Emergency Television: Ensuring Accessibility for All During Crises

Emergency Television plays a vital role in disseminating critical information during crises, safeguarding lives and property. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) mandates that broadcasters and cable operators make this vital information accessible to everyone, including individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, and those who are blind or have visual impairments. This necessitates providing emergency information in both audio and visual formats.

Defining Emergency Information

Emergency information encompasses any data crucial for protecting life, health, safety, or property. This broad definition includes:

• Immediate Weather Events: Tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, tsunamis, earthquakes, ice storms, heavy snowfall, widespread fires, and official warnings or watches for impending weather changes.
• Community-Wide Emergencies: Pandemics, extensive power outages, industrial explosions, civil unrest, toxic gas leaks, school closures, and alterations to school bus schedules resulting from such events.

Accessibility Solutions for Emergency Broadcasts

The FCC has established specific requirements for making emergency information accessible:

Accessibility for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

For individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, audio emergency information must be visually conveyed. Methods include:

• Closed Captioning: Hidden text displayed within the video signal, typically activated via remote control, on-screen menus, or a dedicated decoder.
• Open Captioning: Text permanently embedded in the video image, similar to movie subtitles, and cannot be turned off.
• Crawls: Text moving slowly across the bottom of the screen.
• Scrolls: Text moving vertically on the screen.

Video programming distributors (VPDs) are responsible for ensuring that emergency information doesn’t obstruct closed captions and vice versa. The use of American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters during televised emergency announcements is encouraged, with VPDs and programmers urged to ensure the interpreter remains visible on screen.

Accessibility for the Blind and Visually Impaired

For individuals who are blind or visually impaired, visually presented emergency information during newscasts requires audio description. When emergency information is displayed visually outside of news broadcasts, such as through crawls or scrolls, it must be accompanied by an audio tone and made accessible via the television channel’s secondary audio stream. This tone alerts viewers with visual impairments to tune into the secondary audio stream for detailed information.

Multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) must ensure that any applications or plug-ins they provide for accessing linear programming on second-screen devices (tablets, smartphones, etc.) can transmit the aural representation of emergency information, including the alert tone, on a secondary audio stream. This ensures accessibility across various viewing platforms. Furthermore, MVPDs and providers are required to prioritize aural emergency information on the secondary audio stream, ensuring it overrides other programming and is broadcast completely at least twice.

Content of Accessible Emergency Information

Emergency information must provide specific details to aid in protecting life, health, safety, and property. This includes:

• Affected Areas: Precise information about the geographic regions impacted by the emergency.
• Evacuation Procedures: Explicit evacuation orders, detailed descriptions of evacuation zones, and specified evacuation routes.
• Shelter Information: Locations of approved shelters and instructions for sheltering in place.
• Property Protection: Guidance on securing personal belongings.
• Road Closures: Information on impassable roads and alternative routes.
• Relief Assistance: Instructions on how to access aid and resources.

Programmers are granted flexibility in determining the specific details to be presented, relying on their informed judgment to assess the situation. However, there may be circumstances, such as emergencies affecting the broadcast station itself, where providing accessible emergency information becomes impossible.

Conclusion

Emergency television is a lifeline during crises. The FCC’s regulations underscore the importance of making this information universally accessible. By adhering to these guidelines, broadcasters and distributors ensure that everyone, regardless of disability, receives the timely and critical information needed to protect themselves and their loved ones during emergencies. Clear communication can be the difference between life and death in a crisis, and accessible emergency television is paramount to ensuring that no one is left behind.