The FCC Enforcement Bureau proposed a $25,000 fine...

By including simulated or recorded EAS codes and attention signals in programming that wasn’t related to an emergency, Turner and MMK, licensee of Kentucky station WNKY, created a “cry-wolf scenario,” said the bureau. Along with putting out a news release on the violations, the bureau issued an enforcement advisory on false or fraudulent use of the EAS system (http://bit.ly/1bZkf50). “It is inexcusable to trivialize the sounds specifically used to notify viewers of the dangers of an incoming tornado or to alert them to be on the lookout for a kidnapped child, merely to advertise a talk show or a clothing store,” said acting bureau Chief Robert Ratcliffe in the release. According to a notice of apparent liability issued against Turner, the company’s proposed fine stems from a TBS promo for the April 26, 2012, Conan show, which used sounds intended to simulate EAS tones. Produced in-house by Turner, the promo spot was created within “a tight timeframe” and wasn’t submitted for a standards and practices review, the NAL said. “We find that the sounds used in the material are substantially similar to the sounds made by the transmission of EAS codes such that an average audience member would reasonably mistake the sounds for the sounds made by actual EAS codes,” said the bureau in the NAL. Though the base forfeiture for such a violation is $8,000, the bureau increased the amount because the promo aired on both the East Coast and subsequent West Coast TBS feeds, and because TBS reaches “approximately 99.7 million U.S. television households,” the NAL said. “The fact that Turner’s violations reached such a potentially vast audience greatly increases the extent and gravity of the violations,” said the bureau. Turner’s ability to pay was also a factor, the NAL said. MMK violated EAS rules by broadcasting actual recorded EAS tones in a commercial for The FanWear & More Store, said the consent decree. Though the decree doesn’t provide many details of the violation, MMK’s significantly higher voluntary contribution compared with Turner’s proposed forfeiture might indicate repeated violation -- especially considering Turner’s likely much larger audience, said Pillsbury broadcast attorney Scott Flick in an interview. Along with the $39,000, MMK agreed to a compliance plan that includes public education about EAS, a manual and training program for employees, and regular compliance reports to the bureau, said the decree. An FCC spokesman said NALs such as that issued to Turner don’t typically include compliance plans, which are usually the result of a settlement. Since the bureau has already issued an NAL that involved an extended investigation, it’s unlikely that Turner’s violation would be resolved with a consent decree similar to MMK’s, said Flick. “Those discussions typically happen during the investigative phase,” said Flick. He said in a blog post (http://bit.ly/1b6L5Kh) that Wednesday’s enforcement actions are the biggest penalties for EAS misuse the enforcement bureau has issued, though the bureau did issue an urgent advisory after a security breach led to a bogus alert about zombies being issued over common alert protocol systems in Michigan (CD Feb 14 p). The penalties to MMK and Turner show the bureau believes “it is time to crack down on violations,” said Flick, and he pointed to a line in the enforcement advisory about ongoing investigations as “ominous.” The penalty against Turner suggests the bureau might have a bigger problem with content that violates rules when it’s produced by networks themselves rather than advertising agencies that don’t know any better, said Flick. “If there’s a distinction and they're gonna be harder on people that produced it themselves, it would be helpful for the FCC to provide those guidelines,” he said in an interview. Turner and MMK didn’t comment.