When disaster strikes, will your Netflix marathon keep you in the dark?

Send me a text message with your thoughts, questions, or feedback

Have you ever wondered what happens when a tornado warning is issued while you're deep in a Netflix binge? Our emergency alert infrastructure, designed for the broadcast era of the 1990s, faces a critical challenge in today's digital world.

The Emergency Alert System (EAS) was built when everyone gathered around TV sets at scheduled times to watch their favorite shows. Today, with over 60% of Americans primarily consuming content through streaming services, these critical warnings often fail to reach their intended audience. As one public safety official bluntly put it, "If an alert goes out on a system no one uses, did it really happen?"

While newer systems like Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) buzz our phones with urgent notifications, they come with significant limitations – including a tiny 360-character limit that barely covers the basics of an emergency. Meanwhile, FEMA's Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) attempts to serve as a central hub for distributing alerts across multiple platforms, but participation from tech companies remains largely voluntary. There's no federal requirement for streaming services to integrate emergency notifications, creating a dangerous patchwork of coverage.

This episode explores practical steps you can take to stay informed (like enabling emergency notifications on your devices and checking if your streaming services support alerts) while examining the future of emergency communications. From the promising Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) to the challenges of designing alerts that command attention without becoming so annoying that users disable them, we unpack the complexities of modernizing our warning systems for the streaming age.

Whether you're a tech enthusiast, safety-conscious citizen, or broadcast professional, this deep dive into the intersection of emergency communications and modern media consumption offers valuable insights into a system we all depend on but rarely think about. Help us spread the word by leaving a rating, following the show, or sharing this episode with friends who care about staying safe in our increasingly digital world.

Buzzsprout - Podcast Hosting
Podcast hosting made simple. Sign up and we both get $20 credit when you upgrade to paid plans.

Support the show

If you enjoyed the show, be sure to follow Fully Modulated and leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app—it really helps more people discover the show.

Fully Modulated is not affiliated with or endorsed by any station, media company, or network. All opinions are solely my own.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
What happens when your emergency alert system is
stuck in the 1990s but the restof us are binging shows and
movies on our phones.
Today we're exploring how EASis or I guess, isn't keeping up
with the streaming age.
And, of course, spoiler alert.
It's complicated.

(00:21):
Hey there, and welcome back toFully Modulated, the podcast

(00:59):
where we make broadcasttechnology a little less
mysterious and hopefully, a lotmore interesting.
I'm Tyler Woodward.
I've been in the broadcastindustry since 2014, and I'm
currently a broadcast engineerin the upper Midwest.
If you've ever yelled why is myfavorite radio station off the
air?
Well, that was probably mecrawling behind the rack trying

(01:19):
to fix it.
I'm a certified SBE, cbnt,lover of radios and the
occasional breaker of things I'msupposed to be fixing.
This show exists to help youunderstand how broadcasting
really works, from thetransmitters to the alerts.
We break it all down in plainlanguage.
Today we're tackling a bigquestion In the world of

(01:40):
streaming apps and algorithmswhat happens to the old school
emergency alert system?
Can it evolve to reach us allor is it destined to be stuck in
the analog past?
And quick disclaimer the viewsand opinions expressed on this
podcast are mine alone and don'treflect my employer or any

(02:01):
affiliated organizations.
This podcast does not coverpolicy matters or calls to
action.
That could conflict with myprofessional role.

(02:32):
Let's talk about the digitaldivide.
Eas meets the modern media.
Eas was built in the 1990s,back when you had to wait for
your favorite show to come on at8 o'clock at night and you
watched it on television thatweighed as much as probably a

(02:53):
small car.
No Netflix, no Spotify, noYouTube, just broadcast signals
sailing through the airwavesright to your television.
The system was designed to besimple and reliable.
Stations had hardware boxes,listening for special tones and
digital headers that triggeredthe emergency messages.
When something happened, let'ssay a severe thunderstorm

(03:15):
warning or a civil emergency,eas would automatically
interrupt the programming to getthe word out.
Fast forward to today.
We're glued to smartphonesstreaming everything on demand.
According to Pew Research, over60% of US adults primarily
watch television throughstreaming devices.

(03:35):
Among younger folks, thatnumber climbs even higher.
Yet the emergency alert systemstill lives in its original
broadcast lane.
If you're watching a movie onyour tablet or listening to a
podcast in your car,no-transcript.

(03:56):
This gap isn't just atheoretical problem.
Imagine there's a fast-movingwildfire but you're deep in a
Netflix binge.
You'd never know.
An evacuation order was issuedon TV or radio.
Eas was built to reach anyonetuned into broadcast media, but
it never planned for the daywhen most people weren't.

