challenges the station is facing right now is supplying enough diesel fuel to keep their satellite trucks broadcast and news crews mobile as they report in the community.

“We are running low on diesel fuel. If anybody is out there and has a fuel company and can help us out with diesel fuel, we really need that now,” Bowman stated.

Bowman thanked his news team for their hard work over the past few days.

H/T WCTI

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