FCC, Broadcasters To Review Storm Coverage

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Democratic Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel will be the center of attention at a Jan. 18 event at NAB headquarters in Washington, D.C. focused on the important role of broadcasters in emergencies.

According to rbr.com, Pai and Rosenworcel will be among a group of industry leaders and policymakers, and government experts and journalism professors, who will collectively address how broadcast media performed during recent emergencies — and how they can improve their coverage in the future.

The recent string of hurricanes (Harvey, Irma and Maria) and wildfires across the West Coast are some of the focal points of the many issues broadcasters face in reporting on disasters and covering dangerous situations. “When emergencies occur, Americans turn to their local television and radio stations for critical, often lifesaving, information,” the NAB says. “However, covering these events presents unique challenges.”

The event will focus on how stations prepare their facilities and staff for disasters, the lessons learned from broadcasters’ performance during the recent storms, how stations balance their commitment to inform the public versus the safety of their employees and on the difficult decisions news personnel must make, such as whether to position a reporter outside in a storm, or whether to drop their mic to help a person in need.

Among other, they will be joined by Univision Radio/Puerto Rico GM Javier Cosme, who oversees Talk WKAQ 580 AM and Latin Top 40 WKAQ 104.7 FM. WKAQ-AM played a central role in providing important information to residents across Puerto Rico, using KQ105 as a simulcast partner in the day’s following Hurricane Maria.