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 NEWS  News  media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  Fax-  On-  Demand  202  /  418-  2830  TTY  202/  418-  2555  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  ftp.  fcc.  gov  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12  th  Street,  S.  W.  Washington,  D.  C.  20554  This  is  an  unofficial  announcement  of  Commission  action.  Release  of  the  full  text  of  a  Commission  order  constitutes  official  action.  See  MCI  v.  FCC.  515  F  2d  385  (D.  C.  Circ  1974). 
 FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE  Contact:  David  Fiske  May  17,  2002  (202)  418-  0513 
 NEW  MEDIA  SECURITY  AND  RELIABILITY  COUNCIL  LAUNCHED  TO  STUDY  AND  IMPLEMENT  EMERGENCY  MEDIA  COORDINATION 
 Washington  -  More  than  40  media  industry  CEO’s,  organization  executives  and  public  safety  officials  today  discussed  the  events  of  9/  11  and  how  to  coordinate  both  internal  and  public 
 communications  in  future  emergency  situations  at  the  initial  meeting  of  a  new  federal  Advisory  Committee  to  the  FCC,  the  Media  and  Security  Reliability  Council. 


 FCC  Chairman  Michael  Powell  said,  “This  Council  will  provide  a  valuable  fact-  finding  service  about  dealing  with  communications  issues  in  emergency  situations  that  will  benefit 
 Federal,  state  and  local  government  officials  as  well  as  all  communications  industries.  In  addition,  the  Council  will  be  an  important  forum  for  the  communications  industries  to  network 
 among  themselves  about  emergency  responses  and  to  develop  self-  executing  plans  for  emergency  situation  coordination.” 


 Council  Chairman  Dennis  J.  FitzSimons,  President/  COO  of  Tribune  Company,  said,  “Clearly  the  tragic  events  of  9/  11  are  the  catalyst  for  this  effort.  On  that  horrible  day,  media  and 
 government  responded  nobly  and  heroically.  We  need  to  all  work  together  through  this  Council  to  explore  that  catastrophe,  try  to  learn  from  it,  embrace  what  worked,  and  seek  solutions  to 
 problems.” 
 FitzSimons  announced  that  the  Council  has  formed  two  major  working  groups  to  develop  detailed  recommendations  to  help  broadcasting,  cable  and  satellite  services  deal  with  public 
 emergency  situations: 
 (1)  The  Communications  Infrastructure  Security  Working  Group,  to  be  chaired  by  Bruce  Allan,  President,  Harris  Broadcast  Communications.  This  group  will: 


 *  Address  mitigation  and  service  restoration  issues  that  arise  in  connection  with  physical  attacks  as  well  as  natural  disasters; 
 *  Study  current  practices  in  the  areas  of  physical  prevention  and  physical  restoration  in  an  effort  to  identify  whether  any  enhancements  or  additions  are  needed; 
 *  Focus  on  industry-  specific  measures,  as  well  as  issues  which  extend  across  different  media  platforms;  and 
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 *  Evaluate  the  redundancy  of  media  infrastructure  within  each  industry  and  among  different  industry  sectors. 
 -  1  -  (2)  The  Public  Communications  and  Safety  Working  Group,  to  be  chaired  by  John  Eck, 
 President,  Broadcast  Network  Operations,  NBC.  This  group  will: 
 *  Address  a  variety  of  issues  relating  to  public  communications  and  safety  in  response  to  physical  attacks  and  natural  disasters; 


 *  Study  the  means  by  which  the  government  and  the  media  communicate  emergency  and  public  safety  information,  including  but  not  limited  to  the  Emergency 
 Alert  System;  and 
 *  Consider  any  special  requirements  needed  to  communicate  such  information  to  the  hearing  and  visually  impaired. 


 The  Council,  which  as  been  chartered  for  two  years  as  an  official  Federal  Advisory  Committee,  will  meet  as  a  full  body  semi-  annually,  and  will  issue  recommendations  and  “Best 
 Practices”  guides.  The  working  groups  will  meet  periodically  at  schedules  to  be  determined  by  their  respective  chairmen. 


 Information  about  the  Council  will  be  available  on  a  website  it  is  creating:  www.  mediasecurity.  org.  Related  information  is  also  available  on  the  website  of  the  FCC’s 
 internal  Homeland  Security  Policy  Council:  www.  fcc.  gov/  hspc. 


 -  FCC  - 
 Media  Bureau  Contact:  Susan  Mort  418-  1600 
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