Congress Urged To Help Local Media Preserve Emergency Coverage

Path of Hurricane Isais Earlier In August

As Hurricane Isaias approached the Eastern Seaboard last week, the nation’s news organizations and communications networks turned some of their attention from keeping Americans safe during the COVID-19 pandemic to keeping residents safe during the storm, writes former FEMA Director Craig Fugate in a Medium posting.  Fugate was FEMA Director during the Obama administration.

Fugate notes cable news networks tracked Isaias’s path during their newscasts and aired briefings from local public safety officials. National newspapers provided forecasts and deployed correspondents to cover the storm’s impact. Wireless carriers sent out emergency alert messages to their subscribers passing along evacuation orders warning them about the approaching storm.

Craig Fugate

Yet, he continues, while these efforts are important in informing the public, they cannot match the immediacy and importance of local media outlets during times of emergency. When the power goes out and cellular networks are rendered unusable, local media are often the only source of reliable information to learn what is happening and how to stay safe. As emergency safety officials know through first-hand experience, broadcast radio and television stations and community newspapers are the best means to communicate with a wide audience before, during and after the storm passes.

He adds local news operations are best positioned to cover local emergencies because of their deep roots to their communities. Journalists live and work in the area and know the effect disasters can have on their day-to-day lives. These outlets have been through storms before and have institutional knowledge about what areas are impacted the worst. Public safety officials have built relationships with local radio and TV stations and newspapers over the years and trust them to provide reliable, critical information.

Fugate is encouraging U-S lawmakers who are considering relief measures in the next stimulus bill to include help for struggling local radio and TV stations and newspapers. The Local News and Emergency Information Act would go a long way in helping many small broadcasters and newspapers stay on the air and continue serving their communities.