[sbe-eas] Value of broadcaster EAS participation

[Lotus Radio Engineering]

But with that said, the audio for the EAS was un-airable the first time
around because basically all it said was that there was a 911 outage and the
end was cut off on who they should contact. Luckily Adrienne stepped up to
the plate and did a rebroadcast with more complete information.  The other
issue was that there was no local information available to the Reno stations
unless you knew who to contact, which for us was Adrienne Abbott. The TV
stations were very slow in picking up the story and the RGJ was several
hours late on reporting the story. I was shocked that one Reno TV station
started off the newscast about how Salvation Army funds were down. Several
radio stations in Reno are not a 'news station' and resources were scarce in
obtaining information about this alert. The stations that I am the Engineer
for was flooded with calls about what exactly happened and what locations
were involved. Part of the chaos with the on air talent was the EAS code
that was used...CEM versus a TOE. Yes, the forwarding on most EAS machines
probably would have dropped the activation since TOE is not used all that
often. But this was during the middle of the day and most if not all radio
stations in Reno, Carson City are manned during that time. Furthermore, with
this activation, there was no ADM to follow the alert once the issue was
resolved. ADMs are required for the CAE to allow stations be aware that the
Ambert Alert has been cancelled. We were flooded with calls well into the
evening. Part of the issue we had to deal with was that we stream our
stations and several calls were from out of town worried about not being
able to contact a family member or to make contact with anyone in the affect
areas.

On the bright side, radio once again was able to assist the community during
a time of need. We have had our fair share of emergencies that radio has
been an important tool for information....such as the Angora Fire in Tahoe.
Even though there was no official EAS activation from California, residents
were turning to local radio and TV to obtain information.

Chad Owens
RENO

On Thu, Dec 9, 2010 at 11:25 PM, Stephen Weber <srweber at nvbell.net> wrote:


>   Jim, you caught the short-circuit in my brain; I meant CEM. Guess my

> brain locked on that because we had to use CEM for abductions before CAE was

> added to the repertoire eons ago...

>

> Thanks!

> Steve

>

>  *From:* James Gorman <jimg1937 at yahoo.com>

> *Date:* Thursday, December 09, 2010 8:33 PM

> *To:* Stephen Weber <srweber at nvbell.net> ; SBE EAS Exchange - a mail list

> for discussion about the Emergency Alert System and other emergency

> communication issues. <sbe-eas at sbe.org>

> *Subject:* Re: [sbe-eas] Value of broadcaster EAS participation

>

>   Steve:

>     Why did they use CAE which is Child Abduction emergency.

>

> Jim Gorman

> Gorman-Redlich Mfg. Co.

> www.gorman-redlich.com

> 257 W. Union St.

> Athens, OH 45701

> phone 740-593-3150

>

> --- On *Thu, 12/9/10, Stephen Weber <srweber at nvbell.net>* wrote:

>

>

> From: Stephen Weber <srweber at nvbell.net>

> Subject: [sbe-eas] Value of broadcaster EAS participation

> To: sbe-eas at sbe.org

> Date: Thursday, December 9, 2010, 7:56 PM

>

>  This article may be of interest to many as it points up a big reason that

> broadcaster participation in EAS will always be of major value; namely that

> "stuff" happens.  A CAE was sent to alert the area of this little problem:

>

> http://www.rgj.com/article/20101209/NEWS07/12090333/1321/news

>

> Happy holidays to all!

> Steve Weber

> Reno

>

> -----Inline Attachment Follows-----

>

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