‘Amber’ Abduction Alert Likely for EAS
by Randy J. Stine
FCC Likely to Give Amber Plan EAS Event Code
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Are EDIS and RBDS Amber Options?
LOS ANGELES At least one EAS expert
believes there is a better means available to disseminate
abducted-children information quickly and maybe more efficiently
than EAS.
"I think there are more suitable vehicles
in some areas of the country, which could be built easily
in other areas, to do what the Center for Missing and Exploited
Children want to do with the Amber Plan," said Richard
Rudman, chairman of the National Advisory Committee and
the Los Angeles County local emergency committee. "One
of those is EDIS."
California’s Emergency Digital Information
Service is used by the state’s emergency managers to
alert and inform the news media and public with regards
to emergencies, from earthquake disasters to power blackouts.
Rudman said EDIS is a combination Web site,
news wire and 24-hour broadcast service.
"We have had success with it in California.
EDIS allows a local emergency manager to use existing information
networks like the Internet, pagers, and e-mail to reach
the public via broadcasters," Rudman said.
"Broadcasters can use filtering software,
which can preselect messages of interest that they want
to carry."
EDIS was developed in 1990 as a means to
give emergency managers a simple, comprehensive way to relay
detailed emergency information to the public. During the
1994 Northridge (Los Angeles) earthquake response, EDIS
carried more than 2,000 news releases and media advisories,
according to the EDIS Web site (www.edis.oes.ca.gov).
EDIS can be used to trigger EAS alerts, but
it can also be used to follow through with the detailed
information people need after an initial alarm, Rudman said.
The EDIS Web site states, "EDIS is designed
to be disaster-resistant. A sophisticated satellite distribution
network constantly updates ‘mirror’ EDIS servers
in selected newsrooms and network facilities around the
state. Even when public networks are clogged after a disaster,
EDIS information will be available statewide."
"It really is a government-to-media
wire service," Rudman said.
Steve Terry, station manager and CE for WYPL(FM)
in Memphis, Tenn., said the Radio Broadcast Data System
presents many opportunities for transmitting missing-child
information quickly.
One of the main benefits of RBDS is the ability
to transmit full-text messages, which is one of Terry’s
complaints about EAS.
"In Memphis, the Amber Alert calls for
local police to initiate the alert. Right now they have
to fax the information to (WYPL), the LP1 station. What
happens if we don’t see the fax?" he said.
Eventually, Terry would like to see the Memphis
Police Department equipped with a RBDS encoder to enable
it to move information in a timelier manner.
According to a report from the National Radio
Systems Committee, RBDS allows stations to use a subcarrier
to transmit emergency alerts without interrupting the main
audio channel. RBDS alerts those with the appropriate receivers
who have their warning features enabled. Some pagers can
also receive RBDS messages.
The report said RBDS was considered as a
possible replacement for EBS in the early 1990s when the
FCC examined technologies as a replacement to EBS.
The Tennessee State EAS plan includes the
capability of using RBDS to distribute EAS messages.
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WASHINGTON With the FCC expected to add an
Emergency Alert System event code for abducted children later
this year, law enforcement and children’s advocates are hoping
more broadcasters will sign on to so-called Amber Plans.
Because of a girl named Amber, a growing number
of radio stations are airing EAS messages, hoping to help find
abducted children while their trail is still fresh.
Named after Amber Hagerman, a 9-year-old Arlington,
Texas, girl who was abducted and killed in 1996, the Amber Plan
is an emergency plan that uses EAS to help locate abducted children.
EAS is the major element of an Amber Plan and is
seen as law enforcement’s primary tool to disseminate information
quickly to stations and a particular listening area.
Even with an event code all its own, the continued
success of the Amber Plan will depend upon the participation level
of broadcasters, who are not required to carry local and state
EAS messages, said Richard Rudman, chairman of the EAS National
Advisory Committee and the Los Angeles County local emergency
committee. The only messages broadcasters are required to carry
are national EAS events and tests.
"A new Missing-Child Statement event code
means broadcasters can differentiate an Amber alert from a toxic
spill. This means they can decide specifically if they want to
participate in Amber alerts by entering that code into their EAS
box, or leaving it out," said Gary Timm, broadcast chair
of the Wisconsin EAS committee and a member of the EAS National
Advisory Committee. "Participation in the plan will be strictly
voluntary."
