*Subject:* FW: Pls READ: Nationwide Emergency Alert System Test: November 9
> ** ** > On Wednesday, November 9, 2011, FEMA, DHS and FCC will conduct the first > ever National test of the Nationwide Emergency Alert System (EAS). This > Nationwide test will kick off at 1:00 pm (CST) and run concurrently across > all time zones. > > This system test is the first of its kind designed to broadcast a > nationwide message to the American public. In the history of the country, > nothing like it has been conducted on such a level. There have been tests > in the past, but not of this magnitude encompassing all regions of the > Nation simultaneously. The three (3) minute test will run simultaneously > on all radio and TV band stations exceeding the previous messages broadcast > which were anywhere from a 30 second to 1 minute message. > > There is concern in local police and emergency management circles about > undue public anxiety over this test. The test message on TV might not > indicate that it is just a test. The fear is that the lack of an > explanation regarding the message might create panic. > > Well, in a way, this is not the first time at all. Seventy-three years ago there was the War of the Worlds nationwide broadcast that resulted in misinterpretation and widespread panic. It had the disclaimers it was a theatrical presentation, but that was lost upon or never heard by many listeners. It was a 55 minute 'test'. Here is a Wikipedia citation with some interjection to bring a bit of relevance to today. *The War of the Worlds was an episode of the American radio drama anthology series Mercury Theatre on the Air. It was performed as a Halloween episode of the series on October 30, 1938 Some listeners heard only a portion of the broadcast and, in the atmosphere of tension and anxiety (fear) prior (concurrent with) to World War II (the over-hyped terrorism threat), took it to be an actual news broadcast. Newspapers reported that panic ensued, with people across the Northeastern United States and Canada fleeing their homes. Some people called CBS, newspapers or the police in confusion over the realism of the news bulletins. Some claimed they could smell poison gas or see flashes of lightning in the distance. Within one month, newspapers had published 12,500 articles about the broadcast and its impact. Adolf Hitler (al Qaeda) cited the panic, as Richard J. Hand writes, as "evidence of the decadence and corrupt condition of democracy."* It will be interesting to see how the most ignorant among us react, especially when prior reports of things like a small plane weighing half of a VW sent thousands of people fleeing buildings in DC in sheer panic a number of years ago. I now refer you back to the 'concerns of local police and emergency management' above. This could be real entertaining.
