Some schools have been closed, while others remain open. The local TV station interrupts the regular programming with an extended special program about the tornado. The station reports the locations of Red Cross shelters, and the roads and schools that are closed. The closed captions are blocked by the graphic. Elsewhere in America, it is the eighth snowstorm of winter, and schools are closed again.
Parents groan and arrange to stay home with their children.
Everyone plans to spend a typical emergency closing day sitting around the television set. The crawl denies the deaf viewers the opportunity to watch regular television programs. These are familiar and frustrating scenarios that have been experienced by many deaf and hard of hearing television viewers across the nation. The new regulations state that all television broadcasters are required to provide visual emergency announcements and closed captions that do not block each other. Local Broadcasters Must Comply Local broadcasters are obligated, by FCC rules, to make necessary local emergency announcements, such as weather warnings, school closings, chemical spills, large fires, earthquake, floods, or tornado warnings.