[EAS] [] Daisy Chain

[Adrienne Abbott]

Redgy--
You've (obviously) got multiple issues...under the Incident Command System
Command Posts--where the Public Information Officer is stationed--are
supposed to be accessible to the media. If there's no PIO, the Incident
Commander is supposed to act as the PIO. Most IC's are too busy to do that
so they usually designate a PIO who is responsible for dealing with the
media in person, over the phone or via the Internet. That's all spelled out
in the Incident Command System rules of operation. Information on the
Incident Command System is available on the Internet at FEMA's website. You
can take classes in ICS online, for free, under Independent Study. If
nothing else, you learn the language that the emergency managers use. 

If all media, radio, television and print, are getting the same treatment,
it might be time to gather everyone, reporters and station managers and plan
some way to approach your local and or state emergency officials. There's no
rule book that says they have to use EAS. It's just one way they have to
communicate in an emergency. If they think cell phone calls are working for
them, fine. Someday they'll have a problem and the system will be
overwhelmed with calls, or as someone else has said, towers will melt or
trunk lines will be cut. But if they are going beyond that, not only not
using EAS but not providing any emergency information at all, to the point
where people are calling your station and other stations to find out what's
going on and you and the other stations have no official information to give
the callers, then you have a bigger problem than a lack of respect for EAS.
With no official word, the public is in danger and if someone gets hurt or
killed, those same officials will be very quick to blame the media and
you'll end up working it out in court.

If the local government feels they lack the resources to develop an
emergency communications structure, then offer to help. There are
organizations such as "Citizen Corps" or "Community Emergency Response
Teams"-CERT's, that can be developed to help in disasters. These teams can
even include PIO's to respond to the media and call-takers to help with the
phones. This is how some communities with limited resources do it but it
does take leadership and follow-up. And many times local ham radio clubs are
key components to the communications structure in these committees. 

Do local officials conduct a de-briefing, critique or "hot wash" after
emergencies to determine how things went, what worked and what needs
improvement? Do they conduct local events, holiday festivals, parades,
street celebrations and such as a training program for emergencies? The
media should be at those events as well as any state-sponsored reviews of
major disasters to bring attention to the lack of official information. 

Those officials kind of have you over a barrel, but you aren't totally
helpless especially if the other stations are willing to work together to
fix the problem. Then if one of you runs into a problem with a city agency,
you can all respond. City officials can be very responsive at election time.

Adrienne Abbott
Nevada EAS Chair
"Radio burps, it cries, it needs to be fed all the time, it requires
constant attention, but we love it." Jim Aaron WGLN 

-----Original Message-----
From: eas-bounces at radiolists.net [mailto:eas-bounces at radiolists.net] On
Behalf Of Reginald Swedberg

>From what I am aware of, everyone is treated the same.  Showing up in
person doesn't seem to get anywhere either, but a talking to of why they
can't do that.  They may not even tell you where the command post is, or it
is restricted so you can not get to it.

Redgy