What a Letter to the Editor started....

The following letter to the editor appeared in the Ely Times November 11, 2009

Ely radio stations in sad shape

To the Editor:

It's a sad state of affairs with our local radio stations! In the last two and half years both KDSS and KELY have reached a new low! Ely now gets its information from 300 miles away - Winnemucca, or from Denver. The FCC makes it clear to station owners that it's their responsibility to serve the communities they are licensed to. On top of that, what if White Pine County has dangerous weather conditions, wild fires, or any other emergency - will KDSS or KELY notify the community about this. Most likely. No. The FCC requires all radio stations to test and maintain their EAS (emergency alert system) I doubt either of the two stations have working systems.

What about local news. One station ops to read the Ely Times over the air, while the other depends on CNN with recorded, inaccurate weather forecasts at the bottom of the hour.

Let's be clear. Radio is supposed to be live, local, informative and entertaining. Neither of those two media outlets comes even close. Ely deserves better than what these two media outlets provide.

Dale Tyson,Ely

Your Responses

" I would like to comment on KELY and the positive things they do for our community. We can't attend all the high school games and KELY is there to bring it home to us. I like the way KELY works with our community youth giving them the opportunity to speak out on their station. Finally, Wyatt Cox is a friend to my school, when I need important information to go to the community, I can call Wyatt and it happens. Thanks KELY.

Joe Collins, Principal
David E. Norman Elementary "

The following Letter to the Editor was sent to the Ely Times today in response a letter published earlier this week raising concerns about the condition of the Emergency Alert System at two local radio stations. It is also being shared with members of the Society of Broadcast Engineers EAS exchange.

To the Editor of the Ely Times:

I am responding to the letter of concern about the state of the Emergency Alert System in Ely. I have been the FCC-appointed Chair for the Emergency Alert System, or EAS, in the Nevada Operational Area for the past 15 years. I am a member of the Governor’s AMBER Alert Review Committee, the Society of Broadcast Engineers, the Joint Information Center for the State Emergency Operations Center, the Practitioners’ sub-committee of FEMA’s Integrated Public Alerting and Warning Systems, the Nevada Broadcasters Hall of Fame and a broadcaster with more than 30 years of experience in radio and television as both an engineer and a news reporter.

First, I want to reassure your readers and the Ely community that both KELY and KDSS are working diligently to make sure their federally-mandated EAS equipment is functioning properly and is available for emergency officials should it ever be needed to inform residents and visitors about an emergency or disaster. Second, please note that while the FCC requires stations to install, maintain and test EAS equipment, the Federal government does not subsidize EAS equipment, its maintenance and any accessories or repairs and offers no training for broadcasters or emergency officials. That means that the stations provide state and local officials with an effective public alert and warning system at no taxpayer expense. In addition, as any broadcast veteran knows, a broadcaster’s decision to participate in EAS at the local level is strictly voluntary and occurs because station management has made a deliberate and conscious decision to serve their community in this manner. Over the years I have spent a great deal of time traveling through rural Nevada to work closely with our small broadcasters, including the managers of both KELY and KDSS, to assist them with their participation in EAS. The managers of both KELY and KDSS are in regular contact with me about EAS affairs and KELY even sends me routine reports of the tests and activations they have broadcast and received from their various monitored sources, including the newly developed statewide relay network.

Like the FCC, I am not in a position to comment about the programming content of either station, however, I remember very well hearing many hours of live, lunch-time interviews and other locally oriented programming on KDSS during my visits to Ely. I am also aware of the high school sports programs KELY carries and the broadcast journalism opportunities that the station provides local high school students. I am also aware of how closely both stations work with local law enforcement, public safety and emergency management officials to keep the public informed and educated about emergency matters.

In spite of the current economic challenges facing broadcast media, both stations continue to provide the community with important information such as regular local weather reports, free public service announcements and coverage of local charity events and public affairs programming. This all happens through the tireless efforts of their station managers and their Nevada-based owners. It is true that not all the programming is presented “live” all the time on both stations. But it’s also a sad fact that very few stations have the revenue stream and experienced talent pool needed for that type of programming anymore. Ely residents are no different than residents of any other large-, medium-, or small community in this country: today’s technology gives you many choices for information and entertainment but only local radio gives you both for free where ever you are.

