Glitch puts radio host on dozens of TV, radio stations

Don Day June 27th, 2007

WGN-AM morning host Spike O’Dell suddenly found his voice booming across more than just the powerhouse signal he usually originates on. A strange glitch in the Emergency Alert System triggered the Emergency Action Notification. The EAN is the highest level alert - indicating a message is incoming from the White House. The EAS readout told stations not to cut away under penalty of law. “The system is set up so that if there is an emergency, the president or the governor or someone else in authority can take control of the airwaves. And no one did,” Patti Thompson, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Emergency Management Agency told the Chicago Tribune. Instead, O’Dell’s mic was hot all over the dial, since WGN is the hub for EAS in the area. A VP for CBS Radio in the market joked that if this happened next year, when Portable People Meters will be in place in the market - WGN would have seen quite the ratings spike.