WASHINGTON, D.C. – April 10, 2019 – A broadcast technology executive today cited a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) National Advisory Council (NAC) report as new evidence of public media’s integral role in the nation’s public safety communications infrastructure.
Today’s presentation by the broadcast technology expert at the National Association of Broadcasters convention in Las Vegas (“The Role of Television Datacasting in Public Safety, First Responder Support and Alerting”) said the FEMA report’s recommendations encouraging greater use of public media’s resources in alert, warning and interoperable communications send a clear signal that public media’s public safety mission is being recognized by a growing number of officials at the federal, state and local government levels.
Theme 2, Recommendation 7 in the report on Modernizing the Nation’s Public Alert and Warning system specifically encourages public media’s role in alerts and warnings: “FEMA should engage and educate lawmakers on needed improvements to the Nation’s emergency alerting systems by encouraging the use of public media capabilities to expand alert, warning and interoperable communications.”
“America’s Public Television Stations are pleased that this report recognizes public media’s essential public safety mission and the role we play in protecting communities and keeping Americans safe, including those in rural and underserved areas,” said Patrick Butler, president and CEO, APTS. “Local public television stations provide a range of public safety services on the local, state and national level. We look forward to continuing and expanding this work in coordination with FEMA and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
“PBS is grateful to the FEMA NAC for acknowledging the value of a public-private partnership with public media,” said Dana Golub, Vice President, Programs Management, Technology and Operations, PBS. “As this report highlights, there is a need for multiple and redundant technologies for alerting, and we are proud of public media’s uniquely qualified role as a vital public safety partner.”
Butler concluded: “As the Next Gen broadcast standard is deployed across the county, public television’s public safety capabilities will expand. We look forward to continuing our work with FEMA and other public safety partners to enhance public media’s emergency alerting capabilities, reaching more people and saving more lives.”
The FEMA NAC advises the FEMA Administrator on all aspects of emergency management, including preparedness, protection, response, recovery and mitigation for natural disasters, acts of terrorism and other manmade disasters.
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