I appreciate the concerns expressed for the safety of Ely and White Pine County, but it is misplaced. Nevada has a robust EAS because we have stations like KELY and KDSS that care about their communities. Nevada is known within groups like SBE and the FCC for having a strong and innovative EAS with programs and activities that are not found elsewhere, even in states where EAS receives taxpayer funding and government-subsidized high tech support.

Adrienne Abbott-Gutierrez
Nevada Chair
State Emergency Communications Committee

Dear Ms. Abbott,

Thank you for responding to the letter to the Editor from Mr. Tyson. I listen to both stations and both have assisted me personally, the service club I represent, the car racing organization that brings racers to Ely twice a year, the school board, and many other individuals and organizations to get their messages out to the listening public. Mr. Cox from KELY has volunteered to actively participate with the LEPC (local emergency planning committee) and attends meetings and gives input to our planning and suggests ways he can assist us in case of an emergency.

From my perspective the information KDSS, KELY and the Ely Times provide to the community about issues and events in our community is of greater importance than canned music and talk shows Mr. Tyson is complaining about.

I appreciate KDSS & KELY in their efforts to maintain the EAS system and being prepared in case of an emergency. Again, thank you for taking the time to accurately reflect to the Editor and community how our EAS system works.

Bunny Hill
White Pine County Social Services
Silver State Classic Challenge, Inc.
Great Basin Service Club
4-H Leader for 28 years

Funny, I thought I was in Ely, not Winnemucca....I've been reporting the news on KELY for over a year from right here. And as Kent Harper, the editor of their newspaper, well knows, we do not source stories from the Times unless Kent has a breaking news item. KELY has a great working relationship with the Times, something that can't be said about the people before me. We do work together in presenting the report of Daily Funeral Announcements weekdays at 9:34 (a fact documented in the pages of the newspaper until it's recent redesign) since many people in the city are't polite enough to die in time to meet the newspaper's deadline.

KELY and KDSS just fully participated in the Eastern Nevada monthly test with no problems last Friday (11/6) at 2:30pm. No word as to whether the cable system or Channel 3 participated as they were required to. Further,

KELY has carried live coverage of the 2008 General Election and the 2009 City Elections. We even presented a primary election forum and TWO General Election candidate forums.

I specifically cover EVERY City Council and MOST School Board meetings, and was at Wednesday's Veterans Day memorial. We broadcast local High School Sports. We interrupt regular programming for weather bulletins at all times, and as a member of the Local Emergency Preparedness Committee, am more aware than anyone of the role that radio plays in an emergency. I've covered more severe weather and emergency situations in the last 30 years than Ely has seen in the last 100.

The beauty of the First Amendment is that everyone is entitled to their opinion, however misinformed it might be.

From the time that KELY went on the air in 1950 into the 1980's, KELY operated 6am-6:30pm Monday-Saturday, and not at all on Sundays. Today's technology allows us to be there at any time to bring Ely the information it needs. However, given today's economy, advertisers can't spend the money needed to sustain large staffs as were needed in the past. Radio stations across the nation have reduced staffs. However, KELY has INCREASED local service over the last year. Perhaps Mr Tyson might wish to listen, or talk to the Mayor, the Superintendent of Schools, the School board, to find out how THEY feel we're doing.

FURTHER: KELY is Live and Local when it NEEDS to be: Covering breaking news. It is informative and entertaining as well. Or perhaps Mr Tyson missed the article penned by the Editor that appeared in the pages of the Times on this past Christmas Eve. We have expanded the nostalgia to our weekends, around Sports and other specialty programming.

Why such a letter, which borders on libel in it's implications that KELY is not operating in compliance with it's license, and not serving the community of Ely, saw the light of day is beyond me.

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