Watertown Introduces Centralized Briefings, Phasing Out Weekly Radio Shows

Northeast Radio SD News – Watertown, SD - The long-standing tradition of the Watertown Mayor appearing in-studio for weekly radio slots is coming to an end. In a media briefing held Tuesday, City Manager Alan Stager and Mayor Ried Holien outlined a new communication strategy that moves away from fixed weekly appointments like KXLG’s From the Halls of City Hall, KWAT’s What’s Up, and Northeast Radio SD’s recently established live-streamed The People’s Pulse.

The Push for “Professional Adequacy”

The primary driver for the change is a desire for more technical, expert-driven information. Alan Stager noted that the city’s previous approach to regular shows needed a fundamental shift to ensure the public receives the most accurate information from the correct sources.

“Something needed to change in the weekly shows or the regular shows... partly out of fairness, but one thing that I don’t know is I don’t know what you need from us. We want to continue to have access; it is just going to be inviting you to come in when we have the people here to answer the questions adequately and professionally.” — Alan Stager, City Manager.

Centralized Tuesday Briefings

In place of traveling to various radio studios throughout the week, the city is establishing a centralized briefing at City Hall on Tuesdays at 1:30 PM, immediately following City Council meetings.

Leadership believes this timing ensures that topics debated during the council session remain “fresh” and that the relevant department heads can be available. Kelli Fritz, the city’s Public Information Officer, will now coordinate these citywide communications to ensure a “streamlined” flow of information.

A Technical Compromise: The “City Hall Studio”

By creating a dedicated space for remote interviews, city staff can remain at their posts while providing the “studio-quality” audio required for broadcast, effectively ending the era of the “low-quality” phone-in interview.

“We’ve thought about just putting in a nice microphone and a computer so that we can even do some of the interviews remotely... and work with you guys with a little better quality than a phone connection might be helpful too.” — Alan Stager.

The “Humanizing” Debate

The move has met with partial resistance from local media; Northeast Radio SD contended that physical presence in the studio is vital for public trust, and emphasized that in-studio visits serve to “humanize” city leadership.

Mayor Ried Holien acknowledged the value of humanization but suggested that the city could still build those relationships by having media attend the post-council briefings. The Mayor expressed confidence in his department heads, noting that Watertown has “some of the best department heads I’ve ever known” and that they should be the ones the public hears from most often.

Moving Forward

The transition signifies a more “business-like” approach to municipal communications. Instead of the Mayor being a generalist on a weekly radio circuit, the city believes the public will prefer to hear from specific experts in a more controlled, centralized environment.

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