[opendtv] Broadcasters Inform Citizens During Weather Emergencies
- From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 27 May 2011 16:02:35 -0500
And in case the obvious needs to be said again, had one or two or three TV or
radio stations also gone off the air, chances are that others would still have
been operational, and within range of the residents.
The problem with NYC TV on 9/11 was that all their antennas were on the same
tower. But even then, aren't there TV stations in neighboring towns that were
able to transmit info to New Yorkers?
Bert
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http://www.tvtechnology.com/article/120948
Broadcasters Inform Citizens During Weather Emergencies
by Doug Lung, 05.26.2011.
The tornadoes that ravaged south central parts of the United States this week
knocked out cell phone service and terrestrial Internet access, but as far as I
have been able to tell, major TV and radio stations in the affected areas
stayed on the air, providing vital information to their communities.
CNN describes the situation well in its article Radio stations chug along 24/7
in tornado-devastated Joplin. "For the first 24 hours, there was no
electricity. Both cell phones and land lines were out, as was Internet service.
All that people in Joplin had were battery-powered transistors. The tornado
missed the station building by a few blocks. So Zimmer Programming Manager Chad
Elliot's staff cranked up the generators and turned off the music. They even
canceled the commercials. All they did was provide vital information to people
who had lost everything."
TV stations in the Joplin area remained on the air as well, providing news and
information. NBC Nightly News Anchor Brian Williams stopped by KOAM-TV when he
was in Joplin covering the aftermath of the tornado. Williams got his start in
television at KOAM-TV in the early 1980's.
Other reports from Joplin indicated there were problems coordinating news crews
and getting phone reports from the field due to cell phone outages. The Joplin
tornadoes emphasize a point I've made in previous RF Report articles--stations
need to make sure their operations do not depend on cell phones and the
Internet, as in a disaster neither may be available.
Many TV and radio stations with news operations have remote pickup systems
operating in the 161 MHz, 450-451 MHz and 455-456 MHz bands for communication
with news crews, to receive live reports from the field for broadcast and to
communicate with talent during live interviews. While cell phones now handle
much of that work, this might be a good time to make sure those old remote
pickup and two-way radio systems are still working.
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