Contact:
Tania Panczyk-Collins
202-654-4222
tpanczyk@apts.org

APTS Endorses the First Response Broadcasters Act

WASHINGTON—June 26, 2007—The Association of Public Television Stations (APTS) officially endorsed “The First Response Broadcasters Act of 2007,” which eliminates some of the unnecessary hurdles public broadcasters face in the wake of disasters.

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Disaster Recovery Subcommittee Chair Mary Landrieu (D-La), who introduced the bill along with Senators Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), Thomas Carper (D-Del.) and Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), praised the APTS endorsement. “We cannot prevent tornadoes, hurricanes or earthquakes,” Landrieu said. “But what we can and should do is to warn people and keep people informed in times of disaster. For more than 50 years, our Public Television stations have been on that front line, sounding the alarm. I am proud to have APTS join us in our fight to make sure local broadcasters are not denied the essential access and resources to continue their public service in times of critical public need.”

APTS President and CEO John Lawson commended Senator Landrieu and the bill sponsors for their leadership on emergency communications policy. He agreed with Senator Landrieu’s assessment that Public Television has a history of being on the “front line” in times of emergencies. He cited public broadcasters’ commitment to emergency alerts and warnings through their critical role in the national Digital Emergency Alert System (DEAS). Lawson stated: “We believe the next logical step in comprehensive emergency messaging includes the roll-out of local DEAS origination and expanded receive-site capacities. This would ensure that governors, mayors and local emergency response professionals have access to the same real-time messages as the President and that the public has an opportunity to receive that message from various types of media services.”

The bill designates local television and radio stations as “first response broadcasters” because of their existing disaster response partnership with the federal government. The bill also provides federal matching grants to protect and upgrade critical-to-air broadcast facilities and infrastructure or to enhance disaster-related public information programming. It expands the Emergency Alert System by establishing a Primary Entry Point (PEP) station in each state and territory currently without one, ensuring that emergency alerts reach every community where disaster may strike.

In addition, access to fuel, food, water and other supplies essential to staying on the air through a disaster are protected, and access to any disaster zones in order to repair, refuel or maintain critical broadcasting facilities and infrastructure are expedited. The bill would also ensure that, where possible, access to the disaster area by local journalists is determined by local officials.