1 of 1- RadioActive
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Why Broadcasters Have Got To Fix That !$%$#@ Emergency Alert System
At 10:58 AM on Wednesday, there was another all-station test of the so-called Alert Ready System. It took over every radio station I could monitor in the 30 secs. or so that it lasted. My problem with it continues to be that there appears to be no real warning about the warning for the stations involved, and that shows are just intermittently interrupted at key moments - and the hosts have no idea that they've been taken over and not heard during that period.
You'd think they could give all broadcasters a head's up when it's coming, so that they could warn listeners and finish their conversations or make their points before the alarm goes off. Either that, or management isn't letting the talent know.
I can just hear this scenario happening one day:
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Host: So you're saying you murdered the woman in cold blood in that dark alley?
Guest: Well, I have to confess that I -
BEEP! BEEP! This is a test of the emergency alert ready system. This is only a test. BEEP! BEEP!
Host (Not knowing there was an interruption): Wow, that's the most amazing thing I've ever heard. I think we all need to digest that for a second. We'll be right back.
======
They've now had a few months to get this thing right. So far, it appears no one's communicating this properly. Ironic, for a communications medium.
Last edited by RadioActive (September 16, 2015 11:17 am)
- tvguy
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Re: Why Broadcasters Have Got To Fix That !$%$#@ Emergency Alert System
Hey Radioactive, you assume that the bureaucrats who are responsible for this system:
1) monitor it
2) care that there are problems
3) are - to use bureaucratic lingo - "empowered" to make needed changes.
4) have any dialogue with the broadcasters - who probably catch the wrath of their listeners when these screw ups happen.
I suggest it's none of the above. But if someone who posts on the big yellow board, knows anyone involved in this mess...at the operational level, perhaps they'd be receptive to actually receiving a phone call form people who are aware of the problem. From where I sit, these bureaucrats are invisible. And the CRTC is only the "instrument" who has forced this system upon the broadcasters. Don't expect anyone in the CRTC PR office to want to discuss this. It might make JP Blais angry.
- Glen Warren
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Re: Why Broadcasters Have Got To Fix That !$%$#@ Emergency Alert System
Thats right.... 'cause the CRTC is too busy going around self-congratulating themselves, and glad handing with others...
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The CRTC is recognized for its efforts to modernize telecommunications services in the North
September 16, 2015 – Ottawa-Gatineau – Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)At a ceremony that took place today at Rideau Hall, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) employees received a Public Service Award of Excellence. The CRTC was recognized in the “Excellence in Policy” category for its efforts to modernize telecommunications services in the North.Further to a public hearing, the CRTC developed a regulatory policy for the modernization of the Northwestel network, which will result in improved broadband Internet services and the delivery of advanced wireless services. Canadians living in the North will have access to affordable telecommunications services that will allow them to participate in the digital economy.The CRTC congratulates all of this year’s finalists and winners for their exceptional contribution to improving the lives of Canadians.
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wow, they need to have an award for doing their job.....
"employees received a Public Service Award of Excellence" ... this is an example of on oxymoron
Last edited by Glen Warren (September 16, 2015 1:29 pm)
- Don
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Re: Why Broadcasters Have Got To Fix That !$%$#@ Emergency Alert System
Broadcasters are warned. They have the whole schedule and are reminded days prior to each test. Any lack of warning to the audience is the broadcasters' choice or negligence.
- RadioActive
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Re: Why Broadcasters Have Got To Fix That !$%$#@ Emergency Alert System
Wasn't sure about who got told in advance, but I suspected that may be the case.
It would seem to make massive sense, especially on talk stations, to warn the listeners about what's coming. Think how much more professional it would be if say a Jerry Agar or a Mike Stafford (since these tests always seem to be skedded around 11 AM) would say, "In just a second, you're going to be hearing an emergency alert test. Nothing to be worried about, it's just a test and we'll be back when it's over."
That would sound better than just suddenly being taken off air in mid-sentence without any apparent warning and no way to finish a thought. It would also have the bonus application of being able to tell listeners more about the emergency alert system, why it's there and what they need to know about it if something actually ever does happen. Plus, the on air talent would be aware they've been taken off air for 30 seconds, instead of coming back on as though nothing had happened (likely because they're listening to the board feed and not the on air feed, so everything sounds normal to them.)
Arming them with the knowledge of the interruption makes sense to me. Which is probably why they don't do it.
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Thread Starter- Miker
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Re: Why Broadcasters Have Got To Fix That !$%$#@ Emergency Alert System
Yes we knew a week ago. Can't speak to other stations but traffic cleared the spots for that break....traffic on the roads was made aware they would be skipped and everything went smoothly. The listeners were told throughout the hour that a test was coming. So what's the big deal here?
- Mike Cleaver
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Re: Why Broadcasters Have Got To Fix That !$%$#@ Emergency Alert System
Listening to the air monitor would solve this problem.
You'd hear the alert in your headphones or over the studio monitor.
I cannot understand ANYONE bitching about this system or periodic 30 second tests.
It's there for your safety, dumbass!
If something big came down and there was no notification system, everyone would bitch, piss, moan and complain that they didn't get any warning of an emergency or disaster.
