Tag: "FEMA"

Thursday, November 10, 2011

National EAS Test Proves What Many Suspected.  The national Emergency Alert System test that happened (in many places, anyway) at 2:00 pm ET yesterday, showed where the holes are in the system.  There were numerous places where the primary entry point stations did not receive the test and therefore whole regions did not air the test.  But that’s what yesterday’s exercise was all about.  A joint statement from the FCC and FEMA noted, “The Nationwide EAS Test served the purpose for which it was intended – to identify gaps and generate a comprehensive set of data to help strengthen our ability to communicate during real emergencies.  Based on preliminary data, media outlets in large portions of the country successfully received the test message, but it wasn’t received by some viewers or listeners.  We are currently in the process of collecting and analyzing data, and will reach a conclusion when that process is complete.”  Stations have 45 days to report to Washington how the test went at their station or in their market.  For those markets where the test did go off, there were complaints about poor audio quality that made it hard to understand what the message was.  In other places the audio was missing completely.

Restructuring at Cumulus Media Networks Ousts Maureen Lesourd.  With the company since 2009, Maureen Lesourd joined then-Citadel Media Networks as vice president of programming and distribution and was in charge of its 24-hour music formats.  She exits along with 24/7 formats operations director Chris Miller, affiliate relations staffers Brian Curry and Dave Allison as well as finance manager Brian Kaefer.

Former ABC News Political Director Hal Bruno Dies at Age 83.  Hal Bruno served as political director at ABC News from 1978 through his retirement in 1999.  His election coverage and political reports were a staple of ABC Radio’s news content during that time.  Bruno fell on Friday, November 4 and died after complications from the incident on November 8.

Euro Zone Jitters/Financial Markets Activity, Penn State Scandal, Herman Cain Accusations/GOP Debate and Iran Nukes Among Top News/Talk Stories Yesterday (11/9).  The concern over the Euro Zone’s ability to fix its debt problem and the effect on the world financial markets, Joe Paterno’s firing and the Penn State abuse scandal, Hermain Cain’s defense against accusations of sexual misconduct and the GOP debate plus Iran’s nuclear weapons ambitions were some of the most-talked-about stories on news/talk radio yesterday.