The plans originated in the Dallas-Fort Worth area,
and versions have been adopted in other major metropolitan areas,
including Cincinnati, Memphis, Tenn., Charlotte, N.C., and in
Oklahoma, Florida and Arkansas. Michigan planed to launch a statewide
Amber Plan in late June.
Plans are in development to implement Amber in
Washington and Phoenix. A total of 22 plans are in effect nationally.
NAB’s Education Foundation planned to honor
Dallas/Ft. Worth area stations and law enforcement agencies with
a Service to America Samaritan Award on June 11. The NABEF gives
such awards each year to pay tribute to an individual or organization
involved in broadcasting that exemplifies the industry’s
commitment to use the airwaves effectively and responsibly to
promote the public interest.
Credited by supporters and law-enforcement agencies
with 16 child-abduction recoveries, the alerts are currently sent
as a Civil Emergency Message over EAS.
Supporters have urged the FCC to assign a particular
event code to help broadcasters identify the alert more easily.
Event codes are the three-letter codes EAS uses to identify an
event or emergency causing the EAS activation.
The FCC is considering proposed changes to the
commission’s Part 11 EAS Rules (RW, April 25). The Notice
of Proposed Rule Making shows the FCC is recommending the addition
of a Missing-Child Statement to EAS.
Comments for EB Docket # 01-66 were due in early
June with reply comments due July 11. EAS observers said they
hoped the commission would issue a Report and Order by the end
of the year.
Proponents of the plan include The National Center
for Missing and Exploited Children, a nonprofit organization based
in Washington, the national Fraternal Order of Police and numerous
lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
Perhaps more important, it appears that many in
the broadcast industry have embraced the idea.
"The whole Amber Plan concept has spread quickly
the last several years. Certain communities have really adopted
the idea and have had success with it," said Joann Donnellan,
media director for the National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children.
The NCMEC in its comments to the FCC is recommending
that Missing-Child Statement be changed to Abducted-Child Statement
because, Donnellan said, the Amber Plan is not for all missing-children
cases, but for abductions.
"The advisory should only be used for the
most serious child-abduction cases. It must be witnessed by someone
and a child’s life must be in jeopardy. It’s not for
runaways or parental disagreements. We don’t want to overuse
the system," she said.
Some broadcast EAS experts are concerned about
the Amber Plan’s inclusion in EAS. Some felt an EAS missing
child alert would help to dilute the effectiveness of EAS and
lead to overuse.
"When we first heard of this, many of us in
the EAS community were opposed to it. We thought, ‘That is
not a proper use of EAS,’" said Timm.
"I think the main operative for Amber to work
in a local area is a good written plan, to avoid overuse or misuse."
Timm believes a system of "checks and balances"
will be needed to demonstrate careful oversight and monitoring
of the plan. "I think most of the EAS community will go along
with the plan," he said.
Steve Terry, station manager and chief engineer
for WYPL(FM) in Memphis, Tenn., the area’s LP1 station, said
EAS is an adequate means to distribute Amber Alerts.
"My only complaint with EAS is that a station
or civil authority cannot send a full-text message. I think in
the case of an abducted-child message you need as much exact detail
as possible. It would be nice not to have to worry about having
an announcer transcribe a long message. There could be even better
ways for broadcasters to handle missing-child alerts," Terry
said.
Memphis’ Amber Plan covers all of Shelby County
and was established in 1999. Since that time, there has yet to
be an Amber activation in the county, Terry said.
"I want to protect the integrity of EAS, so
overuse is one of my concerns," said Rudman. "However,
I’ll support an EAS missing-child advisory, but I still have
some worry as to whether EAS was intended for that purpose."
Donnellan thinks it was.
"The FCC has said EAS is for getting life-saving
messages out to the community. Child-abduction cases can be life-threatening
situations, so it fits the criteria stipulated by the FCC,"
she said.
EAS can enable stations to deliver information
to a community quickly, the main point supporters of the plans
make. Police and child-abduction experts agree that action in
the first few hours after an abduction is key to a successful
recovery.
