Warning system still in a fog

The good news is that Kansas City's cable override system for tornado warnings is working again. The bad news is that the warnings still obliterate every TV signal in their path, including those of channels 4, 5, 9 and 41 - stations that presumably would be on the air covering the same storm. After Time Warner Cable's override system failed a routine test in May, city and cable officials combed the entire line that connects the emergency switch at City Hall with the cable company. They finally located a bent pin in a telephone jack at Time Warner Cable's end. Problem solved. Well, not quite. If you were watching Time Warner Cable on the afternoon of June 9, you know exactly when the warning system was tested. At that moment every channel turned to snow, and the audio suddenly buzzed with the disembodied, over modulated voice of the city official doing the test. This is what has broadcasters hopping mad. The idea that their six-figure Doppler radar systems and their well-paid weather people could be silenced - by a bureaucrat! "The idea of covering over Channel 9 with some sort of canned cable announcement is ridiculous," said KMBC, Channel 9, general manager C. Wayne Godsey. And potentially dangerous: During a tornado in Detroit last month, a faulty cable override blew out all local channels in 80,000 homes served by Time Warner Cable for 20 minutes. "It should be a concern to every citizen in the country because eventually lives are going to be lost," said Donald Hicks, the executive vice president of the Missouri Broadcasters Association. "Television and radio broadcasters invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in equipment. In some cases the equipment is superior to the National Weather Service. To have that overridden in Kansas City, by information that's at best 30 minutes old - that's not a public service. That's a public disservice." Who gave cities the power to silence entire cable systems with the flip of a switch? It was the Federal Communications Commission, as part of a 1998 overhaul of its emergency preparedness guidelines. It's up to each community to request the new override equipment. Lee's Summit, Leavenworth and the two Kansas Citys are among those that have. When the switch is flipped, only cable subscribers in the affected community lose their channels. It's a cheap-and-dirty approach, as even Time Warner officials will concede. More sophisticated gear - something that would knock out the audio but not the video - would cost more money. Officials say the real purpose of local cable override isn't to horn in during severe storms, but to announce civil emergencies, like a toxic waste spill or (in Leavenworth's case) a jailbreak. Mike Karl, emergency manager for Kansas City, said he tries to keep announcements under 30 seconds. But because he gets bulletins from the National Weather Service "two minutes before the other stations have it," he wouldn't hesitate to use the cable override, he said, if he thought it would help Kansas Citians. "It's all about money," said a spokesman with the National Association of Broadcasters. "Cable doesn't want to install the (more expensive) equipment. In our view, this is the fault of the FCC for not understanding this issue." The feds beg to differ. "Some TV stations are excellent with weather," said a commission spokesman. "Others are not quite there all the time. It's best to handle this on a case-by-case basis." Scripps merger halted An industry magazine reported this week that E.W. Scripps Co., owner of channels 38 and 41, nearly merged with another broadcast group two weeks ago before calling it off. Broadcasting & Cable said the marriage of Scripps and LIN Television of Providence, R.I., would have created the 14th largest TV group in the country. (Scripps is currently 18th and LIN 24th.) You can blame this one on the FCC, too. A source told the magazine that Scripps backed out of the deal after the feds hinted that in the future they would be more lenient toward companies that owned both newspapers and TV stations. That means Scripps probably will be allowed to buy stations in cities where it owns papers - making it a much more lucrative company than it is now. And the winners KMBC, WDAF and KSHB took home Kansas City Press Club Heart of America awards for 1999 earlier this month. Channel 9 was recognized for best single newscast, photojournalism and public service project. Channel 4 claimed first place in breaking news coverage, feature story and sports. Channel 41 won in a competitive general-reporting category and in investigative reporting. The awards were judged by the Milwaukee (Wis.) Press Club. If you're wondering why no trophies went to KCTV, Channel 5, it's because the station didn't submit any entries. To reach Aaron Barnhart, phone (816) 234-4790 or visit the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com >>>