WASHINGTON-An industry group advising the Federal Communications Commission on emergency public warnings today urged use of new technologies to deliver critical homeland security information to U.S. citizens, a policy stance backed by FCC Chairman Michael Powell.
“Increasingly, I see media companies that are pushing news to pagers, Web devices, cell devices, personally held digital systems. To the extent that you can extend the reach of broadcasting to the individual on a personal level, [it] will be an enormous advantage,” said Powell.
Media Security and Reliability Council members will vote by June 18 on working group initial recommendations, which could then be rolled into a final report later this year.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said a public-private partnership would produce the best results.
Partnership for Public Warning, a non-profit group of private sector, academia and government representatives, also called for new technologies-including wireless devices-in its May 16 national strategy report on reforming the existing Emergency Alert System.
MSRC has a decidedly broadcast bent. PPW and others have different views on how best to improve public warning capability.
Other recommendations being voted on by the MSRC are:
- A single federal entity should be responsible for public warning and all-hazard risk communication.
- Effective emergency communications should be achieved through a public/private partnership.
- Local and state governments should coordinate with media to create, review and update emergency communications procedures.
- Local media should form emergency jurisdiction/market cooperatives to assure coordinated delivery of local emergency messages to all constituencies.
- The Emergency Alert System should be periodically tested, upgraded as necessary, and implemented and maintained at local, state and national levels.
- Research into development of alternative, redundant and/or supplemental means of communicating emergency information to the public should be accelerated.
- Local jurisdiction/market cooperatives should share their locally developed best practices for coordination, delivering risk communications and continuity planning under crisis conditions.
- National media companies should reassess their vulnerabilities and take appropriate measures to prevent loss of service and expedite rapid recovery.
- News media should consider agreements to allow flexibility in local use and retransmission of content under government-declared emergencies.
- Local media facilities should conduct vulnerability assessments and have disaster recovery plans that are periodically reviewed, updated and practiced.
- Local media outlets should assess their collective vulnerabilities and develop cooperative agreements and plans to ensure some media remains in service under extreme conditions.
- Government should coordinate the creation of a Media Common Alert Protocol to deliver emergency messages via digital networks.
