You’ve seen it many times before. You’re watching your favorite TV show, or the big college football game, when suddenly the screen goes dark, followed by the worst gosh awful noise since the fax machine or dial-up Internet. It’s a test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS), or worse, the real thing in case of a tornado, tornado warning, missing person or other local emergency.
It’s actually a good system. Think about it. You’re lost in the fantasy of some wonderful movie, or celebrating the come from behind victory of your favorite team. You might not even notice that the skies have turned dark and winds picked up right outside your door. With the EAS, all programming is interrupted like a slap across the face to make you aware of the problem at hand. There’s a tornado down the street, Genius. Better get to the basement.
This concept has been around for a while. In fact, it started the year I was born, 1963, as the Emergency Broadcast System, changing over to the Emergency Alert System in the late 90s when cable and satellite channels got on board. It is generally well coordinated jointly between the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the National Weather Service and state authorities.
Although, I do remember 2000 when Carlos Santana and Matchbox 20 were up for Record of the Year at the Grammys. I was doing PR for a major telecommunications provider, and around the close of the show, after winning the award, the band struck up “Smooth” only to be interrupted by a test of the Emergency Alert System. It’s not a very pleasant sound, especially when compared to your favorite song.
As usual, we were blamed for the interruption and I spent the rest of the week trying to convince authorities we should delay EAS tests until after massively popular songs are played on live TV.
So now the next step. On Wednesday, November 9, 2011, FEMA and the FCC will conduct the nation’s first ever test of a nationwide Emergency Alert System. Authorities say the purpose of the test is to determine if a national-level system is needed should the President ever have a message for all of us, at one time, from sea to shining sea. Hmmm. During election season? Not so sure.
Regardless of your politics, there’s no debate that we have a President who likes to talk. I am trying to imagine how tempting a system like this might be to a “great communicator” here in the Twitter and Facebook generation: “My fellow Americans, is it just me or does Simon seem to be softer on The X Factor than he was on American Idol?” “My fellow Americans, do the Christmas decorations go up a little earlier every year at the mall?” “My fellow Americans, Go Bears!”
I’m just not sure this is needed. Like politics, the best news coverage is best handled at the local level. The national TV networks seem to clamor for reasons to break into regular programming for breaking national news. CNN and MSNBC, in particular, can’t get enough of the man in the Oval Office, so I have a hard time thinking we’d never hear from him. So I wonder if this is really necessary.
To be honest, at our house, we have learned about Michael Jackson’s death, Bin Laden’s killing and protestors in the Middle East through social media long before the national TV networks or an emergency broadcast system. Maybe we should pursue more of that.
Next week’s test will happen mid-afternoon, around 2:00 PM EST, and run about three-minutes across your favorite radio and TV channels, regardless of broadcast, cable or satellite. So enjoy. We’ll get back to you on the results. But somehow, I’m sure it will be a huge success and implemented in time for the Republican presidential primaries.
To learn more about the national EAS test, visit FEMA at http://www.fema.gov/emergency/ipaws/eas_info.shtm or the FCC at http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/emergency-alert-system-nationwide-test.
We now return you to regular programming, featuring Santana and Matchbox 20.
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