Congrats to Brad, Mark & Cumulus: Severe WX Coverage

[JRZFM100]

Once again this year, congratulations to Brad, Mark, WBAP and the entire Dallas Cumulus group for unbelievably good coverage of the first severe weather event of this season!

Really appreciate the simulcast.

Nobody does it better!

 

[LibertyNT]

Great coverage as always.
Though oddly WBAP-FM keeps going off the air.
Seems like they're having a hard time keeping power at the site

 

[milton77]

I wish KRLD's coverage would simulcast on at least one FM station when they are wall-to-wall with weather (perhaps KRLD-FM when not in a game). Lightning can make listening a bit difficult at times.

 

[JRZFM100]

Though oddly WBAP-FM keeps going off the air.
Seems like they're having a hard time keeping power at the site

WBAP-FM had tornadic activity in very close proximity to their tower.

Brad was talking about a tornado on the ground near Slidell, Texas. I'm glad the stick is still standing.

 

[JRZFM100]

I wish KRLD's coverage would simulcast on at least one FM station when they are wall-to-wall with weather (perhaps KRLD-FM when not in a game). Lightning can make listening a bit difficult at times.

Doesn't a weather event that produces multiple fatalities in the designated EAS area qualify for preemption of a sports broadcast? Perhaps KRLD-FM should preempt when the wx gets as bad as last nite.

 

[JRZFM100]

RE: PROPER ACTIVATION OF EAS DURING CUMULUS SIMULCAST OF WBAP ON SISTER STATIONS

It was interesting to note that KLIF(AM) HAD NO ACTIVATION OF THE EAS SYSTEM MULTIPLE TIMES during warnings that originated from sister station WBAP.

Mark Watkins' voice, enunciating the warnings, was clearly audible on KLIF, however, KLIF had no activation of its EAS system, as evidenced by the absence of header information and absence of attention signal.

I'd guess this is do to the technical scheme which Cumulus uses to execute its simulcast of WBAP, however it is in error.

Although authoritative, Mark's voice alone does not constitute activation of the EAS. And I'd guess this error propagated similarly to all other Cumulus stations taking the WBAP simulcast.

For comparison, KLIF did originated one warning with an actual EAS activation; that warning was originated by NWS, not WBAP.

 

[bturner]

The radio station that is not a primary in the Emergency Alert System has the option of airing the alert or not. The important thing is the information got on the air.

Nothing beats great severe weather coverage when you're in the thick of it. Some people like to say radio is dead and nothing beats the internet or your phone for faster updates yet when you're in the thick of it, people go to radio, especially when internet goes out and cell phones are not working...something I've experienced more than once. That dead in the water, nobody listens anymore, radio proved otherwise again last night through stations like WBAP.

Any station that provides instant, up to the second coverage in such instances as last night's storms certainly gets my praise. For a real radio person this is the moment we get to be fulfilled by knowing we are providing crucial information to our audience that very well could save life and property. Like police, firemen, EMS, nurses, doctors, etc., these are the moments that matter most. Our sense of purpose is quenched when the moment comes that our actions, our words, might save a life or have a positive impact on people.

 

[dfaulkner]

Agree with bturner. Radio is always there. I have DirecTV. It's always off during the most critical points in a severe weather event. WBAP and KRLD were loud and clear. Each doing an outstanding job !

 

[newsmark]

Though oddly WBAP-FM keeps going off the air.

WBAP-FM had tornadic activity in very close proximity to their tower.

I agree WBAP was great. I was noticing WBAP-FM was kind of weak all night, but I thought it was just my bedside radio. Still, a slightly noisy FM signal is a lot easier to hear during thunderstorms than an AM signal.

As far as the EAS, if you're basically in the same area as a primary station, does activating your tones really accomplish anything? Would anyone have an EAS receiver tuned to 570?

 

[JRZFM100]

The radio station that is not a primary in the Emergency Alert System has the option of airing the alert or not. The important thing is the information got on the air.

Several reasons exist to engage in a full activation:

(1) Listeners are a custom to hearing both the EAS header and the Attention Signal during an actual emergency. Not just my opinion, but also mentioned on Wikipedia.

(2) If the Cumulus simulcasting audio distribution scheme is the same for KSCS-FM as for KLIF(AM), then KSCS alerting absent the Header, Attention Signal and EOM would not be serving as the designated LP-2 per the plan.

(3) I know it's dated, but the EAS Local Plan for North Central Texas calls for full activation:

2. All other broadcast stations and cable systems which are monitoring key sources via
EAS equipment and will be alerted by the header codes and attention signal will, at
the discretion of management, perform the same procedures as in step 1 above by
transmitting the emergency message from the LP-1 or LP-2. Broadcast stations and
cable systems using automatic interrupt of programming should receive the EOM
codes before retransmitting State and local level EAS messages. This can prevent
downstream locations before missing parts of the EAS message.