"The direct correlation between recovery and
how quickly the information is spread is undeniable," Gilbert
Gallegos, national president of the Fraternal Order of Police.
Even so, Gallegos said EAS should be used in only
the most threatening child-abduction cases.
"If you have a witnessed child-snatching,
then EAS should go beyond warning of tornadoes and storms. Anyone
who is a parent knows that if their child were snatched, they
would consider it an emergency situation," he said.
The NCMEC estimates there were nearly 750,000 missing
children reported by the FBI National Crime Information Center
in 2000. Donnellan said runaways and parental abductions are the
two leading causes of reports of missing children.
Spurred by the success of the Amber Plan in Texas,
support on Capitol Hill has steadily grown. Rep. Nick Lampson,
D-Texas, said he, along with 25 members of the House, have sent
a letter to the FCC supporting an abducted child statement for
EAS.
"A missing-child message is a superb use of
EAS. It’s a perfect example of how broadcasters and electronic
media can serve their communities," Lampson said. Lampson
chairs the Missing and Exploited Children’s caucus in the
House.
While based on a similar premise, Amber Plans can
vary in design and by name depending on location. For instance,
in the Dallas-Fort Worth plan, the EAS alert is issued by WBAP(AM)
and KSCS(FM) in Arlington, the area’s LP1 stations. In Oklahoma,
the EAS messages are initiated by the state’s Department
of Public Safety. It is not the goal of supporters to standardize
how the plan works.
"I think that is best left up to individual
states or communities," said J.D. Freeman, Clear Channel
Communications/Phoenix market manager, and one of the original
Amber Plan developers as station manager at KDMX(FM) in Dallas.
Freeman said he is working on an Amber Plan for
the Phoenix area but will design a plan only after getting feedback
from local police and broadcasters.
Frank Lucia, the recently retired special EAS advisor
for the Technical and Public Safety Division of the FCC Enforcement
Bureau, said the success of Amber Plans depends on how the plan
is "localized" to a particular community, and how law
enforcement helps to foster the system.
"I think it can work well either locally or
statewide. Law enforcement’s participation will be key. They
are becoming more familiar with the program. And from what I’ve
been hearing, I think broadcasters are buying into the idea too,"
Lucia said.
In Dallas-Fort Worth, an Amber Alert is set into
action once WBAP(AM), Arlington, receives and confirms a fax from
law enforcement detailing a child abduction, said Clay Steely,
director of engineering for WBAP, the originating EAS station.
(For a detailed look at the Dallas-Fort Worth Amber Plan, visit
the station’s Web site at www.wbap.com.)
"After the two-tone attention signal, we have
a customized sounder for the Amber Alert and then a pre-scripted
open stating this is an Amber Alert Activation," Steely said.
"What follows is a detailed description of the vehicle and
information about the child."
Steely said more than 30 radio stations monitor
WBAP and KSCS across 17 North Texas counties. The receiving stations
have the option of either re-transmitting the audio, or transcribing
the message and doing their own broadcast, he said.
"I’d say even though the majority of
stations manually forward messages, because of the EAS unit’s
automatic storage, they will actually carry the original audio
from our stations. That helps to keep things consistent,"
Steely said. Most stations will repeat the Amber statement every
15 minutes for the first two hours, he said.
Tyler Cox, station manager, KMEO(FM) in Dallas,
is chairman of the Amber Advisory Council. Cox is also president
of the Association of Radio Managers (ARMS) in Dallas, the group
responsible for going to law enforcement with the idea for an
Amber Plan in 1996.
"I cannot think of a better use of EAS. This
is the best public service idea I’ve ever been around,"
Cox said. "We get to make a real difference in our communities
by helping save the life of a child."
Cox said the Amber Advisory Council meets every
two months to review previous system activations.
"We want feedback from as many people as we
can get. The group is made up of broadcasters and police, so it’s
a chance to come together and see the difference we are making,"
he said.
The ARMS board has been heavily involved in the
national rollout of the Amber Plan, and has been fielding calls
from broadcasters interested in setting up Amber Plans in their
own communities, Cox said.
"They ask how it works and whether it means
giving over control of their airwaves to police," Cox said.
"I think some broadcasters are a little intimidated by EAS
anyway."
