[BC] Re: FCC must ward off FEMA

[Mark Earle]

>From the article:

"They literally had staff in there seven days a week and (this is
particularly impressive to me) they *called* (emphasis original) every radio
(and I guess TV) station along the Gulf Coast, reaching out to see what the
situation was."

I recall getting such a call, as Rita was deciding where to go. Our city
called for an evacuation - everyone was a bit gun-shy after Katrina. The FCC
staffer asked questions such as our generator capability, might our studio
or transmitter sites flood, etc. One thing I recall as odd, they wanted the
street address of the transmitter sites. Why? They of all people should be
able to pull them up on a map! I figured the staffer was using some consumer
mapping product that only searched by stret name/ zip codes.

On the other hand, there was a DHS/FBI letter unrelated to storms, from a
cybercrime unit, wanting me to complete a survey. The gist of it was (I
guess) that a terrorist could take over the radio station by taking over our
computers, or, cause us business loss, or something. So I'm thinking,
terrorist.. delete the c: drive, or blow something up? I figured that
cybercrime wasn't something a terror group was likely to do, compared to the
more mundane physical acts of terror. Of course, to some folks, a computer
problem of any sort is terror! :)

On 8/30/06, Rudman, Richard A <rar01 at earthlink.net> wrote:
>
> This may be a lot of things, but it is is not a play by FEMA to take
> over the FCC's administration of EAS. An Executive Order issued over
> the summer directed DHS to become the lead agency for warnings.
>
> http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/06/20060626.html
>
> My personal opinions follow:
>
> For some time now there has not been anyone really in charge of EAS
> at a policy level in or out of the FCC, and that's part of the
> problem. The FCC's existing and continuing role in EAS will most
> likely have more to do with technical standards and compliance than
> policy. There is an open Rulemaking on EAS before the Commission that
> will hopefully change Part 11 rules to migrate EAS to become a less
> obtrusive system for broadcasters and the public to deal with, as
> well as expand public warnings to existing and future personal
> digital devices. If you have not heard of something called the Common
> Alerting Protocol (CAP) in relation to this, you will.
>
>   This move by the Executive Branch was bound to happen. The real
> story will be how it plays out in who they choose to administer a
> national public warning strategy, and if the individuals really
> understand how to do it. There really are people who do understand
> the what and how of it. The question to be answered in the fullness
> of time will be if the people who do understand are chosen to direct
> constructive changes, and if they are given proper support and
> resources to do it.
>
> I am not putting any money down on this, one way or the other.
>
> While I am not speaking for SBE on this at this time, SBE is on top
> of this and will likely report from time to time on what is happening
> through its EAS Committee chaired by Clay Freinwald.
>
> Richard Rudman
> Remote Possibilities Tech Consulting
> 11054 Ventura Blvd., Ste. 700
> Studio City, CA 91604
> 213-447-5392
>
>
>
>
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