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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  contact:  May  28,  2004  Rosemary  Kimball  at  (202)  41-  0511 
 e-  mail:  rosemary.  kimball@  fcc.  gov 
 FCC  REMINDS  VIDEO  PROGRAMMING  DISTRIBUTORS  THEY  MUST  MAKE  EMERGENCY  INFORMATION  ACCESSIBLE  TO  PERSONS  WITH  HEARNG  OR  VISION  DISABILITIES 


 Washington,  DC  --  As  part  of  its  continuing  efforts  to  ensure  that  people  with  hearing  or  vision  disabilities  are  kept  informed  about  emergency  situations  that  arise  in  their  communities, 
 the  FCC  has  issued  a  Public  Notice  reminding  video  programming  distributors,  including  broadcasters,  cable  operators,  and  satellite  television  services,  of  their  obligation  to  make 
 emergency  information  accessible  to  persons  with  hearing  and  vision  disabilities. 
 In  the  case  of  persons  who  are  deaf  or  hard  of  hearing,  emergency  information  that  is  provided  in  the  audio  portion  of  the  programming  must  be  provided  using  closed  captioning  or 
 other  methods  of  visual  presentation,  such  as  open  captioning,  crawls,  or  scrolls  that  appear  on  the  screen.  Emergency  information  provided  by  these  means  should  not  block  any  closed 
 captioning,  and  closed  captioning  should  not  block  any  emergency  information  provided  by  crawls,  scrolls,  or  other  visual  means.  This  rule  regarding  access  to  emergency  information  for 
 persons  with  hearing  disabilities  became  effective  on  August  29,  2000. 
 The  same  information  must  also  be  provided  in  a  manner  that  is  accessible  to  persons  who  are  blind  or  have  low  vision.  Specifically,  emergency  information  that  is  provided  in  the 
 video  portion  of  a  regularly  scheduled  newscast  or  a  newscast  that  interrupts  regular  programming  must  be  made  accessible.  This  requires  the  oral  description  of  emergency 
 information  in  the  main  audio,  such  as  open  video  description.  If  the  emergency  information  is  being  provided  in  the  video  portion  of  programming  that  is  not  a  regularly  scheduled  newscast 
 or  a  newscast  that  interrupts  regular  programming  (e.  g.,  the  programmer  provides  the  emergency  information  through  “crawling”  or  “scrolling”  during  regular  programming),  this 
 information  must  be  accompanied  by  an  aural  tone.  This  tone  is  to  alert  persons  with  vision  disabilities  that  the  video  programming  distributor  is  providing  emergency  information,  and  alert 
 such  persons  to  tune  to  another  source,  such  as  a  radio,  for  more  information.  This  rule  regarding  access  to  emergency  information  for  persons  with  vision  disabilities  became  effective 
 February  2,  2001. 
 For  more  information  on  the  FCC’s  rules  on  accessibility  of  emergency  video  programming  to  persons  with  hearing  and  visual  disabilities,  visit  the  FCC’s  web  site  at 
 http://  www.  fcc.  gov/  cgb/  consumerfacts/  emergencyvideo.  html,  or  contact  Traci  Randolph,  (202)  418-  0569  (voice);  (202)  418-  0537  (TTY);  e-  mail  traci.  randolph@  fcc.  gov. 


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