I saw something I can’t quite get my head around while turning the channel Thursday. My set was left on WKBW-TV the night before and while I was changing to watch the noon news, WKBW was conducting a test of the Emergency Alert System. It consisted of a banner scrolling atop the screen, with an irritating tone coming through the speakers. It also had a graphic (see below) informing viewers it was just a “mandatory test.”
 
Nothing odd about that, I’ve seen these things dozens of times and it’s part of the law down south that stations have to do these tests on a regular basis. (Although why they insist on doing it right at the end of a TV show you were watching, obscuring the ending is beyond me.)
 
But if you look at the graphic, it says “Duration: 1 hour.” Surely this thing could not have aired for 60 minutes in a row, presumably interrupting ABC’s “The View?” What does that “1 hour” designation mean? Did it truly air that long or does that mean they had to do it within that period?
 
Not sure what the rules are in the U.S., but this seems impossible to me.