Now This Guy Has A Plan

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Houston was hit in a big way in 2017. Hurricane Harvey, and the flooding that followed, wreaked havoc on that city. Cox Media Group has three music stations in Houston, and they remained on the air the entire time, providing vital information to listeners. And that’s because CMG Houston Market Manager Mark Krieschen has an organized plan to deal with emergencies, and his team practices that plan every year.

It’s called a Business Continuity Plan and CMG managers keep that plan with them at all times. These BCP binders detail everything that needs to be done, and who to contact, in the event of an emergency. Krieschen spoke on an NAB panel Thursday morning that focused on the role broadcasters play in emergencies. He says his team reviews the plan every May (Hurricane season in Houston is June through November). They even conduct table-top exercises. “We go through as many scenarios as we can. We plan for every situation.”

Broadcasters know the crucial role they play in their communities when there’s an emergency. It’s a scenario we witnessed all over the country in 2017. Sever weather strikes and broadcasters head into the station to do their duty. Krieschen says the “hardest thing to do is ask people to leave their families.” Thirteen CMG employees stayed at the station for three days to keep the stations on the air during Harvey.

During an emergency, especially one that calls for an evacuation, law enforcement is doing everything it can to make sure resident are safe. In some cases that means getting people off the roads and out of harms way. Krieschen had a document with him Thursday that proved to be another crucial element in completing the job of providing vital information to the community. It was a letter from Homeland Security. That piece of paper allowed CMG employees to get around the community freely to cover the storm. Contact your state Association for more information on how you can acquire one of those documents.

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