REMARKS OF
COMMISSIONER JESSICA ROSENWORCEL
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
EYE OF THE STORM: BROADCASTERS’ ROLE IN EMERGENCIES
WASHINGTON, DC
JANUARY 18, 2018
Good morning.  Thank you to the National Association of Broadcasters for having 
me here today and thank you to the journalists, academics, and public safety officials who 
are joining us for this important discussion about the role of broadcasters in emergencies.
At the risk of being obvious, this discussion is timely.  Really, really, timely.  As 
every one of us here knows, a false emergency alert went out across the state of Hawaii 
on Saturday, January 13th.  The residents of the Aloha State woke to ominous messages 
flashing on their mobile phones, streaming in from social media, booming from radio 
stations, and lighting up their television screens.  These messages commanded all who 
saw and heard them to seek immediate shelter due to a ballistic missile threat.  They 
included the haunting words: “This is not a drill.”  
Years ago, I had the privilege of working for the people of the state of Hawaii 
when I served as counsel to the late Senator Daniel Inouye.  So I know its residents are 
graceful and resilient.  I am sure, too, that they are aware—like all of us—of new 
vulnerabilities in the Pacific.  But I also know they never should have had to endure this 
false alarm.  And like them, I held my children close that evening, grateful for our safety 
and security.  
To get a feel for what happened from one who was there, I spoke to Chris 
Leonard.  I’ve known Chris since my days working for Senator Inouye.  He runs a group 
of radio stations in Hilo and Kona and for many years has served as the esteemed 
President of the Hawaii Association of Broadcasters.  He described last Saturday morning 
to me in chilling detail.  But what struck me most from my conversation with him was his 
sense of duty.  Minutes after the alarm went out he was on the road, en route to his 
station, because, as he said, “that’s what broadcasters do.”
It’s true.  In times of crisis, broadcasters stand on the front lines.  From the 
earliest days of the iconic beeps of the Emergency Broadcast System, broadcasters have 
been an essential part of our public safety response.  Today, those systems have evolved 
into the Emergency Alert System, with a mix of nationwide, state, and local capabilities.  
Moreover, they now come together with Wireless Emergency Alerts through the 
Integrated Public Alert and Warning System administered by the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency.
But as last Saturday demonstrated, we have work to do.  To get to the bottom of 
what happened and help ensure it never happens again, the Chairman announced an 
immediate investigation.  This is a good thing—and it was the right call.  As a result, 
2Commission staff have been in close contact with federal and state officials, gathering 
facts about how this false alert was issued.  
While initial reports suggest human error played a significant role, there are many 
actors at the federal and state level who can take concrete steps to improve alerting 
protocols.  We need to look at everything from state training and practices to improved 
user interfaces for public safety that can reduce the likelihood of error.  We need to 
understand why it took a full 38 minutes to fully correct this false alarm.  We also need to 
consider how the Commission can help develop best practices for alerts that can be used 
by federal, state, and local authorities.  Moreover, the Commission can encourage the use 
of best practices through the EAS state plans that are already required for annual filing at 
the agency. In addition, the Commission should work with our colleagues at FEMA to 
align traditional daisy chain reporting practices with newer federal alert aggregation 
capabilities.  Finally, we need to act with urgency.  We should commit right now to 
having changes in place before the Summer begins.   
I also believe something I discussed with Chris:  In all of this review, we need the 
broadcasting community at the table.  That’s true in our investigation in Washington and 
it’s true in what the state government is pulling together, pursuant to the Executive Order 
of Governor Ige appointing Brigadier General Kenneth Hara to oversee a comprehensive 
review of emergency management practices in Hawaii.  Public sector efforts to remedy 
what went wrong will only go so far if they do not also include the private sector actors 
entrusted with getting the word out.  And no one has a longer history and deeper 
commitment to getting the word out than our nation’s broadcasters.  
To be clear, false alerts like this are not unique to Hawaii.  On a smaller scale they 
have occurred before—and just recently in Polk County, Iowa and Riverside County, 
California—and can occur again if we don’t heed the lessons learned from this incident.  
In the end, I think no one has summed this up better than Senator Brian Schatz of 
Hawaii, who just yesterday convened an important discussion with a wide range of 
federal and state authorities who can help address what happened in Hawaii.  As he 
stated: “This system failed miserably.  We need to improve it, and get it right.”  Amen.  
Let’s get to work.  Let’s get this done.  
Let’s also remember that while Hawaii dominates the headlines, in the last year so 
many broadcasters played a vital role in helping communities weather other emergencies 
and disasters.  By most measures, the damage done last year by Mother Nature was 
unprecedented.  In fact, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports 
that hurricanes, wildfires, and other natural disasters led to $306 billion in damages, 
making last year the most expensive on record in the United States.  Moreover, the 
hurricanes and wildfires combined took more than 300 lives.  Simply put, the emotional 
and economic toll of these events will be felt by generations.  
In each of these events, however, broadcasters stood out.  In some cases, quite 
literally.  We had correspondents and camera crews standing in flooded streets and 
3camped out near dangerous fire.  As wildfires ripped through the dry hills of southern 
California, stations like KCBS/KCAL in Los Angeles doubled down on news, adding an 
additional 40 hours of live coverage in order to ensure residents of affected communities 
had access to the best and most current information.  During Hurricane Harvey, KTRK in 
Houston produced over 128 hours of news coverage, helping coordinate volunteer rescue 
efforts that pulled residents from rising waters and flooded homes.   
The damage we saw from weather events was especially acute in Puerto Rico.  
During Hurricane Maria, broadcasters served as a lifeline.  When the roof was torn off 
news/talk radio WKAQ in San Juan, it did not stop broadcasting to the community.  
When the storm smashed its windows, it stayed on air, eventually fashioning a makeshift 
studio deeper in its building.  As the wind and rain wreaked havoc, the station aired calls 
from listeners offering stories about the storm and its impact.  The station also fielded 
calls from Florida, New York, and Chicago from family members seeking information 
about their relatives who they could not reach due to broader communications failures.  
I think these broadcasters are heroes.  But we owe them—and the people 
impacted by this hurricane season—the kind of attention to emergency communications 
we are now offering Hawaii.  It is time for the Commission to commit to hearings and a 
report making clear what worked, what didn’t and what steps we can take to improve our 
communications vulnerabilities in the wake of Hurricanes Maria, Harvey, and Irma.  
After all, there’s precedent for this approach.  It’s exactly what was done in the wake of 
Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy.  I know we learned from those events and as a 
result our communications systems are stronger and more resilient.  I bet, there are 
lessons, too, to be learned here.  I also bet that the role of broadcasters in keeping 
communities safe was a big one—and I want us to do what we can to ensure that 
continues.
Thank you.