KMA contests EMA decision regarding KCSI
KMA Radio sent a letter to the Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency Board of Directors, contesting its decision to require the county emergency management director to call KCSI Radio when there are severe weather warnings.
The EMA board on May 31 acted on a request made by Red Oak Mayor Bill Billings, also a KCSI employee, to have EMA director Brian Hamman call the radio station in certain circumstances.
Hamman spoke with multiple EMA agencies in other counties around Iowa, and nearly all the agencies responded they did not contact media during a weather event; they either spoke with media following the event or answered questions if they were contacted by media representatives.
The board voted 4-1 in favor of requiring Hamman or whoever was serving in Hamman’s place in the event of an absence or unavailability, make a notification to KCSI in regards to why the sirens were sounding, and information on the perceived threat, or if a lighting strike activated a siren accidentally, and for any other perceived threat to the public, pending review of existing protocol and the EMA coordinator job description.
The Express received a copy of the letter sent by KMA to the Montgomery County EMA Commission. The letter can be viewed below.
To Whom It May Concern:
This letter is in reference to an approved severe weather media policy recently discussed by your board. As reported in the Red Oak Express on Tuesday, June 5, 2018, your board held a discussion May 31 and approved a media policy that would require Emergency Management officials to contact radio station KCSI when a significant severe weather event occurs.
Keeping the public informed during moments of severe weather is of the utmost importance and among one of the greatest responsibilities of local radio stations. It is for that reason that KMA Broadcasting would like to officially write in opposition to your adopted policy. As reported by the Red Oak Express, Red Oak Mayor Bill Billings stated during the meeting, “I guarantee that none of them have a radio station as on top of the weather as we do here. It stops all broadcast during any weather event…”
At KMA, we stop all regular programming when a significant weather event occurs. We pride ourselves on our severe weather coverage, often devoting multiple staff members to live, wall-to-wall coverage. We have provided this great coverage since we first went on the air in 1925. It is also concerning that Mr. Billings does work on behalf of KCSI Radio and is involved in crafting a policy that would place KCSI in an advantageous position when it comes to weather coverage.
Furthermore, the Red Oak Express reports that Red Oak City Administrator Brad Wright stated, “(KCSI) is the best source for the entire Montgomery County.” We feel that comments of this nature by a city and county official are offensive and misleading to the public, as they are provided without supporting evidence.
At KMA, our signal covers all of Montgomery County – in addition to numerous counties throughout Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri. Our content and coverage focuses on the three cities of Shenandoah, Clarinda and Red Oak, known collectively by staff as “The Triangle.”
In addition to our terrestrial radio signal that covers all of Montgomery County, KMA possesses a powerhouse website in KMAland.com that attracts more than 2 million views each month. Our website is an integral part of our severe weather coverage and is something that cannot be matched by any other radio station in the area.
In crafting this policy, we understand that your first concern as a board is for the safety of the public. However, by choosing an individual radio station to get information given to them rather than having to request it, the board is showing blatant favoritism and the policy is not in line with good practices by taxpayer-funded entities.
We feel that a more prudent approach to the matter would be to adjust your policy that you have adopted. If Emergency Management officials do not have time to call any station that requests to be included in Montgomery County’s policy, we feel it is best that local officials only respond to media when they are contacted.
The management team at KMA Broadcasting would be happy to assist you further in crafting a safer, more effective and more fair approach to informing the public when severe weather strikes. Contact us at 246-5270.
Sincerely,
The KMA Broadcasting Management Team