According to NAB, a multilingual EAS alert plan could do more harm than good during emergencies. | Story

The National Association of Broadcasters says a proposal to use prepackaged alerts to ensure people who don’t speak English could be reached in an emergency could be more of a hindrance than a help. She warns that implementing it in an emergency could lead to “further confusion” among non-English-speaking viewers. Multilingual EAS notification templates are “ineffective and confusing” and would impose a new cost burden on broadcasters.

“The messages must be pared down from meaningful content to the essentials to be translated into ready-made scripts in 13 different languages. Undoubtedly, these canned scripts omit information and nuance that may be critical to delivering an effective warning to the recipient.” NAB says in comments filed with the Federal Communications Commission.

The FCC is I’m currently considering a suggestion (PS Docket No. 15-94), which it says would help alerts reach the more than 26 million Americans with limited English proficiency. It would create an alert reservoir that stations could draw upon in the event of a disaster to transmit EAS alerts in 14 languages, including English and Spanish. The recordings would be stored on EAS devices and the translated audio for each template would be provided as audio files or links to streaming audio.

However, NAB says the canned alerts will be of little use as they need to be pared down from meaningful content to the essentials in order to be translated into different languages. Missing are things like a description of the threat, the locations and populations at risk, what actions the public should take, and the source of the message. “Without additional context, such a warning would only serve to incite panic without clearly informing the public about how to avoid a dangerous situation,” it said.

There is also the possibility that the proposal could impose “significant costs” on broadcasters, according to NAB, which it says could result in “very little” benefit to the public. The trade group says technical limitations of existing EAS equipment would require many stations to make “significant upgrades” to their equipment. It says this would hit smaller broadcasters and public broadcasters harder. The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the cable industry have also expressed concerns about the potential costs of implementing the proposal.

However, according to NAB, the biggest problem with the proposal is that it is not yet fully developed. The “nebulous nature” of the FCC proceedings underscores that a multilingual EAS rule would be premature at this time. It says the proposal contains too many open questions and hypotheses, making it read more like an investigation than a fully developed plan. “While well-intentioned, we believe the FCC’s proposed rule requires significantly more input, planning and consideration to avoid taking actions that would ultimately do more harm than good,” it said.

At least 30 months until implementation

According to NAB, if the Commission still decides to move forward with the proposal, broadcasters should only be required to provide alerts in the broadcaster’s primary language, with the option to provide alerts in other languages ​​depending on the broadcaster’s target audience. “Broadcasters know their audience best and are best placed to select the EAS alerts that are relevant to the station’s community,” it says.

NAB also suggests that the Commission give the industry a significant amount of time – at least 30 months – to comply with any new regulations, adding that based on all the issues raised, an even longer time horizon for implementation may be required. It is also suggested that stations should be able to replace their hardware EAS devices with more efficient software-defined solutions to provide multilingual alarms on a station or via multicast outputs.

FEMA and the weather service express doubts

The FCC’s goal of reaching more non-English-speaking Americans has been applauded by many commentators, but the current idea it is pushing has failed to gain traction with other government agencies. In addition to FEMA is the The National Weather Service has also expressed doubts about its feasibility.

The Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council, which has advocated for multilingual warnings for two decades, has also said that canned warnings cannot explain the “inherent unpredictability” of emergencies. MMTC urges the Commission to do so instead require the use of live operators At the same time, an EAS participant will be designated in each market to provide non-English language alerts in the event of an emergency. It said this would reduce the risk of non-English speakers being left without important emergency information.