Emergency Planning Resources

As we continued to grapped with the coronavirus pandemic, stations accross the country are faced with the prospect of prolonged disruption at a time when our need to serve the public is at its most critical. Some have dealt with emergency and crisis situations in recent years and are more prepared to cover this rapidly unfolding story and provide vital information while also making the best decisions on behalf of their staff. Many stations are creating their emergency response plans in real time, as the events unfold. 

When creating an overall station plan, the entire organization must consider their internal operations, broadcast/content operations and business continuity. Content leaders and programmers chief concern will be the daily delivery of critical information to its audiences, ensuring that the station can continue to performs its most important function - serving the public. PRPD is creating an online repository of station's programming and broadcast response plans. You can send your documents to info@prpd.org. As you are either revising or creating your emergency plan, here are some useful resources to help you along the way. 

• In 2011, CPB worked with NPR and NFCB to put together the SAFER Stations Emergency Prepardeness Manual. This step-by-step guide provides you with a template to build your own plan. Technology has evolved since this manual was first published, so some of the information about communications may require revision, but this is still an excellent resource. 
• Here is another very comprehensive guide that was published in 2005 for the Media Security and Reliability Council. It includes some very helpful checklists and a very good guide for business operations. 
• The FCC also has a guide that will be most helpful to senior leadership in your organization or your license holder.

PRPD is here to support our community in times of need. We have online discussion forums for each format that have proved to be an invaluable support network for station programmers all over the country. If you are struggling with a particular challenge, whether its the timing or message points of an upcoming on-air drive or a difficult decision about your program schedule, your peers are here to give you guidance, knowledge and feedback.  All are welcome.