Questions posed in an FCC public notice proposing...

Questions posed in an FCC public notice proposing rules for a multilingual emergency alert system (EAS) plan “reflect an interest in kicking the tires and looking under the hood,” a broadcast attorney said. The notice involves a designated-hitter backup plan to help non-English language stations knocked off the air during emergencies transmit EAS messages (CD March 13 p10). Broadcasters have expressed concern that such a requirement “would force them to hire folks fluent in one or more foreign languages,” wrote the industry lawyer, Fletcher Heald’s Harry Cole, on the law firm’s blog Thursday (http://bit.ly/1r5RRHP). It’s surprising that the FCC might be interested in such an unorthodox approach, Cole said. When was the last time “that the FCC suggested that a licensee might want to leave the keys to the station under the welcome mat ... so that some non-station announcers can take over for a while?” he asked. Refreshing the record “wouldn’t be necessary if the commission had, at some point in the last decade, taken action,” he added. The Minority Media and Telecommunications Council and other groups made the designated-hitter proposal in 2005.