Editing Emergency Alert System (section)

==Limitations==
The EAS can only be used to relay audio messages that preempt all programming; as the intent of an Emergency Action Notification is to serve as a "last-ditch effort to get a message out if the president cannot get to the media", it can easily be made redundant by the [[24-hour news cycle|immediate and constant coverage]] that major weather events and other newsworthy situations—such as, most prominently, the [[September 11 attacks]] in 2001—receive from television broadcasters and [[news channel]]s. Following the attacks, then-FCC chairman [[Michael K. Powell]] cited "the ubiquitous media environment" as justification for not using the EAS in their immediate aftermath. Glenn Collins of ''[[The New York Times]]'' acknowledged these limitations, noting that "no president has ever used the current [EAS] system or its technical predecessors in the last 50 years, despite the [[Cold War|Soviet missile crisis]], a [[Assassination of John F. Kennedy|presidential assassination]], the [[Oklahoma City bombing]], major earthquakes and three recent high-alert terrorist warnings", and that using it would have actually hindered the availability of live coverage from media outlets.<ref name="Collins">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/21/nyregion/silence-alert-system-experts-urge-overhaul-plan-unused-even-sept-11.html?scp=1&sq=Emergency%20Alert%20System&st=cse |title=The Silence of the Alert System; Experts Urge Overhaul of Plan Unused Even on Sept. 11 |last=Collins |first=Glenn |date=December 21, 2001 |work=The New York Times |access-date=February 19, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161121042624/http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/21/nyregion/silence-alert-system-experts-urge-overhaul-plan-unused-even-sept-11.html?scp=1&sq=Emergency%20Alert%20System&st=cse |archive-date=November 21, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="rwonline">{{cite web |last=Stine |first=Randy J. |url=http://www.rwonline.com/reference-room/special-report/rw-eas2.shtml |title=Terrorism Attacks Cue EAS Debate |work=Radio World |date=September 26, 2001 |publisher=IMAS Publishing (USA) Inc. |url-status=usurped |archive-date=October 24, 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011024114726/http://www.rwonline.com/reference-room/special-report/rw-eas2.shtml}}</ref>

Following the [[tornado outbreak of March 3, 2019]], Birmingham, Alabama NWS meteorologist Kevin Laws told [[CNN]] that he, personally, wished that alerts could be updated in real-time in order to reflect the unpredictable nature of weather events, noting that the storm system's unexpected change in trajectory towards [[Lee County, Alabama|Lee County]] resulted in only a nine-minute warning (the resulting tornado would kill 23 people).<ref name=":0" />

The trend of [[cord cutting]] has led to concerns that viewers' lessened use of broadcast media in favor of [[over-the-top content|streaming video services]] would inhibit their ability to receive emergency information (notwithstanding [[Wireless Emergency Alerts|availability of alerts on mobile phones]]).<ref name=":0">{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/08/tech/emergency-alert-netflix-hulu-streaming/index.html|title=Should Netflix and Hulu give you emergency alerts?|last=Wattles|first=Jackie|website=CNN|date=March 8, 2019|access-date=April 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428023625/https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/08/tech/emergency-alert-netflix-hulu-streaming/index.html|archive-date=April 28, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=https://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/182663/senate-approves-readi-act-to-inform-public-in-emer|title=Senate Approves 'READI' Act To Inform Public In Emergencies|website=All Access|language=en|access-date=April 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428023626/https://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/182663/senate-approves-readi-act-to-inform-public-in-emer|archive-date=April 28, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> The READI Act called for an inquiry into the distribution of alerts via internet platforms.<ref name=":0" />