Editing Emergency Broadcast System (section)

====Mid-test announcement====
Third, another announcement was transmitted following the attention signal. The first part read either:
* "''This is a test of the Emergency Broadcast System. The broadcasters of your area in voluntary cooperation with the FCC and other authorities'' (or, in later years, "federal, state and local authorities") ''have developed this system to keep you informed in the event of an emergency.''"
* "''This is a test of the Emergency Broadcast System. Broadcasters, in cooperation with the FCC and other authorities'' (or, in later years, "federal, state and local authorities") ''have developed this system to keep you informed in the event of an emergency.''"

Some stations began their tests with this first part of the announcement, then proceeded to the Attention Signal, and then continued with the second part of the announcement described below.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAgPWy8yOEA | title=WGBX 44, Boston - EBS Test, December, 1995 | website=[[YouTube]] | date=30 January 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Im4dkOuR6Fw | title=KTVO-TV, Ch. 3, Kirksville, MO-Ottumwa, IA, Rare EBS Test & Station ID, Circa 1992 | website=[[YouTube]] | date=2 April 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJLFW0htgfU | title=Emergency Broadcast System (EBS) Test on WAVY-TV | website=[[YouTube]] | date=2 January 2018 }}</ref>
[[Image:EBS slide WTCN.JPG|thumb|right|200px|Video slide used by WTCN (now known as [[KARE (TV)|KARE]]) in the [[Twin Cities]] during an EBS Test, circa 1984]]

There were a number of variations for the second half of the statement. During the system's early days, stations other than the designated primary station for an operational area were required to shut down in the event of an emergency (reminiscent of the CONELRAD days), and the message was a variation of:
* "''If this had been an actual emergency, you would have been instructed to tune in to one of the broadcast stations in your area.''"
* "''If this had been an actual emergency, you would have been instructed where to tune in your area for news and official information.''"

By the early 1980s, it had become easier for stations to record and relay messages from a primary station, and the risk of hostile bombers using broadcast signals to navigate lessened due to the development of [[ICBM]]s, as well as more capable on-board navigation systems for manned aircraft. As a result, the requirement for non-primary stations to shut down during an activation of the system was dropped, and the message became:
* "''If this had been an actual emergency, the Attention Signal you just heard would have been followed by official information, news, or instructions.''"

Stations could also list emergencies that the EBS would potentially be activated for (i.e. [[tornado warning]]s, [[flash flood warning]]s, [[Hurricane force wind warning|hurricane warnings]] and/or [[earthquakes]]); at least two stations - [[WRTI|WRTI-AM-FM]] in [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]] and [[WXYZ-TV]] in [[Detroit, Michigan|Detroit]] - infamously made explicit reference to an attack on the United States as being a possible scenario for an EBS activation in their test scripts.<ref>{{cite AV media |date=November 16, 2018 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsnsQTd7jrE |title=11/25/1980 WXYZ EBS Emergency Broadcasting Alert Test and news promo |publisher=ewjxn |via=[[YouTube]] |access-date=August 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201007013641/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsnsQTd7jrE |archive-date=October 7, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_n89mbMWiEg&ab_channel=WilliamForrest | title=Emergency Broadcast System Test (Mid 1960s)--WRTI | website=[[YouTube]] | date=3 August 2023 }}</ref>
In the late 1980s and early 90s, several television stations in the [[Los Angeles]] area had specific test scripts that emphasized earthquake preparedness. People living in the Los Angeles area were urged to study an emergency preparedness section in their telephone directories to be prepared for an earthquake or other types of emergencies.<ref>{{cite AV media |date=August 30, 2018 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlhnDUra4p8 |title=1987 Emergency broadcast system test |publisher=Renegade Media |via=[[YouTube]] |access-date=August 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181206165701/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlhnDUra4p8 |archive-date=December 6, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

As the EBS was about to be replaced by its successor, the aforementioned [[Emergency Alert System]] in the mid-1990s, some stations used the following message:
* "''This station is testing its Emergency Broadcast System equipment. The EBS will soon be replaced with the Emergency Alert System; the EAS will provide timely emergency warnings.''"