Re: Amber Alert & WBZ

["Manuelian, Mark D" <MManuelian@cbs.com>]

If I may make a few points...

Chris, your explanation of the EAS was excellent.  The only correction I
would make is that WTIC is NOT a PEP station.  The nearest PEP stations to
Springfield are WBZ, WABC in NYC and WHAM in Rochester, NY. None the less it
is good that you monitor more than one source. 

WBZ has made a significant committment to EAS, but we certainly don't get
any advantage by being a primary station.  The WBZ newsroom will know about
any abduction at least 30 to 60 minutes before an AMBER alert, not because
WBZ took a leadership role (along with Chris at WHYN and a few other
stations) in the AMBER program, but because our newsroom monitors the State
and local police communications on scanners.  Long before an abduction is
qualified and an alert is activated, there will be a general broadcast on
the state police radio system.

Metro or any other network could pass EAS messages, but they would have to
set up their own EAS equipment on each feed to each station AND they would
have to train their staff to operate it.  Then all the affliates would have
to hook up their EAS decoders to the Metro line.  Remember the EAS is
designed for automated operation and it only works with properly installed
EAS Encoders/Decoders.  

With regard to the time it takes an alert to propagation across the state,
it is important to understand the EAS is primarily for federal alerts.
National alerts are supposed to be broadcast immediately...as in the EAS
receiver feeds the transmitter directly bypassing the digital recorder in
the eas box and the console.  In this case the message is relayed across the
state in less than a millesecond.  The mechanics of the state alerts was
left up to the individual states.  Some states have microwave links, others
rely on LP stations to forward the message and other states have no plan at
all.  The Massachusetts plan relies on the LP stations to relay the alert.
 
Just my .02

Mark
WBZ