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| There are a handful of reasons broadcasters would interrupt their scheduled programming: for national emergency information; for a local missing person advisory; or an AMBER Alert. |
| Emergency Alert System |
The EAS is designed to provide the federal government with a means to address the American people in the event of a national emergency. Beginning in 1963, the President permitted state and local emergency information to be transmitted using the system. Since then, local emergency management personnel have used the EAS to relay local emergency messages via broadcast stations, cable, and wireless cable systems. While participation in national EAS alerts is mandatory for some specific providers, state and local EAS participation is completely voluntary.
In New Mexico, when a national alert requires the EAS system to be activated, the signal is initiated on 770AM KKOB. Through a system of relays, the information is disseminated throughout the state. In order to maintain the EAS system, monthly tests are required. For the most up-to-date information on the EAS, please visit the New Mexico State Broadcasting Engineers website.
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| Missing Persons Advisory |
The Missing Persons Advisory law was signed in 2007 to provide a mechanism for the Department of Public Safety to notify the public of missing persons who are in danger.  Officials from the Department of Public Safety/Missing Persons Clearinghouse, and the NM State Police are the only authorized entities that can initiate a Missing Persons Advisory. A person is considered missing if their absence is reported by a reliable immediate family member and is imminent danger to themselves or others.
There is no age consideration or time frame restriction.
Like the EAS system, when a Advisory is warranted, the Missing Persons Clearinghouse contacts the initiating broadcast station - 770AM KKOB - and the relay begins. For more information on the Missing Persons Clearinghouse, visit the New Mexico Department of Public Safety. |
| AMBER Alert |
The AMBER Alert System began in 1996 when Dallas-Fort Worth broadcasters teamed with local police to develop an early warning system to help find abducted children. AMBER stands for America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response and was created as a legacy to 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, who was kidnapped while riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas, and then brutally murdered. New Mexico soon set up an AMBER plan that works within the same framework as the advisory systems outlined above.
The New Mexico State Police and the Department of Public Safety/Missing Persons Clearinghouse authories can issue an AMBER Alert when' a child under the age of 18 has been abducted by an unrelated person and is imminent dangerof serious bodily harm or death and there is specific information available about the child or the child's abductor that may assist in an expedient and successful end to the abduction'. For more information on New Mexico's AMBER Alert system, visit the New Mexico Department of Public Safety. |
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