Remember back in February when the big switch to a digital TV signal was delayed? At the time we were told that the nation was not prepared for the switch. The potential crisis was painted with broad strokes. Beyond being unable to watch Desperate Housewives, countless household would be unable to receive emergency bulletins (that is of course if you forget the invention of the radio).
Now we're fast approaching June 10, the new day for the signal switch. Is America more prepared for the change? I have no idea. Apparently more people have received coupons that help pay for the cost of a digital signal converter. But apparently digital TV signals don't travel as far as analog ones. So some may be surprised when their reception isn't as clear in a few weeks. Either way, I have a feeling that our nation will weather the coming storm.
The change, like many, is a matter of perception. Some will see the change as a sign of the end of the world. Others may treat it as a message that they should cut back on their television viewership. But it is a change that we can't avoid and in most of these cases, it's not worth worrying about it too much. Something tells me we'll all be fine.
1 comment:
Hi Ken,
I'm a relentless optimist, so I too believe that we will cope with the change to digital television. I'm also a realist, and work as the executive director of a nonprofit serving the preparedness and response needs of agencies whose consumers have a range of special needs and extra points of vulnerability.
You know your readers, I don't. For many of them it may be hard to imagine an old analog TV being their only source for companionship; depending on it for daily structure (including knowing when to take their medicines); and relying on it as their only portal to life-saving, emergency information. But that's the reality for some of the people I serve.
It's not a small matter when hundreds of thousands of people have no access to emergency-related television broadcasts -- especially when these are the same people who are not on the web, don't have cell phones, etc. In a gas leak, it's important for EVERYONE to know not to strike a match. In an emergency, many hundreds of extra people calling 9-1-1 is a big problem for the whole community. And in a real disaster, hundreds of people doing the wrong thing, simply because they didn't know about the right thing, can cause a massive breakdown across all of our systems and communities. We are inextricably linked to each other, whether we acknowledge it or not.
For most of America the digital television conversion will mean nothing. For others, it is an enormous loss. I wanted those people to be represented here, even if it's just with this one post.
Thank you!
Ana-Marie Jones, Executive Director
CARD - Collaborating Agencies Responding to Disasters
www.CARDcanhelp.org
www.Twitter.com/CARDcanhelp
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