[BC] EAS

[Jerry Mathis]

And a big "Amen" to that.

I'm probably not the only one saying this, but I've come to the conclusion 
that EAS has no place on Broadcast Radio or TV. Why? Because it only reaches 
those who happen to be listening/watching at that given instant. If it's 
2:30 AM, very few people will get the warning.

There needs to be a dedicated frequency/frequencies set nationwide for EAS, 
and radios specifically made for that purpose need to be designed, built, 
and sold. NOAA weather radios could fit this bill, but the transmitter 
network needs to be beefed up considerably (too many holes in coverage 
presently).

Car radios, clock radios, and TV's need to be designed to monitor these 
frequencies, so when an emergency message for your area is received, they 
will turn on if necessary and switch to the emergency message. Yes, this 
feature needs to be mandated. Take your $250 million and subsidize the 
design and implementation of this idea.

We're wasting valuable time and resources with the current system. It's a 
rat hole.



Jerry Mathis
Clear Channel Radio, Tupelo & Meridian MS





>From: "Scott Cason" <scott at lagrange-com.com>
>Reply-To: Broadcast Radio Mailing List <broadcast at radiolists.net>
>To: <broadcast at radiolists.net>
>Subject: [BC] EAS
>Date: Wed, 12 Oct 2005 09:44:00 -0400
>
> >> Katrina's anger may finally spur Congress to reform the Emergency Alert
>System.  And Senate Bill 1753 is getting bipartisan support - to spend as
>much as
>$250 million to explore ways to improve disaster communications.
>Broadcasters have complained about the holes in EAS from the beginning.
>
>How much more money are the gonna throw down this black hole?  The friggin'
>Weather Channel was telling people a week before the storm hit that it was
>coming and it was gonna be big.  How much more time to you need?  EAS would
>have been worthless for this kind of disaster.  It is much more suited to
>spot weather events like tornados, flash flooding and evac notices.  
>Sheese.
>How about spending that $250 mil on rebuilding New Orleans instead?
>
>Scott Cason
>LaGrange Communications, LLC
>502-213-0024
>www.lagrange-com.com
>
>
>
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