- RadioActive
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Re: Why Broadcasters Have Got To Fix That !$%$#@ Emergency Alert System
Mike Cleaver wrote:
Listening to the air monitor would solve this problem.
You'd hear the alert in your headphones or over the studio monitor.
I cannot understand ANYONE bitching about this system or periodic 30 second tests.
It's there for your safety, dumbass!
If something big came down and there was no notification system, everyone would bitch, piss, moan and complain that they didn't get any warning of an emergency or disaster.
Mike: I think you may have misinterpreted what I meant. I have no objection to the alerts and in fact, I think they're a good idea overall. It's exactly what the media should be doing. My problem is the hamfisted way they're being presented. There's no reason at all listeners can't be warned about tests coming (as opposed to a real sudden emergency, in which all bets are off) instead of simply having programming interrupted in mid-sentence.
As noted above, not only would that make the tests easier to take for listeners, but it could also help educate them on what the system is, how it works, and why it's there, while making the station involved sound more professional. I notice Miker says his group was informed in advance. Apparently not everyone else in the chain of stations I was listening to got that memo - or at least it wasn't communicated to the hosts, who were left to hang while making a point and then came back without realizing their last few words never made it to air. Made them and their stations sound bad.
As for listening to the off air signal, that's fine for a music station. But as you know, talk stations are on a delay and that wouldn't work for them. So there has to be another way around it.
Last edited by RadioActive (September 17, 2015 10:54 am)
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Thread Starter- kowchmedia
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Re: Why Broadcasters Have Got To Fix That !$%$#@ Emergency Alert System
Yes we knew a week ago. Can't speak to other stations but traffic cleared the spots for that break....traffic on the roads was made aware they would be skipped and everything went smoothly. The listeners were told throughout the hour that a test was coming. So what's the big deal here?
I have no idea who "Miker" is (why I hate these kind of IDs. It sure would help if we knew this person was in talk radio or music radio) but that said, if he did this on air than the problem isn't about notification. It's about PDs not doing their job to tell on air staff it's coming and when and what to say in advance and to make sure the hosts do exactly as told. I think we refer to this kind of management task as following through with their reports to make sure they are aware of the upcoming test and how to handle this on air.
Someone is not doing their job and according to "Miker" the emergency people send out notices. It is not up to them to make sure people in radio do their job. So in this case, radio is to blame. Not the system.
Thanks "Miker" for letting us know it works ok when hosts are told by management that a test is coming. One more thing. If it is talk radio than it's not only the host who needs to be talked to in advance but the producer and the operator so that they can remind the host in case he/she forgets. And, I used to drive people crazy but on the day of something like a test it didn't matter that I told them a week before. I would remind them the day of. I know they probably thought I was an idiot and and didn't trust them. But as a PD, my job was to make sure something like this was done right.
Last edited by kowchmedia (September 17, 2015 10:41 am)
- BoredOp
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Re: Why Broadcasters Have Got To Fix That !$%$#@ Emergency Alert System
Can we move away from discussing about how to handle a test of this system and move on to the real issue?
If there were to be a TRUE emergency, there would be no warning. Which means that for the talk format, whomever is hosting CANNOT even reference it on the air because they will not be able to hear it, making the host sound completely disconnected from whatever caused the alert in the first place.
Being warned about a test is great and all, it lets a station come out of delay and switch the monitors so they can hear the test when it happens but if a disaster were to happen 'live' as it were, anybody in a studio on delay will need to be told by an external party that the alert sounded. Good thing most radio stations have fully staffed newsrooms to do this. Oh, wait...
SIDEBAR: On the subject of pseudonyms, surely we all understand the need for them. I understand the 'stand by your words' philosophy but sometimes that initial sense of confidentiality is required for someone to feel comfortable enough to let some information flow.
Would Mark Felt would have been so forthcoming with Woodword & Bernstein if he had no cover? Maybe that's a bad example but I think the folks here understand what I'm driving at.
Also, let's not forget that many famous radio personalities used on-air pseudonyms. If a moniker is acceptable for use on the air, it should be acceptable here too. In short, if there is an industry that understands the idea behind the useof a pseudonym, it's radio. We've encouraged it for years.
As for me, I'm using one because I'm a piker in the industry and well frankly, because the opportunity is there for me to do so.
Last edited by BoredOp (September 18, 2015 12:39 pm)
- Old Codger
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Re: Why Broadcasters Have Got To Fix That !$%$#@ Emergency Alert System
I was listening. The song leading into the news update was interrupted by that meaningless and unnecessary 'bs' announcement. No warning...it was just there. Pure crap. Do it for real or shut the eff up. My gawd!!! It's ratings time.
[If that interupted a talk show...no big deal. They all talk WAY too much anyway. Same instructions. Shut the eff up. THE MAJORITY DON'T CARE.
]
And don't interrupt a real newscast or the SPORTS you idiots. "We interrupt this actual portrayal of important and factual information with this idiotic test." Why I otta!!!
- SmfP
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Re: Why Broadcasters Have Got To Fix That !$%$#@ Emergency Alert System
So you're not surprised next time: