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May 3, 2016 11:27 am  #1


Emergency Alert Starts Now! No, Now! No, Really, Now! No....

There have been plenty of threads here about the so-called Emergency Alert System and how it interrupts broadcasts in progress, seemingly without notice. At least that’s the way it used to be. On Tuesday morning, many radio station hosts were actively warning listeners that at 10:56 AM, their programming would be interrupted by a test of the Alert Ready System. They pinpointed the exact time, told them it wasn’t an actual emergency and prepared the audience for the coming brief interruption.
 
Old problem of shows being suddenly interrupted in mid-sentence solved, right? Well, not quite. After all that prep, nothing happened. The alert never appeared on time, which means even when they’re ready for it, the thing is a disaster.
 
RB’s Jerry Agar talked about it, before launching into a soliloquy about Ontario teachers and a story originally aired on CTV News. Over on 640, Mike Stafford and the boys went even further, getting out of delay so they could monitor the interruption live – which meant he couldn’t take any calls for a good five minutes, just in case. “I hate being out of delay,” he noted. “I feel like I want to say something!”
 
The segment was hilarious, which was good, but the fact that all these stations were trying to actually stay professional by factoring in the alert and then it didn’t happen on time was not.
 
By the way, it finally did take over the airwaves at 11:14 AM – some 20 minutes late – and true to form, all the talk show hosts were interrupted in mid-sentence, the very thing they all tried to avoid with the warning in the first place.  
 
From incomprehensible announcements to a technology that sounds like it’s generated from a Commodore 64, this thing has been screwed up since the day it was launched. And after this morning, that legacy continues. 

 

May 3, 2016 11:55 am  #2


Re: Emergency Alert Starts Now! No, Now! No, Really, Now! No....

Blair and Brunt on Sportsnet 590 were clueless.   They stated a discussion about R.A. Dickey's pitching performance about a minute before the broadcast was interrupted.  They obviously talked through the "test" and never went back to regroup and repeat what we missed.
Makes you wonder whether the show producers at some of these stations are simply unaware of the interruptions or negligent.  Either way, this is one system that pisses off listeners.    Radioactive is right.  The quality of the audio presentation was poor - if anyone is going to respond to one of the alerts, it should be state of the art audio...otherwise people will simply tune away or turn the volume down.   We had a barrage of these alerts about 10 days ago on Bell Satellite TV.   I'm inclined to ignore them - since they seldom relate to the actual area where I'm located.

 

May 3, 2016 12:00 pm  #3


Re: Emergency Alert Starts Now! No, Now! No, Really, Now! No....

I think more people will be doing what I did this morning. My satellite channel was automatically switched to the emergency alert, just as I was walking through the room.

I picked up the remote and immediately switched it back to CBC News Channel without even listening to or reading the alert.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice..........

 

May 3, 2016 4:32 pm  #4


Re: Emergency Alert Starts Now! No, Now! No, Really, Now! No....

tvguy wrote:

Blair and Brunt on Sportsnet 590 were clueless.   They stated a discussion about R.A. Dickey's pitching performance about a minute before the broadcast was interrupted.  They obviously talked through the "test" and never went back to regroup and repeat what we missed.
Makes you wonder whether the show producers at some of these stations are simply unaware of the interruptions or negligent.  Either way, this is one system that pisses off listeners.

In their defense, most AM stations run on a delay. The problem with this whole alert concept lies right there. The alert takes over the post-delay feed but in studio, chances are they're listening to the pre-delay feed (for obvious reasons); which means two things:

1. In the case of an actual factual emergency, the in-studio people will not hear it happen, which leads to:
2. How are the hosts supposed to springboard off of the alert and work it into their show if they haven't heard it?

tvguy's example of 590 is exactly how it will happen when we are facing an actual and proper emergency. And it will happen that way regardless of it being 590, 640, 1010 or anybody else. I can't imagine the potential damage to a station's credibility.

I know I should be used to seeing a worthwhile public service be handled so poorly but the execution of this is awful and Pelmorex should know better.

 

May 3, 2016 4:45 pm  #5


Re: Emergency Alert Starts Now! No, Now! No, Really, Now! No....

grilled.cheese wrote:

I set my alarm to 10:50

My clock radio was always tuned to AM-1050 because they promised "you have a say in the music we play"

They lied
 

 

May 3, 2016 5:12 pm  #6


Re: Emergency Alert Starts Now! No, Now! No, Really, Now! No....

What's up with Tarzan Dan replacing Norm Edwards for two weeks starting today on ZoomerRadio.  Is TD about to be added to ZR lineup or just a one-off?

Laurence H Palter/Mississauga
Not in Radio Industry But Always Interested in happenings behind the microphone!!!

 

May 3, 2016 5:18 pm  #7


Re: Emergency Alert Starts Now! No, Now! No, Really, Now! No....

Knocked the commercial running on-air OFF for a stupid test of something which was successfully tested the last time some ass abducted his child.  Who pays for the make-goods which will be needed here, there and everywhere?

The test was a dismal failure because those clowns can't even tell what time it is.  They'd poop up a 1 car parade.

 

May 3, 2016 5:25 pm  #8


Re: Emergency Alert Starts Now! No, Now! No, Really, Now! No....

lhpalter77 wrote:

 Is TD about to be added to ZR lineup or just a one-off?

They've got the 60s at 6:00, the 70s at 7:00, the 80s at 8:00 and the 90s at 9:00 and are clearly gearing up for the 2000s at 2:00


 

 

May 3, 2016 6:44 pm  #9


Re: Emergency Alert Starts Now! No, Now! No, Really, Now! No....

geo wrote:

lhpalter77 wrote:

 Is TD about to be added to ZR lineup or just a one-off?

They've got the 60s at 6:00, the 70s at 7:00, the 80s at 8:00 and the 90s at 9:00 and are clearly gearing up for the 2000s at 2:00


 

Funny stuff.  

For the record, The Nineties at Nine has been gone for about a year, maybe longer.

As for Tarzan... he's Norm's fill-in guy.  Anyone who suggests otherwise is speculating, although Dan and I have been having a good chuckle over some of the rumors. He even started a couple of them.

Sorry for the off-topic post, by the way. Was just replying.

 

May 5, 2016 10:05 am  #10


Re: Emergency Alert Starts Now! No, Now! No, Really, Now! No....

Mr. Hedley, why is Alan Gelman no longer co-hosting the Saturday morning Neighborhood Garage program?

 

May 5, 2016 10:39 am  #11


Re: Emergency Alert Starts Now! No, Now! No, Really, Now! No....

Ms. C. wrote:

Mr. Hedley, why is Alan Gelman no longer co-hosting the Saturday morning Neighborhood Garage program?

Two things:

1)  Mr. Hedley was my father.  I go by "Neil", if it's all the same.    

2)  Sometimes, a day off is just a day off. Alan wasn't on the show last Saturday because every once in a while, one of the guys has something else to do. He's back this weekend, and the guys will be doing their best to raise funds to help the Red Cross' efforts in Fort McMurray.

Sorry, guys... again - didn't mean to hijack the thread.