Oklahoma’s state Amber Plan has been credited
with one successful recovery since its inception in January 2000.
Arkansas and Florida also have a statewide Amber strategy.
"When you think about it, this is the type
of thing that’s ideal for radio. We have thousands of eyes
and ears in their cars listening to our stations at all hours,"
said Carl Smith, executive director of the Oklahoma Association
of Broadcasters.
Smith said broadcasters in the state have been
"very willing and very receptive" to air Amber messages
as needed.
"We have always been careful to stress to
our members that it is the goal of the state and the Department
of Public Safety to keep EAS interference at a minimum. The abduction
of a child must meet very strict criteria to warrant an alert,"
Smith said. Even with those safeguards, one false alarm was issued
last year, he said.
At least one Oklahoma emergency manager believes
EAS "is overkill for a missing child in a rural county"
in Oklahoma. "If we want to succeed at this on a statewide
basis, proper training for civil authorities and broadcasters
will be critical," said Lloyd Colston, emergency management
director for Mayes County, in northeastern Oklahoma.
Colston said people also have to consider the far-reaching
effect of EAS. He cited the case of an Amber alert for Comanche
County, which is "almost 600 miles away" from Mayes
County.
"When an Amber alert goes up from that far
away, our local station here wonders why they are receiving a
Civil Emergency Message," Colston said.
As the FCC considers assigning a new event code
for missing children this summer, the National Center for Missing
and Exploited Children will launch its own version of the Amber
Plan: America’s Missing Child Broadcast Emergency Response.
The nationwide initiative will assist communities interested in
establishing their own plans.
"We will provide information kits and video
tapes for law enforcement and broadcasters to use as guidelines
in setting up their own Amber Plan," Donnellan said.
"We hope stations will carry the abducted-child
statements," Donnellan said. "We think EAS is the most
credible and reliable vehicle for getting information out. We
think this is just another way to realize the potential of EAS."
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Stations to Pay
For Box Upgrades
Both broadcasters and the FCC are concerned
about driving up the cost of EAS encoders/decoders if the
digital header codes used in the transmission of EAS messages
are modified or if new codes are added.
The FCC wrote in its rulemaking notification,
"We are particularly interested in ascertaining costs
the broadcast stations and cable systems may incur with
additional codes. What will it cost to upgrade or modify
existing EAS equipment to receive the revised codes?"
Richard Rudman, chairman of the National
Advisory Committee and the Los Angeles County local emergency
committee, said broadcasters will have to modify existing
EAS equipment.
"It depends on what the box is capable
of. It’s a memory issue. It will most likely be software-related,
but may be firmware in some cases."
Several EAS equipment manufacturers said
they believe existing EAS units can be modified with minimum
expense to broadcasters.
"We are hesitant to put a price on the
changes until we see the complete list of codes the FCC
adds. The number of codes will drive the price for the upgrades,"
said Dave Halperin, vice president for HollyAnne Corp.
"The price to do so will be moderate,
substantially less than replacing the unit. A fraction of
that," Halperin said.
A HollyAnne HU-961 EAS encoder/decoder lists
for $1,495.
"We expect the rules changes, as they
are written now, to be of minimal cost to broadcasters,
probably under $100" to modify existing equipment,
said Darryl Parker, vice president, TFT Inc.
"It is not a question of having to replace
the whole box."
The TFT EAS911R4 EAS encoder/decoder lists
for $2,195.
Harold Price, project manager for the Sage
ENDEC EAS encoder/decoder, said the FCC’s proposed
changes to EAS are "fairly cosmetic" as written.
"The price to broadcasters all depends
on the complexity of the changes the FCC decides upon."
Price said the new EAS originator codes will
require firmware, but no hardware changes for Sage ENDEC
units.
TFT, HollyAnne and Sage officials said they
filed comments with the FCC predicting the extra costs broadcasters
may have to shoulder.
Jim Gorman, owner of Gorman-Redlich, ballparked
the incremental cost to implement changes to a relatively
new unit to between $50 to $300.
The FCC will allow time for a phase-in period
for broadcasters to make the necessary equipment changes,
Rudman said.
"With the additional codes and other
proposed changes in EAS, manufacturers will also need time
for testing."
– Randy J. Stine
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