SBE Reacts to Bush Executive Order

SBE says President Bush’s action this week on EAS may spur the FCC “to issue a long-overdue Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking” as a result of an earlier SBE filing.
Bush issued an Executive Order concerning the public alert and warning system. SBE said in a statement that it has “continuously worked at many levels to improve the existing Emergency Alert System by providing input to the Federal Communications Commission, and offering tutorial and training information for broadcasters to better implement and utilize EAS in their communities.”
In January it submitted a filing to the FCC with suggestions to enhance EAS and integrate it into other forms of warning systems.
SBE Vice President and Clay Freinwald, CPBE, chairman of the SBE National EAS Committee, said many of the points the president raised in his order are addressed in the SBE filing or are already part of the SBE’s EAS goals, including the use of a common alerting protocol.
“The SBE believes that broadcasters are an important part of a public warning system, and we have actively worked to improve the system and the tools that are available.”