Indy/KCSB Form Partnership for IndyAlert
Have a few posts today! Here's a press release that is important considering the Gap Fire. -- Sara
For Immediate Release
August 18, 2008
KCSB 91.9 FM and Santa Barbara Independent Form Partnership
To Better Serve the Public During Emergencies
SANTA BARBARA--Radio station KCSB 91.9 FM has partnered with The Santa Barbara Independent to help inform the community during emergencies and public safety threats. This new emergency information service offers email and text-message notifications (IndyAlert), as well as radio broadcasts utilizing the combined news departments of The Independent and KCSB.
“Radio has proven to be the only stable medium during significant public emergencies,” said KCSB’s Chief Engineer Bryan Brown. “KCSB is the only local station with trained staff on-hand 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, who are able to pass on important information during times of crisis.”
Independent publisher Randy Campbell stated: “We’re happy to find a dynamic partner like KCSB that brings passion for community service, reporters on the ground covering news as it happens, and a staff broadcasting live 24 hours a day -- a rarity in modern day radio.
“In the past two years we’ve been on the literal front lines of many of Santa Barbara’s disasters and emergencies, with our website providing timely coverage we couldn’t achieve with the weekly newspaper. But we sometimes found the immediacy of our website was inconvenient or unavailable,” Campbell continued. “By adding text messaging and email alerts, we can use the wide availability of cell phones to keep our subscribers informed. Add radio to the mix and we’ve got particularly valuable tools for communication during a power outage or on the go.”
The two-way exchange of resources and information between The Independent and KCSB 91.9 FM will provide a broader, more portable, up-to-the minute source for news and information during an emergency or disaster. Both organizations hope to maximize their service to the public, local governments, and emergency service agencies.
Representatives from the radio station and the weekly newspaper will speak publicly during the public comment period of government meetings on Tuesday, August 19. These include meetings of the County Board of Supervisors, Santa Barbara City Council, and the Goleta City Council. The Carpinteria City Council meets August 25.
More About the IndyAlert system:
Using the Independent.com website as the hub, IndyAlert will provide email, text message, and radio announcements to subscribers to this free service.
In the event of an emergency, a brief message will be sent to subscriber’s cell phone or computer. This could be a natural disaster (fire, earthquake, floods), an event with the potential to cause general public harm such as a toxic spill, or a Highway 101 or major traffic artery closure. Any of these problems would prompt an IndyAlert to your phone or inbox (or both). Alerts will also be broadcast by radio.
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For Immediate Release
August 18, 2008
KCSB 91.9 FM and Santa Barbara Independent Form Partnership
To Better Serve the Public During Emergencies
SANTA BARBARA--Radio station KCSB 91.9 FM has partnered with The Santa Barbara Independent to help inform the community during emergencies and public safety threats. This new emergency information service offers email and text-message notifications (IndyAlert), as well as radio broadcasts utilizing the combined news departments of The Independent and KCSB.
“Radio has proven to be the only stable medium during significant public emergencies,” said KCSB’s Chief Engineer Bryan Brown. “KCSB is the only local station with trained staff on-hand 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, who are able to pass on important information during times of crisis.”
Independent publisher Randy Campbell stated: “We’re happy to find a dynamic partner like KCSB that brings passion for community service, reporters on the ground covering news as it happens, and a staff broadcasting live 24 hours a day -- a rarity in modern day radio.
“In the past two years we’ve been on the literal front lines of many of Santa Barbara’s disasters and emergencies, with our website providing timely coverage we couldn’t achieve with the weekly newspaper. But we sometimes found the immediacy of our website was inconvenient or unavailable,” Campbell continued. “By adding text messaging and email alerts, we can use the wide availability of cell phones to keep our subscribers informed. Add radio to the mix and we’ve got particularly valuable tools for communication during a power outage or on the go.”
The two-way exchange of resources and information between The Independent and KCSB 91.9 FM will provide a broader, more portable, up-to-the minute source for news and information during an emergency or disaster. Both organizations hope to maximize their service to the public, local governments, and emergency service agencies.
Representatives from the radio station and the weekly newspaper will speak publicly during the public comment period of government meetings on Tuesday, August 19. These include meetings of the County Board of Supervisors, Santa Barbara City Council, and the Goleta City Council. The Carpinteria City Council meets August 25.
More About the IndyAlert system:
Using the Independent.com website as the hub, IndyAlert will provide email, text message, and radio announcements to subscribers to this free service.
In the event of an emergency, a brief message will be sent to subscriber’s cell phone or computer. This could be a natural disaster (fire, earthquake, floods), an event with the potential to cause general public harm such as a toxic spill, or a Highway 101 or major traffic artery closure. Any of these problems would prompt an IndyAlert to your phone or inbox (or both). Alerts will also be broadcast by radio.
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Labels: Emergency Alert, Emergency Preparedness, IndyAlert, KCSB
posted by Sara De la Guerra | 8/18/2008 08:15:00 PM
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4 Comments:
By adding text messaging and email alerts, we can use the wide availability of cell phones to keep our subscribers informed. Add radio to the mix and we’ve got particularly valuable tools for communication during a power outage or on the go.
This is Great!
Edhat started some noise to get radio and websites to step up, and then the Independent and KCSB do just that!
Now the County staff need to earn their fat salaries to keep up with the corporate giants at Edhat and KCSB.
LOL to "people will lead".....you have GOT to be kidding. What KCSB and the Independent did is act like journalists. What "Edhat" did is act like a petulant child who has no desire to be confused by facts.
The News-Press has had a radio station for years -- so how come it didn't take this leadership role?
In sweeping aside both dailies with its up to the minute coverage of the Gap Fire, the Indy came of age.
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