In a new slant on the off-repeated "EAS is broken" theme, executives for the Texas and Florida associations of broadcasters say that although broadcasters, for the most part, have installed federally-mandated emergency alerting equipment, local governments don't consistently know how to use it in times of emergency.
Local and state government tie-in to EAS is not mandated, they point out.
Pat Roberts, president of the Florida Association of Broadcasters, said, "There may be three or four states where EAS works." Local governments don't always have a way to access the equipment, he said at a panel discussion about emergency planning and the media.
He even questioned whether the president of the United States really could use the EAS system nationwide if needed.
"We've told America it works. It should be automated," he said, referring to the system by which local governments fax or call the primary EAS station to begin the alert daisy chain.
(from Radio World Online)
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