[EAS] NWS starts sending WEA for destructive thunderstorms next week

[Sean Donelan]

On Fri, 23 Jul 2021, Dave Kline wrote:
> There is nothing wrong with discussing these alerts in a state plan. 
> And certainly it is OK for these plans to encourage participation in 
> optional alerts. But to force a station to do something that federal 
> regulations don't require is beyond the scope of any alerting framework.

In reality, organizations with national engineering operations (broadcast, 
cable, IPTV, etc) have their own national policies for EAS.  The national 
engineering organizations may politely smile and say good job to the 
SECCs. But SECCs have almost no legal existance or authority.

The FCC likes to pretend that's not what happens.

When I was creating a national engineering policy for an IPTV operator, I 
spoke with my engineering peers at other national cable TV companies. 
Uniformly their advice was don't try to figure out 50 (or even 13) 
State EAS Plans. It would drive me crazy.

There were very few things actually required by the FCC rules.

What's the list of monitoring assignments in each DMA for the national EAS 
message? What's the monthly schedule of tests? Keep logs. Essentially 
everything else in a State EAS Plan was voluntary. If you are an LP or SP 
station, there are a few extra rules. Everyone else can put the State EAS 
plan in a plastic bag with the National EAS handbook, hang it on the rack 
next to the EAS box to show the FCC inspector, and otherwise ignore it.

Following the example of other multi-state and national cable operators, I 
wrote up our own national engineering policy for EAS. Usually based on our 
own public policy reasons, e.g. relayed AMBER alerts because it would 
look bad if we didn't.

The local headends were automated, so no human decisions on an individual 
message by message basis.  Its not like having a D.J. saying "Looks like 
the weather is getting bad" between spinning records.

Likewise, satellite-driven radio stations don't seem to relay any local 
EAS messages at all, and don't participate in state EAS activities.

Regarding EAS cable TV pre-emption; I think the FCC's rules are badly 
written. And that can't be fixed in State EAS plans. I also think NAB and 
NCTA lobbyists have both shown bad faith in their arguments about it.