"Maximo Lachman" wrote in message
...
according to:
http://www.paksplace.com/alert-details.htm
which has the following story also:

WHY WORRY ABOUT WHO OWNS THE MEDIA?
MoveOn Bulletin Op-Ed by Eli Pariser
It's like something out of a nightmare, but it really happened:

At 1:30 on a cold January night, a train containing hundreds of
thousands of gallons of toxic ammonia derails in Minot, North Dakota.
Town officials try to sound the emergency alert system, but it isn't
working.

Desperate to warn townspeople about the poisonous white cloud bearing
down on them, the officials call their local radio stations. But no
one answers any of the phones for an hour and a half. According to the
New York Times, three hundred people are hospitalized, some are
partially blinded, and pets and livestock are killed.

Where were Minot's DJs on January 18th, 2002? Where was the late night
station crew? As it turns out, six of the seven local radio stations
had recently been purchased by Clear Channel Communications, a radio
giant with over 1,200 stations nationwide. There were no DJs or crew,
computers were running the station.

A. Less than a half-percent of Americans are listening to the radio at that
hour... in a small town, probably next to nobody.
B. The authorities had the ability to activate the EAS, and get a message on
the air from a central point. No one in local government thought to do this.
C. Most radio stations have been automated or are using syndicated fare in
overnights as of the 70's. The main reason for being on the air overnight in
most markets is to keep from having equipment failures at the beginning of
prime morning drive time.
D. Even before the 70's, many stations ran music with a board operator, not
an announcer.