Ahh, making chicken salad out of chicken guano! There is no truer test of a reporter's mettle, I say!

This NYT yarn is about Ray Daniels, an overnight traffic reporter for radio station 1010 WINS. It seems that even in the city that never sleeps, there are news dead spots. Here's an excerpt:

After the evening rush, when the well-coiffed television personalities depart, it is up to folks like Mr. Hanna and Mr. Daniels to keep the outside world informed about disruptive accidents and overnight construction. It is a job that Mr. Daniels approaches with alternating bouts of enthusiasm, boredom and dismay.

In a perfect world, Mr. Daniels would have his own drive-time radio program, playing pop music between lively banter with guests and callers. But in the rapidly consolidating realm of American radio, there are fewer opportunities for on-air personalities, especially for disc jockeys with unmistakably Scottish accents.

Mr. Daniels, who was born and raised in Glasgow, can approximate Brooklynese, à la Ralph Kramden, but he cannot vanquish his brogue entirely for more than a few sentences. Still, he is glad to be working, even if it means talking traffic, or the lack of it.