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Traffic reporting is the distribution of information about road conditions such as traffic congestion, detours, and traffic accidents, generally as part of a radio or television broadcast program. The reports help commuters anticipate and avoid traffic problems. Many reports mention alternate travel routes to avoid the traffic problems. In addition to periodic reports, live traffic status information became more common in in the early 21st century with traffic congestion maps available by personal computer, mobile devices, and GPS units. In many places, there are all-traffic radio stations broadcasting traffic news 24 hours a day.^{[citation needed]}

Monitoring methods[link]

At radio stations where news radio programming is the primary content, roadway conditions are tracked by monitoring police radio frequencies. Some radio stations also have agreements with states' highway patrol that permit a direct connection with a law enforcement computer. This enables real-time information gathering of the latest accident reports to states' highway patrol divisions. However, more and more, state departments of transportation have agreements with various technology providers to deliver automated traffic tracking data which is resold and redistributed.

Most large metropolitan areas in the United States have traffic reporters in the air and also depend on advisories from listeners using cell phones and other mobile communications devices.

Many medium and large metropolitan areas have helicopters to overfly accident scenes and other areas of high traffic volume. This helps each radio or TV station to provide up-to-the-minute, live reports or traffic conditions. Stations in larger markets may have their own helicopter, or share resources with a local television station to help spread the costs. In many markets, a local or regional traffic reporting service may have contracts with several radio and television stations. This helps stations avoid the expense of purchasing or leasing their own helicopter, hiring a pilot, and setting a maintenance schedule.

In many large cities, state transportation departments and other agencies have installed series of traffic cameras along the Interstate highway system and other roads to monitor traffic conditions. Systems of this type can be easily seen along the I-95 corridor in the eastern section of the United States.

Television stations in Miami, Florida have agreements with the Florida Department of Transportation to enable use of video images generated by this FDOT camera system. These images are shown during morning and afternoon traffic reports, on several local stations, and FDOT is cited by reporters as proving “these images courtesy of the Florida Department of Transportation”.

History[link]

Broadcast reports on traffic conditions, usually heard on radio, became popular in large U.S. cities in the 1970s and quickly spread to other areas as population centers grew. As smaller urban areas became absorbed into larger metropolitan areas, particularly in the United States, the freeways became cluttered during the morning and afternoon rush.

Beginning in the late 1970s, and on into the 1980s and 1990s, competition between radio and television stations led many program and news directors to add traffic reports to their schedules, though many smaller stations could not afford a full-time traffic reporter or aircraft. This led to the expansion of traffic reporting companies, including Shadow Broadcast Services, Metro Networks, Trafficlink, SmartRoute Systems, Traffic Patrol Broadcasting, and other regional traffic reporting agencies.

SmartRoute Systems was established in 1988 as an alternate traffic reporting service. They have been funded by government grants to provide traffic reports for local Departments of Transportation (DOT), but have also provided traffic reporting services for radio and television stations.

In 1998 Westwood One purchased Shadow Broadcast Services.

In 1997 and 1998 Metro Networks began buying many smaller traffic reporting agencies, as reported in their own financial statements to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. In 1999 Metro Networks acquired a firm called Copter Acquisition Company, from Westwood One. Westwood One then purchased Metro Networks, and Shadow Broadcast Services and Metro Networks were merged after that.

In 2000 Westwood One purchased SmartRoute Systems, and merged it with together with Metro Networks/Shadow Broadcast Services.

In 2004 Clear Channel Communications began producing on-air traffic reports for most of its own radio stations; it was done under the trademark of “Total Traffic Network.” This was Clear Channel's response to Westwood One's acquisitions of Shadow Broadcast Services, Metro Networks, and SmartRoute Systems. Clear Channel had been receiving traffic reporting services from those companies up until then, and instead decided to do those services for its own radio stations. However, due to downsizing since 2004, Clear Channel has since changed its primary focus from on-air traffic reports to producing traffic information and data for use in in-car navigational devices; it still produces on-air traffic reports for most of its radio stations.

Traffic.com, also known as Navteq Traffic, Traffic Pulse and Mobility Technologies, is a United States nationwide provider of traffic information via a number of media, including the Internet, cell phones, radio, satellite radio and television.

In 2006 Reliant Broadcasting began operating independently from the larger traffic reporting services. Currently Reliant Broadcasting produces traffic reports for radio stations on both the east and west coasts of the United States.

