COUNCIL SETS TIMETABLE FOR ENSURING MEDIA SECURITY, RELIABILITY
Media Security & Reliability Council (MSRC) established by FCC after 9/11 to ensure nation would be able to get news and information in crisis said Wed. it had established working groups to examine various aspects of its mission and expected to issue final recommendations in either fall or winter 2003. Several members of MSRC, including McHenry Tichenor of Hispanic Bcstg. and Ann Arnold of Texas Assn. of Bcstrs. expressed impatience with pace of movement, specifically in dealing with issues facing nationwide Emergency Alert System (EAS).
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Export Compliance Daily combines U.S. export control news, foreign border import regulation and policy developments into a single daily information service that reliably informs its trade professional readers about important current issues affecting their operations.
“It’s a rare moment when I'm actually heartened and encouraged at industry’s impatience, and I hear some impatience around the table and I think that’s very healthy,” FCC Chmn. Powell told more than 40 industry leaders at conclusion of MSRC’s 2nd meeting. “I think it demonstrates that there is a deepening understanding among this group about the urgency of our task.” Tribune Bcstg. Vp Shaun Sheehan told his colleagues on MSRC: “The complexity of this task almost overwhelms us, but we simply can’t fail.”
Evoking images of World Trade Center, Powell said MSRC should be “motivated by a horrible nightmare in which something happened that we could have made better but we didn’t get there in time. And it will take time to get this right, but motivated by that nightmare I think will keep us moving forward.” Earlier, he told meeting he had new appreciation for job media did in disseminating news and information in wake of sniper attacks that terrorized Washington for 3 weeks. He said media had been “an important source of managing what was one of the most distressing and anxiety-ridden situations I've ever experienced.”
John Eck, pres., NBC bcst. network operations and leader of MSRC’s Public Communications & Safety Working Group, said one of group’s goals was to study means by which govt. and media communicate emergency and public safety information, including but not limited to EAS. Eck said group would examine interaction among national, state, and local govts. with media via broadcast, satellite and cable TV, as well as radio and Internet. Group would look at hurricane warnings and Amber Alert system as possible models, he said. Group’s subcommittees will have interim reports in May 2003, he said.
Tichenor and Arnold said they were concerned about viability of EAS and timetable associated with making it so. “In truth, there is no EAS system operational in much of this country,” Arnold said: “There’s no one who is actually pushing local or state governments to develop plans to use EAS.” She said FCC had done good job of ensuring equipment was in place and properly tested, “but there’s no one urging, suggesting or even checking up to see if there’s any way to connect with that EAS system with any kind of messages.” Eck said group would look at those issues.
Harris Bcst. CEO Bruce Allan, chmn. of Communications Infrastructure Security Working Group, said his group was looking at ways to ensure reliability of communications facilities and to restore those facilities, in some cases through interindustry cooperation, if they were damaged or lost in disaster. Cooperation such as sharing of facilities proved vital in N.Y.C. after terrorist attacks because collapse of building destroyed tower used by most of city’s broadcasters. Cable companies stepped in to help in that case. Allan said group also would examine redundancies, security and impact of digital technology on those areas. MSRC members said they had established Web site at www.mediasecurity.org. Next meeting of council as whole tentatively is scheduled for late May.