Rebuilding the Broadcaster-Public Safety Relationships
LAS VEGAS, April 22, 2022 – Press are invited to visit the AWARN kiosk and attend AWARN presentations at the NAB Show 2022.
Kiosk in ATSC 3.0 Pavilion
AWARN has a kiosk with industry colleagues at the ATSC 3.0 Pavilion
- Location: AWARN kiosk, ATSC Future of Distribution Pavilion, West Hall (W9022).
Executive Director John Lawson will be on hand for much of the Show. To arrange a time to meet with John, please contact him at jlawson@awarn.org or mobile: (202) 302-1654 or Deputy Director Anya Shetler, anya@awarn.org or (347) 683-7077.
AWARN Presentations at NAB
Lawson will represent AWARN on two panels.
- “Deployment of Advanced Emergency Alerting and Informing (AEA&I) Services: A Progress Report”
- 24, 1:45 pm – 2:15 pm PT;
- W6428 – Connect Experiential Zone
- “Rebuilding emergency manager-local station relationships with Advanced Emergency Information”
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- Tues, Apr. 26, Noon-12:30 pm PT;
- Stage at ATSC 3.0 Future of Distribution Pavilion (learn more about presentations at the ATSC Pavilion here)
Background
Through events like the AWARN Santa Barbara Roundtable March, AWARN is helping to build new relationships between public safety and local television stations. Things have changed since the days of the Cold War, when the legacy Emergency Alert System and air raid sirens were virtually the only alerting games in town. Now people are more likely to turn to mobile devices and social media for emergency information. Local TV station are still a vital and trusted source when disaster threatens, but they must adapt to remain the “first informer.”
Fortunately, Advanced Emergency Information (AEI) from ATSC 3.0/NextGen TV offers a powerful new tool that can fill major gaps in the nation’s alerting system. The ability to send geo-targeted, rich media content to a range of consumer devices in an emergency, even when cellular and the grid are down, is a game-changer. But stations need to work with their local alerting authorities to build a true end-to-end system.
AWARN’s technical partners are answering the “how” of using this important new resource. AWARN is answering the “what” of AEI by bringing together alerting authorities with the TV stations that cover their jurisdictions. Based on early evidence from the Santa Barbara discussions and the May 2021 AWARN Summit, both emergency managers and broadcasters are excited about building new alerting models that leverage NextGen TV. More roundtables are planned for ATSC 3.0 cities in the months ahead.
For more information or to arrange an availability, contact:
- John Lawson, jlawson@awarn.org or (202) 302-1654
- Anya Shetler, anya@awarn.org or (347) 683-7077.