EAS at KFJC

Here in Wisconsin, radio stations broadcast 30 seconds of garbled audio that effectively degenerated into static. Similar results have been reported in Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Rhode Island, and Kentucky. In parts of California and South Carolina, the EAS message was apparently cued more than once, leading to a loop/echo effect.

In parts of Texas and Ohio, there was simply silence between the alert and end-of-message tones. Elsewhere in Texas, as well as in parts of Oregon, Alabama, Connecticut and Georgia, broadcasters never got the alert at all.

David Oxenford at the Broadcast Law Blog notes that the FCC will be relying upon stations’ reports to help diagnose and resolve these problems. He emphasizes that,

the FCC stated that it was not intending that the reporting system be a way to punish stations whose facilities did not receive or transmit the test, but instead to be a diagnostic tool to determine whether or not the system worked. So the failure to file the forms to report on the success of the test on your stations is much more likely to bring an FCC enforcement action against your station than is reporting that, for one reason or another, the test did not work.

The EAS system is essentially a daisy-chain, where one station’s alert signal triggers a receiver at another station, which can, in turn, trigger another one. Not every station’s alert is set to trigger another one in the chain. In general, bigger, more powerful stations are responsible for alerting less powerful ones. Given such a set up, it’s easy to see how just some interference, reception problems or other minor glitches can have a ripple effect. One station’s misfire can cause a whole area to go unalerted.

It will be interesting learn what the specific diagnoses of many of the problems were, and how they might be resolved. We should be hearing from the FCC on this issue in the coming months.

Damon Penn, a senior official with FEMA and Jamie Barnett, a senior official with the FCC released a joint statement about the test this afternoon, indicating that it was successful some places, not so successful other places. No stats have been released yet, so here’s what the FCC and FEMA say:

“The Nationwide EAS Test served the purpose for which it was intended – to identify gaps and generate a comprehensive set of data to help strengthen our ability to communicate during real emergencies. Based on preliminary data, media outlets in large portions of the country successfully received the test message, but wasn’t received by some viewers or listeners. We are currently in the process of collecting and analyzing data, and will reach a conclusion when that process is complete.”

The Commission does say that over 30,000 broadcasters and communication service providers participated in the test, so there is quite a bit of data to crunch. These participants will be sending their feedback to the FCC over the next few weeks.

Although it represented a bit of an inconvenience to broadcasters, I think the test was a good idea, since nothing of the sort has been performed since the modern EAS system went online fifteen years ago.

Providing vital information during national disasters and other emergencies in a crucial role for our broadcast media, especially radio. It is important that stations be able to quickly transmit emergency communications, and I hope that this national test provides guidance for clearing up any gaps in service.

EAS at KFJC

The first national test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) will take place next Wednesday, November 9th at 11am Pacific time. According to a letter issued by the FCC today:

“The test will occur simultaneously across the United States and the U.S. territories and will last approximately 30 seconds, after which regular programming will resume. The test will appear on all broadcast radio and television stations, cable television systems, satellite radio and television systems, and wireline video service systems. The test will not involve landline or mobile phones or other infrastructure such as power grids.

The various disasters our country has faced this year underscore the need for effective and well-tested emergency alert and warning systems that could be used in a time of real national emergency, at a moment’s notice. Now, with the test less than a week away, we ask that you join us in efforts to educate your entire community about this important event.

Although the Emergency Alert System and its predecessors have been in existence for more than 50 years and are often tested at the local level, there has never been a nationwide test of these capabilities. The purpose of the test is to allow FEMA and the FCC to assess how well the Emergency Alert System would perform its primary function: alerting the public about a national emergency.”

Additionally, the FCC also released an EAS handbook (PDF) today for all participating stations to use during the National Test next week. This handbook must be posted at all EAS equipment locations. Participating stations should make sure that they understand all of the requirements for the National Test and listeners and viewers should also be aware that they will hear a short disruption in programming across all stations on Wednesday.

As Jerry Del Colliano reports at Inside Music Media, a Clear Channel station in Grand Rapids, MI threw its annual B93 Concert Bash on June 20 in nearby Ionia by the Grand Rapids River, apparently oblivious to flash flood warnings issued by the National Weather Service. In fact, a NWS representative told local WOOD-TV that there were warnings about the river level cresting as high as 17 feet by 9:30 AM issued as early as 5 AM the day of the concert.

Severe weather alerts are something that so many people still rely on radio for, and the reason why broadcasters are mandated to participate in a national Emergency Alert System. I can say from experience that the EAS system will spit out notifications of just about all NWS warnings. Recently I’ve certainly seen warnings for flash floods and river flooding issued to our EAS system at WNUR-FM, where I’m the adviser.

More than any old concert promoter, the staff of B93 was in a perfect position to be alerted to the flash flood avisory for the Grand Rapids river. But who knows if anyone at the station even checks the EAS anymore. The system is designed to override programming in the event of a significant emergency, like a tornado warning, but doesn’t with lower-level alerts. And somehow I doubt there was a live DJ on air Saturday morning prior to the concert starting.

Sure, any organization can make a bad judgement call in the face of unpredictable weather conditions. According to most news accounts it looks like local Ionia officials share blame for also missing the warnings and not shutting down the concert. Nevertheless we expect that the public service of radio at least provide this bare minimum of important information, and certainly not carry forward with events that put so many thousands of lives, not to mention millions of dollars in property, at risk.

Such a mishap could have occurred in the pre-consolidation era, but I doubt it. Localism means more than throwing a fee concert (but $15 for parking) once a year. Now thousands of car owners are learning the collateral damage of massive media consolidation.