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (July 2011)

Jill Nicolini (born January 10, 1978 in Farmingville, New York) is a reporter and former model, actress, and reality TV show participant. Currently, Nicolini is an entertainment reporter on Good Day New York on WNYW.

Early life[link]

Nicolini graduated from Sachem South High School in 1996 and attended Stony Brook University as a pre-med student. In 1997, Nicolini joined WBLI Radio in Long Island and her broadcasting career began. She attended Suffolk Community College where she received her Associates Degree in Television/Radio Broadcasting in 2000. That same year, Nicolini began working on her Bachelors Degree in Communication Arts at the New York Institute of Technology while reporting for LI News Tonight. In 2001, she became the arena announcer for the New York Islanders and a dancer for the NY Dragons Arena Football team. Nicolini soon became an on-camera traffic reporter at Long Island's Metro & Traffic and Weather Channel and News 12 Long Island. In 2003 she received her Masters in Communication Arts and starred in FOX TV’s reality series "Married by America."

At the age of 24, Nicolini won the title of Miss Long Island 2002. When the contest organizers discovered that she had posed for Playboy (under the name "Jill Nikki" in their Fall 2001 College Girls Special Edition), they felt it was "immoral".^{[citation needed]} Nicolini chose to relinquish her crown because she didn't want to represent a system that "didn't support and believe in her".^{[citation needed]}}

Nicolini participated in the 2003 Fox reality television program Married by America^[1] won the show but didn't get married. In August 2006, it was reported^{[citation needed]} that she would be one of the women trying out to become a Pussycat Doll.

Before becoming a reporter, Nicolini made her living as a model. She tried out unsuccessfully to become the official live-action model for Vampirella in 2001. She had bit parts in four feature films and six TV shows, including HBO's Sex and the City and NBC's Law & Order.

Jill Nicolini joined WNYW Fox 5 in 2011 as Entertainment Reporter. Previously, she was the Traffic/Entertainment Anchor on "The PIX-11 Morning News" since 2004. In addition to delivering the traffic, Nicolini interviewed top celebrities in the entertainment industry. She also served as fill-in anchor, weather anchor and feature reporter.

Nicolini has an OUPV Captain's License from The Nautical School in Lindenhurst and aspires to earn a pilot's license as well. She has logged over 65 hours and has flown solo numerous times in a Cessna 172.

Her proudest achievement was spending the Christmas holidays in Iraq both 2009 and 2010 with local servicemen and servicewoman where she was able to reconnect the troops with their families back at home live via satellite. In continuing her goodwill mission, in 2010 she spent the holidays in Norfolk, Virginia with the Navy where she reported live and reunited sailors with their loved ones.

Nicolini is actively involved with several charities, including: John Theissen Children's Foundation, Little Shelter Animal Rescue, Alliance for Lupus Research, and The Arthritis Foundation.

She has been nominated for three Emmy Awards and is the recipient of multiple awards from the NJ State PBA, Italian American Police Society, East Hanover Italian American Society, John Theissen Children's Foundation, The National Council of Columbia Associations of Civil Service, Suffolk Community College Broadcasters Association and Autism Speaks.

Nicolini currently resides in Whitestone.

External links[link]

• Jill Nicolini at the Internet Movie Database

References[link]

Paul Leary (born May 7, 1957)^[2] is an American musician from Austin, TX, best known as the guitarist for American rock band Butthole Surfers.^[1] He is also the producer of a number of songs and albums by other bands, including U2, Sublime, the Meat Puppets, Daniel Johnston, The Reverend Horton Heat, Pepper, Maggie Walters, Bad Livers, Slightly Stoopid and The Refreshments, Tumbledryer Babies, and in July 2010 he mixed a track for Sydney noise mongers Sludge Buzzard soon to be released on their debut record. Leary's most recent work is producing the debut album Yours Truly by Sublime with Rome.^[3]

In 1991, he released a solo album entitled The History of Dogs. In 1994, Leary appeared on the song "Lounge Fly" from the multi-platinum album Purple by Stone Temple Pilots. He also performed backing vocals on the Meat Puppets and Bad Livers respective renditions of his song "Pee Pee the Sailor".

His new band is Carny whose CD is nearing completion as of December 2011. The album will be released in 2012.

References[link]

External links[link]

• U2.com News
• [1]

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