EAS EAS Roles and Responsibilities 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What responsibility does a broadcast station's EAS Emergency Contact have?
- To be reachable by the FCC and SECC to coordinate EAS activations and address issues (Correct answer)
- To personally monitor all EAS devices 24 hours a day
- To train all station staff on EAS equipment operation annually
- To file quarterly EAS compliance reports directly with FEMA
Correct answer: To be reachable by the FCC and SECC to coordinate EAS activations and address issues
The EAS Emergency Contact is a designated station representative who can be reached by the FCC and SECC to coordinate alert activities and resolve EAS issues.
Question 2: Which type of EAS participant is required to comply with the most extensive EAS obligations under FCC rules?
- National EAS Participants (NEPs), including networks and national cable programmers (Correct answer)
- Local AM/FM radio stations
- Low-power TV stations
- Satellite radio services
Correct answer: National EAS Participants (NEPs), including networks and national cable programmers
National EAS Participants (NEPs) such as major national broadcast networks and cable programmers have the most comprehensive obligations because their alerts reach the entire national audience.
Question 3: What must an EAS participant do upon receiving an Emergency Action Notification (EAN)?
- Immediately cease regular programming and broadcast the presidential alert (Correct answer)
- Contact the FCC before activating to verify authenticity
- Continue programming while the alert audio plays in the background
- Await confirmation from a second source before broadcasting
Correct answer: Immediately cease regular programming and broadcast the presidential alert
Upon receiving an EAN, EAS participants must immediately interrupt all programming and broadcast the alert because it is a presidential-level national emergency activation.
Question 4: What role do state and local government agencies play in the EAS compared to the FCC?
- They serve as alert originators and coordinate with SECCs but do not regulate broadcasters (Correct answer)
- They regulate local EAS participants within their jurisdiction
- They certify EAS equipment used in their state
- They operate the Primary Entry Point stations in their region
Correct answer: They serve as alert originators and coordinate with SECCs but do not regulate broadcasters
State and local government agencies originate civil emergency alerts and coordinate with SECCs, but regulatory authority over broadcasters remains with the FCC.
Question 5: What is the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) system and how does it relate to EAS?
- A parallel FEMA system that sends alerts to cell phones, complementing EAS broadcast alerts (Correct answer)
- A replacement for EAS that uses only wireless infrastructure
- A component of EAS that broadcasts alerts over AM radio
- A NOAA system for distributing weather alerts via SMS
Correct answer: A parallel FEMA system that sends alerts to cell phones, complementing EAS broadcast alerts
WEA is a separate FEMA/FCC system that pushes geo-targeted alerts to mobile devices, and it operates in parallel with EAS rather than replacing it.
Question 6: What must TV broadcasters do to fulfill EAS visual accessibility requirements?
- Display the alert text on screen in addition to the audio announcement (Correct answer)
- Provide sign-language interpretation of all EAS audio messages
- Activate closed captions automatically during all EAS activations
- Use standardized color-coded graphics for each event type
Correct answer: Display the alert text on screen in addition to the audio announcement
TV broadcasters are required to display the EAS alert text visually on screen to ensure hearing-impaired viewers receive the same alert information as audio listeners.
EAS EAS Roles and Responsibilities 2
What responsibility does a broadcast station's EAS Emergency Contact have?