Vegas PBS—During a civil emergency, such as September 11, 2001, cellular telephone and land mobile radio bandwidth for two-way communications gets overloaded quickly, effectively ending communications between and among first responders such as firefighters, police, and hospitals. Vegas PBS proved that encrypted digital television signals can provide a powerful backup communications resource, efficiently transmitting (one-way) multiple, simultaneous streams of voice, video and data content. In broadcasting, the same amount of bandwidth can reach one receiver or 10 million receivers, so Vegas PBS designed a system to accommodate a large portion of the need for emergency communications bandwidth, through closed-circuit datacasts. Within minutes, fire and police commanders’ laptops could receive blueprints showing hazardous material sites, utility lines, and evacuation routes. In a school hostage situation, authorities could be alerted promptly if any captive students required urgent medical care. Moreover, Vegas PBS’s station, KLVX, has the ability to operate at least seven days without external power—even longer with power from the solar cells on Vegas PBS’s roof. Vegas PBS’s example paved the way for the Digital Emergency Alert System (DEAS), a system designed to alert first-responders and civilians in the event of a national emergency.
WTIP—WTIP is the only public radio station broadcasting on Minnesota’s North Shore of Lake Superior, where fewer than 6,000 residents and visitors spread out over 1,500 square miles of woods. The station was launched in 1998 by a small group of volunteers who believed that community radio could play an important role in building a sense of shared community in Cook County. They were right. When a forest fire raged for nearly two weeks, destroying scores of homes and buildings near Ham Lake, the entire community relied on WTIP. Officials credit WTIP with having provided life-saving service, especially in the first 24 hours when fire and police officials used the station to broadcast critical evacuation notices to the hundreds of families living along the 35-mile fire line. WTIP, which is now part of the emergency response team with the sheriff’s department and fire department, received both CPB’s 2009 My Source Community Impact Award for Engagement and the Outstanding Media Award from the Association of Minnesota Emergency Managers.