December 2007
Dallas, TX – To mark the tenth anniversary of the AMBER Alert program, Clear Channel takes a look back at the origins of this critical public safety initiative. J.D. Freeman, President and Market Manager of Clear Channel Radio in Dallas, served as one of the original creators of the program.
The AMBER plan was conceived by a group of Dallas-Fort Worth radio broadcasters after the kidnapping of 9-year-old Amber Hagerman. Since then, the program has been credited with the safe recovery of more than 300 children nationwide.
To date, there is a network of more than 115 AMBER Plans across the country.
In 1996, 9-year-old Amber Hagerman was riding her bike in a suburban neighborhood when she was abducted and murdered. Listeners of a KDMX Dallas-Fort Worth radio show wrote letters asking if there was anything broadcasters could do to alert the public about kidnappings.
A group of Dallas-based broadcasters put aside their intense competition in the market and came up with the idea of using radio station EAS equipment to alert the public about area kidnappings.
They named the program America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response or AMBER as a legacy to the young girl.
Broadcasters in the Dallas area teamed with local police agencies to develop the early warning system to help find abducted children. The primary Emergency Alert System stations in the market, WBAP and KRLD, agreed to immediately air messages about abducted children in situations that meet certain criteria.
The broadcasters worked with police to develop the required criteria and guidelines that became the template for cities across the country to follow and develop AMBER plans.
President George W. Bush signed the Amber Bill at a special ceremony with families of kidnapped children and the original broadcasters in 2003.
The broadcasters involved in the original plan were: J. D. Freeman, KDMX-FM; Jerry Bobo, KRLD-AM; Michael Spears, KRLD-AM; Tyler Cox, WBAP-AM; Dan Bennett, KLIF-AM; Scott Savage, KEWS-FM.
Freeman said, “Radio’s creation of the Amber Alert is one of the most effective ways radio has served the public interest. The Amber Alert system demonstrates the relevance of radio in our lives today.”
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