[EAS] A Different Perspective

[Bill Ruck]

While it is important to continue to work out the bugs I am also 
trying to relate a much bigger perspective.

I have found through painful experience that in life there are 
engineering problems and there are political problems.  Don't confuse 
them.  I don't know whether an engineering solution to a political 
problem is worse than a political solution to an engineering problem 
but either way it is ugly.

We need to build on and expand on the working EAS systems to make a 
working public emergency warning system throughout the U.S.  I will 
say that this is my goal.  That really needs complete buy-in at the 
broadcast owner and management level to get the attention of the 
local elected representatives.  If the cities get it and then the 
counties get it the state should be easy.  This is a political 
solution to a political problem.

On the other hand, if there is no buy-in at station management and 
local government but we engineers continue to improve the technology 
we'll have a HD 3D 5.1 surround sound in 60 languages EAS system that 
nobody will use.

That is why I said that the SBE and APCO may not be the best 
organizations to lead the way.  Both groups are very similar -- we're 
boiler room kinda guys.  We need broadcast owner/manager groups and 
police chief and fire chief groups and elected representatives to 
make it happen.  If those groups get together and agree that a 
working public warning system is desired then the resources to let 
the worker bees do the job will be available.

Bill Ruck
Curmudgeon
San Francisco