[EAS] About this multilingual order...

[David Turnmire]

Last November, our SECC communicated with our state broadcasters 
association so we could have a "united" position on this multilingual 
report.  Then the state broadcasters association sent an email to all of 
their members listing the FCC reporting requirements and some examples 
of possible answers (with a caveat that we weren't attorneys).  Recently 
I sent essentially the same email to the broadcasters on my mail list.  
The first couple reports came in shortly afterwards.  The vast majority 
of our stations serve an English speaking audience, so it would seem 
fairly obvious you will provide English language alerts to that audience.

We have a small number of Spanish language radio stations or "virtual 
channels" on DTV stations.  For them... it is mostly a moot point 
because none of the alert originators in our state have the resources to 
issue non-English alerts.  Yes, they have access to translators, but not 
in a sufficiently timely manner for EAS purposes.  The best we can hope 
for is that an alert arrives while a Spanish language station is 
staffed, that their staff are trained to have access to a written 
version of the English alert... and that after the English language 
alert is broadcast, they translate the alert themselves on behalf of 
their audience.

I suspect we aren't the only state in this position.  Even if our alert 
originators could generate a Spanish language version of the alert, we'd 
then have to get our CAP origination service to support multilingual 
alerts... which at present they don't.  Other states presumably have 
enough Spanish speaking residents that their alert originators are 
bi-lingual.  But then there are all of the other languages, so even 
large states with lots of resources, still aren't likely to be able to 
adequately serve all the multi-lingual needs in their state.  Technology 
marches on, so soon enough we'll have automatic language translation 
systems with sufficient accuracy to be used.   That would be great.  The 
fact that we can't adequately take care of a need, doesn't change the 
fact that there IS a need...

In any event, we have a small enough state, that I have just been going 
with the KISS principal regarding reporting... broadcasters send me an 
email, I put them all in an email folder for that purpose.  And because 
so far it has been easy... I do a quick print-to-PDF of those emails and 
store that as well.  So far, everyone has submitted essentially the same 
statement... "our audience speaks English so it is the interest of our 
audience to continue to send only English language alerts and we have no 
plans to change that."  Should make it pretty simple to summarize for 
the FCC.  I did ask the Spanish language stations a few questions about 
how they are dealing with EAS... I look forward to reading any responses 
to those questions.

Dave