Rosenworcel Wants FCC Action on Hawaii False Alert by Summer

The FCC should react to the recent false missile alert in Hawaii by developing best practices for the emergency alert system, studying improvements to the system and committing “right now” to having changes in place before summer, said FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel Thursday at an NAB event on how broadcasters can prepare for emergencies (see 1801160054). “We need to look at everything from state training and practices to improved user interfaces for public safety that can reduce the likelihood of error.” Broadcasters told us preparation and funds are important to staying on-air (see 1712220028).

FCC investigators are on in Hawaii gathering information on the false alert and why it took 38 minutes to correct, Chairman Ajit Pai said earlier at the event. “Broadcasters, like the viewing or listening public, depend upon government to get it right,” Pai said. “In this instance, the Hawaiian government unfortunately didn’t.” Rosenworcel praised Pai’s swift response. Pai’s announcement of an immediate investigation “is a good thing -- and it was the right call,” she said.

The FCC can help develop best practices for federal, state and local authorities, and encourage the use of best practices through EAS state plans that already need to be filed with the commission, said Rosenworcel. The FCC “should work with our colleagues at [the Federal Emergency Management Agency] to align traditional daisy chain reporting practices with newer federal alert aggregation capabilities,” Rosenworcel said. The commission should study ways to “harmonize” legacy and newer alerting technology, she said in an interview.

Rosenworcel renewed her call for hearings and a report on 2017’s spate of hurricanes and FCC response, as was done after Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy (see 1709260044). Such hearings are best held in the areas where the disasters occurred, she said in the interview. Pai highlighted the FCC’s call for comments on the response to the hurricane and communications resiliency. “This input will inform the workshops we plan to hold this year on improving future response efforts,” Pai said. Comments are due Monday.

After the speech, Pai met privately with Hawaii Association of Broadcasters President Chris Leonard, who also spoke at the event. Leonard told us he and Pai discussed the false alert and the response to it, and possible changes to how EAS messages that require a quick reaction -- such as warning of an impending missile attack -- are aired.

Pai urged broadcasters to take advantage of the new capabilities for emergency alerting that are expected to arise from ATSC 3.0, and to carry the new voluntary blue alerts. “I hope you’ll demonstrate the same strong commitment to carrying Blue Alerts as you do to carrying other EAS warnings,” Pai said. The FCC’s relatively new EAS codes on storm surges and hurricane winds got some use during the 2017 storm season, he said.

Nearly every speaker emphasized importance of preparation in keeping broadcasters on air in disasters. Along with gathering and maintaining emergency supplies such as generators and emergency food, broadcasters should have a detailed plan for emergencies that they periodically update and “exercise,” said FCC Public Safety Bureau Deputy Chief Debra Jordan. Preparation and communication are most important in a newsroom facing a disaster, said Javier Cosme, director of news at Univision’s Puerto Rico radio station WKAQ. After their facility was severely damaged during the storms, WKAQ’s staffers had to move their entire operation to the station's transmitter site to stay on-air, Cosme said. Though Leonard said he agreed with the emphasis on preparation, it goes only so far. “There was nothing we could do to be prepared for an incoming ballistic missile," Leonard said.

Stations should consider the financial impact of staying on air constantly during disaster, said FEMA Project Manager Manny Centeno. Advertisements can be bumped for emergency coverage, and fewer advertisers purchase spots in the wake of a disaster, he said. Stations in a disaster are also dealing with extra expenses such as generator fuel, he said. And 2017 was an unprecedented year for natural disasters, and if a high number of huge storms becomes a yearly trend, broadcasters may need to structure their budgets accordingly, said University of Wisconsin-Madison journalism professor Kathleen Culver. “This is going to keep happening a lot.”

EAS Notebook

It's “still possible” the Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing Jan. 25 on the false alarm about a possible ballistic missile headed for Hawaii that caused panic there Saturday, committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters Thursday. “We want to do it soon, we want to do it before the end of the month.” Capitol Hill lawmakers are planning other scrutiny (see 1801170050). Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, who's considering legislation in response to the incident, said Thursday his meeting with officials from the FCC and other federal agencies was “constructive.” He noted the FCC's quick movement to investigate the incident and said the Federal Emergency Management Agency “agreed to do an after-action analysis and give us that information.”