Does the Emergency Broadcast System (EBS) still exist? I ask because I remember when growing up seeing or hearing tests on TV and radio frequently. The TV would show an EBS logo or some such, flash “THIS IS ONLY A TEST” and emit a tone for 30 seconds or so followed by instructions on what to do if this had been an actual emergency. I can’t remember the last time I saw or heard one of these tests (at a guess I’d say ten years or more).
Also, if the EBS does still exist, do things like HBO and Showtime abide by them? I mean, if I’m watching The Sopranaos on HBO will I be blissfully unaware that a nuke is about to land on me or will I get the EBS warning off of that too (especially since I get satellite TV so I don’t know how they could localize a warning for something else like a nuclear power plant in my area blowing up)?
Finally, even when the EBS was in full swing, does anyone believe it would actually be used in the event of a nuclear attack? I mean, you have something like 30 minutes (at best) to get the hell out of dodge before a nuke hits. In a large city with everyone piling onto the streets I doubt most people could travel a mile in that time and cause mass hysteria to boot. I always wondered if the government would just say screw it, not tell anyone, and just let people go up in a poof (for the lucky ones at least) without stressing them out first?
The Emergency Broadcast System has given way to the Emergency Alert System.
I don’t believe that individual cable networks (such as HBO) are responsible for delivering the signal, but I believe that cable providers (such as TimeWarner) are. The linked page probably has more info than you could ever possibly want.
As an aside, I remember a message board thread about innovative radio station practices, and one person noted he had worked at a small town station that actually had a sponsor for the Emergency Broadcast System tests – after each test, they ran a commercial for a local insurance broker.
Thanks KtK. I took a quick glance at the site you linked but it’s too much of a drag to wade through all that crap. It looks more geared to broadcasters and their responsibilities than to the public.
Since I haven’t seen a test in ages I would guess that the EAS doesn’t require it but I wonder why? It would seem to me that there is now a whole generation that might just stand there wondering if they should find a bomb shelter or wonder what this interesting new cable show is all about.
Also, not having looked too deeply at the EAS link, I wonder how satellite TV is accounted for? I saw cable broadcasters mentioned on their site but satellite wasn’t listed (at least conspicuously). Does it make a difference that the signal I receive from DirectTV is the same signal New Yorkers and Floridians are watching?
There are still tests for the EAS, but I believe they happen less frequently than the old EBS tests. In fact I just heard one on the radio earlier this week.
On television, all I’ve seen is a text box that says “This is a test, etc.” No interruption of programming, no cacaphonous tones.
I can’t answer what satellite TV does, though.
Staff Report: What happened to the Emergency Broadcast System?
Coincidentally, we had an emergency alert here yesterday or the day before. It wasn’t a test, but it was partly a mistake. It was for a tornado watch in a different part of the state. The northernmost county in the state was supposed to get the alert, but the southernmost county got it instead. They straightened things out in short order.
Heh. Does anyone remember “WKRP in Cincinnati”–the episode when the news guy, Les Nesman, had to do a tornado warning and couldn’t find his “tornado warning script”? The program director finally told him to use the warning for a communist invasion, and to “say ‘tornado’ wherever it says 'communist.”
“Fellow Cincinattians! Our beloved city is under siege, overrun by a pillaging horde of Godless…tornados.”
Something like that; it’s been a long time.
I used to work master control for a television station in midstate Illinois back in the early-mid 90’s. One of the bits of equipment was a printer linked up with the National Weather Service that would beep incessently when a warning was issued until you pressed a button to stop it (and hopefully read the report). One night I was sitting there when “beep beepbeep beep…”. “Uh oh,” thought I, “tornado or something in the area. Better ready an emergancy crawl.”
“The National Weather Service has issued a frost warning for sections of Minnesota.”
I did see a warning the other day on TV on one of the UHF stations. Just a blue screen saying something like “Emergancy Alert System”, three short tones and it was over. Took maybe 5 seconds.
Waaaaaay back when I was in high school, I used to pull down a regular shift at the local radio station. They taught me to work the clock, run the rotation, read the news, check the “levels,” etc. They never bothered to mention the SIREN in the control booth, and the total station hijack from the EBS. One night we had a really good thunderstorm. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! And I was off the air. I recovered, you should see me now.