[BC] Fine? 5k for eas botch?

[Warren Shulz]

A few comments about EAS.

The Minot event was a PR cover up.  The local emergency managers failed
to deploy and connect EAS equipment to the CC station(s). They spun the
story to put the blame on the station that was not true. The equipment
was in hand but stored in a closet as I recall. As most stories go only
the first report gets traction as it had a good read.  In actuality it
was the EM that screwed up and could not tell the truth without loosing
their jobs.

Second comment - WLS does NOT activate EAS for severe weather alerts.
Sounds very unresponsive doesn't it?  We broadcast weather events as a
bulletin and talk it up in newscast and work it to death as a new
feature.  In reality is no one responds to EAS data when WLS actives EAS
as WLS is not a LP station.  An EAS activation clutters the air time
taking away time away from the broadcast product.  

WGN and WBBM (our local LP in Chicago area) likewise do not activate EAS
for weather.   (If you want weather alert buy a weather radio.)  

Third Comment - Near every station and cable head end has a NOAA weather
radio as an EAS input.  This is used to alert the operator and news
staff of severe weather.  As a state SECC chair I recommend doing only
what is required and no more.  Unattended stations can do what they
think best for their area.

Fourth Comment - With man-made noise and night sky-wave interference a
South Bend, IN TV station often misses overnight EAS alerts from WLS-AM.
In NW Indiana no station would take on LP role so WLS-AM was selected
without permission.  LP operational areas are limited to AM ground-wave
and FM radio horizon coverage in size.  Activation of an EAS decoder on
sky-wave may not be reliable.

WLS-AM fulfills the FCC monitor requirement for stations in NW Indiana.
One best hope was a NW IN non-com TV station.  The chief operator
refused and actual wrote a comment in FCC forum requesting the FCC to
delete Part 11 EAS rules.  When I reviewed last week's 40 page GAO
report on alerts and warnings I am starting to agree with that comment.

We have been waiting for a Presidential Alert (EAN) for 58 years over an
untested system.  As a group we have yet to make what's in place work.
Then the FCC fined a LP station in Orange County, CA for a human error
while attempting while conducting a routine RWT.  If I were a GM of a LP
station I would take a long hard loop at risk-reward going forward being
a LP station.
At the least I would review and re-train operators.  It's not worth an
$8,000 fine.  

Going forward it seems to me broadcasters are serving the government and
not the public. Study the DTV migration were the government profited
$19-billion in spectrum auctions on the backs of the TV broadcaster who
then had to go and rebuild their broadcast plants with private money.
Then the private TV broadcasters were further insulted by dropping in
Wi-Max data-casters in the whitespaces adding more TV data-casters for
personal devices.  

Warren Shulz
IL SECC

-----Original Message-----
From: broadcast-bounces at radiolists.net
[mailto:broadcast-bounces at radiolists.net] On Behalf Of towers at mre.com
Sent: Friday, October 09, 2009 7:36 AM
To: Broadcasters' Mailing List
Subject: Re: [BC] Fine? 5k for eas botch?


In defense of Warren's station (WLS), they are in a unique position.
All
Class A clears are in that position. Most cover >100 counties with their
5mV during the day. Can you imagne trying to send EAS alerts to that
type
of area.  The station would be "all EAS-All the time" during periods
when
severe weather is approaching AND departing their core coverage area.
In
the case of WLS, that would be >20 counties in IL, IN, IA, and WI.  KMOX
would have alerts on 5 states. WBZ would be sending alerts for all 6
upper
New England states.

Local officals have a "ME TOO" attitiude.  If you do it for one,
pressure
will build on the station's management to extend it out to "include
them"
and "just one more".  Espeically on the BIG wide coverage stations such
as
Class A's.

While I agree that stations {{{should}}} relay call to action messages
(Tornado, Flash FLood, and Tsumami, Evacuation), there is a point of
diminishing returns and/or excessive congestion. Our stations only relay
TOR and FFR for the county in which the CoL is located and select
adjacent
counties. But for the really wide coverage stations, it doesn't make
sense
except for their home county and may first adjacent counties.

MM



> "The ONLY thing required to forward is RMTs and Presidential
Messages."
>
> As a matter of obeying the letter of the regulations, yes.  However,
as a
> practical/political matter, as (hopefully) an active participant in
one's
> community, failing to warn of a local disaster which could cost lives
is a
> hole you will not extricate yourself from, no matter how hard you try.
> Trying to explain to local officials that you refuse to participate in
EAS
> because of a Washington regulatory agency run amok is going to ring
very
> hollow if they perceive, whether based in reality or not, that your
> station could have warned the area and failed to do so, thus possibly
> costing some local citizens their lives.  Funerals and destroyed
houses
> cause emotions to run very high.  By way of illustration, I give you
one
> word: "Minot."
>
> Sid Schweiger
> IT Manager, Entercom New England
> 20 Guest St / 3d Floor
> Brighton MA  02135-2040



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