Public radio and TV stations in the United States have a fresh opportunity to apply for federal money for technical improvements to their emergency alerting and warning capabilities.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting on Friday announced a second call for applications under the Next Generation Warning System Grant Program. Approximately $48 million in newly allocated funds are available.
For radio stations, this includes equipment for receiving, broadcasting and distributing messages through FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System and the Common Alerting Protocol. Recent grants have gone toward things like new transmitters, generators and backup power supplies, antennas, a replacement translator and replacement EAS equipment.
For TV the funding is directed toward upgrades to the ATSC 3.0 standard. Training for the use of new or upgraded equipment is also considered as part of NGWS funding.
The deadline to apply is Sept. 12. Broadcast stations that applied for funding in the first round and did not receive a grant must reapply. CPB says the process has been streamlined and involves fewer deliverables for an initial review. The grants will continue to prioritize public stations serving underserved communities, primarily in rural and tribal areas, as well as small stations.
In coming weeks, CPB will host a series of informational webinars for prospective applicants.
In 2022, FEMA named CPB to administer the NGWS program to help public media stations “create a more resilient and secure public alerting system.” It began distributing the grants last fall. Stations in Michigan, Alaska and the Four Corners region have been among the recipients.
CPB said that technical assistance will be available upon request to help stations with limited resources determine equipment needs and ensure compliance with federal regulations around purchasing, installation and grant procedures. If you have questions about eligibility or the application process, CPB invited emails to ngws@cpb.org.
(Learn more and apply for the next phase of NGWS grants.)
