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 NEWS  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).  News  Media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  TTY:  1-  888-  835-  5322 
 FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE  NEWS  MEDIA  CONTACTS  November  6,  2003  Meribeth  McCarrick  at  (202)  418-  0654 
 HOMELAND  SECURITY:  INDUSTRY  LEADERS  PRESENT  RECOMMENDATIONS  TO  ENSURE  THE  RELIABILITY  AND  SECURITY  OF  MEDIA  FACILITIES 
 Washington,  D.  C.  –  Leaders  from  the  broadcast,  cable  and  satellite  industries  today  presented  more  than  50  best  practices  recommendations  detailing  prevention  and  restoration 
 measures  to  ensure  the  continued  operation  and  security  of  media  facilities  in  the  face  of  a  national  emergency.  These  recommendations  are  a  result  of  a  focused  survey  of  media  facilities 
 across  the  United  States. 
 The  recommendations  were  presented  to  members  of  the  Media  Security  and  Reliability  Council  (MSRC)  at  its  biannual  meeting  today  at  the  FCC.  The  41-  member  Federal  Advisory 
 Committee  will  complete  voting  on  these  recommendations  by  November  26,  2003. 
 In  addition  to  praising  the  recommendations  and  the  Council’s  coordination  with  the  Department  of  Homeland  Security,  FCC  Chairman  Michael  Powell  said,  “This  fourth  meeting  of 
 the  MSRC  Council  demonstrates  the  continued  commitment  of  the  FCC  and  the  media  industry  to  take  the  necessary  steps  to  achieve  a  fundamental  priority  of  this  Commission  and  this 
 country—  securing  and  protecting  our  homeland.” 
 Dennis  J.  FitzSimons,  MSRC  chairman  and  president  and  chief  executive  officer  of  Tribune  Company  said,  “Great  progress  has  been  made,  but  given  the  importance  of  the  mission, 
 we  can't  afford  to  pat  ourselves  on  the  back  just  yet." 
 The  Communications  Infrastructure  Security,  Access  and  Restoration  Working  Group  presented  to  the  Council  the  best  practices  recommendations  detailing  prevention  and  restoration 
 measures  that  local  media  can  implement.  The  best  practices  included  recommendations  regarding  the  physical  security,  backup  power,  and  redundant  facilities  for  radio  stations,  local 
 television  stations  and  cable  television  companies.  They  also  included  recommendations  related  to  disaster  recovery  plans  of  radio  and  television  broadcasters,  cable  companies,  direct  broadcast 
 satellite  (DBS)  and  digital  satellite  radio  providers,  and  other  delivery  media. 
 In  addition,  during  the  meeting,  thee  Public  Communications  and  Safety  Working  Group  reported  to  the  Council  on  an  upcoming  workshop  they  plan  to  conduct.  They  are  preparing  to 
 study  Tampa,  Florida  as  a  model  for  implementation  of  existing  MSRC  best  practices  recommendations,  and  to  develop  new  recommendations  based  upon  local  and  regional  practices 
 in  the  Tampa  Bay  area. 
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 MSRC  is  a  Federal  Advisory  Committee  that  reports  to  FCC  Chairman  Powell.  Chairman  Powell  formed  MSRC  following  the  events  of  September  11,  2001,  in  order  to  study,  develop 
 and  report  on  best  practices  designed  to  assure  the  optimal  reliability,  robustness  and  security  of  the  broadcast  and  multichannel  video  programming  distribution  industries. 


 -FCC- 
 Media  Bureau  contacts:  Barbara  Kreisman  (202)  418-  1605  Susan  Mort  (202)  418-  1043 
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