[EAS] Wish List

[Barry Mishkind]

At 06:45 AM 2/4/2011, Tom Taggart wrote:

>Now look at paragraph #40, which I paraphrased, since it is
>difficult to cut and paste from a PDF.  Who else is going to
>have all of this information except the station?
>
>Emergency traffic is the backdoor to requiring 24/7 manning
>of stations.  

        First. Identifying the station is not all
        that hard. All it takes is some "brain"
        to stop it with the "hidden ID" in the
        middle of the :47 stop set and just
        conclude EAS messages with 
        "XXXX, our town." What is the reason
        not to do so, automated or not?

        Furthermore, virtually all systems
        are capable of allowing "call in" audio.
        This would permit a station to 
        augment the EAS message with info,
        including the specifics on the emergency
        from anywhere. 

        In an emergency, even POTS level
        audio is better than nothing.

        The real issue is: does *anyone*
        listen to your stations - especially
        your own employees?  If so, it
        should be a few minutes work during
        an emergency to add key information
        when needed.  Isn't that what "local"
        means?

>This will kill off small operations like mine--we just can't afford it. 

        Can't see that. If there is an
        emergency, don't you, yourself, want
        to know?  If so, don't you want to
        let the listeners know? 

        A quick phone call or audio file,
        codes to automation .. and it is 
        on the air.

        What is bad about that?