In order to "perform the same procedures as described in Step 1 above" requires broadcast of all 3 components:

1) EAS Header
2) Attention Signal
3) EOM

Hey, if ION and MY-tv can do it right, so can the sister stations of the designated LP-1 and LP-2.

 

[Robert Bass]

IMHO, EAS is a waste of time. By the time you broadcast the header and attention signal, you've lost roughly 20 seconds of total time that you could have used to broadcast information of actual importance. If EAS activation for weather alerts is non-mandatory for participating EAS stations, it should not be used.

R

 

[bturner]

Agreed, not to mention the liability. Stations have to retain EAS activations in their files...just a chance of getting find increases every time the EAS is activated.

I'd rather hit the airwaves, get the info out there and have fun with it. It's fun to beat the primary to the punch.

 

[JRZFM100]

IMHO, EAS is a waste of time. By the time you broadcast the header and attention signal, you've lost roughly 20 seconds of total time that you could have used to broadcast information of actual importance. If EAS activation for weather alerts is non-mandatory for participating EAS stations, it should not be used.

R

I have revisited this, and my concern is that absent the old fashioned 'attention signal', the warning information (Mark Watkins voice) sounds like 'contiguous' programming, as opposed to something requiring special listener attention.

So, while the FIPS information and traditional Attention Signal may not be necessary, I suggest that Cumulus have something to signal to the listener that they are not hearing regular programming.

Forget traditional EAS activation as we know it. Before consolidation with Cumulus, WBAP under Tyler Cox was using a quick "three beep" tone during severe wx to signify preemption of regular programming and intro Brad Barton.

I would be in favor of some non-official, non-traditional tonal identification to say "Hey, we've got an emergency here, listen up".

In fact, the Dallas Area Radio Managers Association commissioned the Amber Alert "sounder" to signify a special kind of emergency; something similar for Cumulus simulcasted WX announcements would be great. Perhaps they could dig up the three tone beep sequence WBAP used before consolidation for use on the simulcast stations.

 

[bturner]

I get what you are saying. Perhaps an opening sound effect that lets people know the forthcoming is not just more regular programming. I would think such a sounder would already be in place.

Just wondering: How'd KPIR do prior to sunset?

 

[Robert Bass]

Yeah a sounder is an excellent idea. When Barton was with KRLD, he used some type of beeping tone under his voice to signify it was an alert.

R

 

[JRZFM100]

I get what you are saying. Perhaps an opening sound effect that lets people know the forthcoming is not just more regular programming. I would think such a sounder would already be in place.

Just wondering: How'd KPIR do prior to sunset?

AND

Yeah a sounder is an excellent idea. When Barton was with KRLD, he used some type of beeping tone under his voice to signify it was an alert.

R

I don't know about KPIR, as I tuned to 570 AM after 10pm; prior I was on WBAP off and and streaming.

And to be clear, KLIF was playing a promo or some type of regular bed to dead seg into Mark Watkins voice, so it was as if KLIF regular programming element went into Mark Watkins saying we interrupt to activate EAS, with voice only.

Me think the 3~5 second three beep WBAP sounder would be totally sufficient to distinguish the EAS message from regular KLIF programming.

 

[grantchester]

I agree, Brad Barton is an incredible meteorologist. His forecasts are fantastic. Unlike many others, who will change their predictions, Brad stands by his forecasts.
But I got my information from Steve McCauley's Facebook feed... that's how I knew that the rotation indication was well east of the WBAP tower in Mansfield.

 

[Gordonradio]

Why does KRLD use a different method for severe weather alerts with the beep tones instead of the standard EAS method?

 

[Jay Walker]

Why does KRLD use a different method for severe weather alerts with the beep tones instead of the standard EAS method?

KRLD is not the Primary (LP-1) or Secondary (LP-2) EAS station so KRLD-AM is not required to use the EAS signaling format when doing severe storm updates. They use their "alert" sounder to indicate a severe weather announcement. The DFW portion of the Texas EAS State Plan showing monitor assignments LP-1, LP-2 etc. is located here as a PDF.

https://www.tab.org/public/upload/files/misc/eas-dfwlocalplan.pdf

 

[OpenMike73]

IMHO, EAS is a waste of time. By the time you broadcast the header and attention signal, you've lost roughly 20 seconds of total time that you could have used to broadcast information of actual importance. If EAS activation for weather alerts is non-mandatory for participating EAS stations, it should not be used.

Robert, JRZFM, Grantchester, etal..
Thanks for the kind words.
As "primary" EAS outlet, WBAP is required to activate EAS for all tornado, severe tstm and flash flood warnings in our assigned area. Even though the process has been streamlined, it's still a time-consuming hassle to execute the warning protocol. That's why we do a brief "pre-warning" that mentions the warning and county before we hit the EAS opening tones.
Not sure, but I don't think we can put any other sound underneath the warning-copy when we're in EAS-mode.
I will pass your "weather beeps" suggestion onto Tyler. Thanks again.