(04:18):
Plan for the day when mostpeople weren't.
Greg Cook, associate chief atthe FCC's Public Safety Bureau,
put it bluntly, quote the EASwas never intended to reach
every American.
It was intended to reacheveryone watching or listening
to broadcast media.
Unquote.
And that's the heart of theissue.
In 2025, we don't have a singlechannel everyone shares.

(04:42):
We have a million differentapps out there and EAS hasn't
followed us over there.
Technology marches on, but canthe alert system keep pace?

(05:03):
While eas mostly stays in itsbroadcast lane, newer tools have
stepped in to fill the gaps.
One you probably know well isweA, the Wireless Emergency
Alerts.
That's the one that buzzes yourphone with an amber alert or

(05:26):
maybe a severe weather warning,often right when you're about to
fall asleep.
Wea and EAS both connect backto FEMA's Integrated Public
Alert and Warning System, orIPAWS for short.
Think of IPAWS as a giant hub.
Authorized agencies can sendone message and IPAWS

(05:49):
distributes it to multiplechannels TV, radio, cell phones
and any other platform that'splugged in.
Even Google is tied into this.
In theory, this approachcreates a broader safety net, in
practice, it does have itslimits.
Wea alerts are capped at 360characters barely enough space

(06:16):
to squeeze in the what, whereand when of an emergency.
And not every jurisdiction usesIPAWS to its fullest potential.
Some agencies still rely onoutdated equipment or
inconsistent protocols, whichcan lead to delayed or missing
alerts.

(06:36):
There's also the question ofdigital participation alerts.
There's also the question ofdigital participation.
Platforms like apple news andgoogle have dabbed in the alert
integration.
Some news apps display officialwarnings, but participation is
voluntary.
There's no federal requirementthat streaming services or even
social platforms must carryalerts.

(06:59):
So while while some companiesstep up, a lot of them don't.
Antoine Johnson, who runsiPause at FEMA, summed it up
best Quote.
We designed iPause to beflexible, but participation from
the tech sector is stilllargely voluntary, unquote.

(07:20):
That leaves a patchwork system.
Depending on what you'rewatching or which device you're
using, you might get criticalwarnings or you might not.

(07:44):
Quick tips for staying alert inthe digital age.
Number one enable emergencynotifications on your smartphone
.
Most devices have this in thesettings under notifications or
safety.
2.
Install a trusted weather appfor real-time weather alerts.
Noaa Weather Radio is also agreat backup to have.
3.

(08:05):
Check your streaming services.
Some platforms let you enableemergency alerts.
Dig into what your app supportsand turn that setting on.
Staying informed only takes afew minutes to set up.
If you're enjoying FullyModulated, help us spread the

(08:32):
word.
Leave a rating, follow the showor share this episode with a
friend who loves tech just asmuch as you do.

(08:58):
So let's talk about the futureof alerts.
What needs to happen next?
How do we modernize EAS withoutlosing its reliability?
One idea is a new protocoldesigned specifically for
digital platforms, instead ofrelying on broadcast
infrastructure.
It could push rich alerts,complete with maps, instructions

(09:18):
and links, directly to apps andservices.
But technology is only part ofthe puzzle.
There's also the designquestion.
Alerts have to be visibleenough to get attention, but not
so intrusive that peopledisable them.
And in an environment wherealgorithms decide what you see,

(09:39):
ensuring consistency is the realchallenge.
The Common Alerting Protocol,or CAP, offers some hope.
It's a standardized format thatsupports more detailed content
like images and URLs.
Cap makes it possible for newsapps, navigation software and
even smart speakers to displayor read out alerts in a

(10:01):
consistent way.
But adoption, of course, hasbeen slow.
Many app developers aren'taware of CAP and there's no
universal requirement to use it.
Until there's more buy-in or abig wake-up call, eas will still
keep operating as a system mostpeople never encounter.

(10:23):
As one public safety officialbluntly put it, quote if an
alert goes out on a system noone uses, did it really happen?
Unquote.
Eas is still an essentialsafety net, but it's no longer

(10:55):
the whole story.
As media gets more fragmented,emergency communication has to
adapt or risk leaving millionsin the dark.
Next time we'll look at howstate and local emergency
managers coordinate alertsbehind the scenes.
You might be surprised by howmuch teamwork and duct tape it
takes to keep these systemsrunning.

(11:15):
Got a story or question aboutEAS?
There's a link in the episodedescription.

(11:40):
Send it my way.
If you love the show, considerbecoming a modulator.
For just three bucks a monthyou'll help keep the mics on and
the transmitters humming headover the fullymodulatedcom to
join.
Thank you, bye.