My wife carries a paperback book size TV/AM/FM radio. It uses 8 AA batteries or AC adapter. Hers is a Magnavox, that we bought many years ago. I have not seen it available in the past several years. It has a 1.5-2.0 inch color screen, with good general local reception.

TV use will deplete the batteries very rapidly so I have ask her to not use the TV band after building evacuation. The radio frequencies are both good and will last a long time on the batteries.

Our experience is that local coverage of emergencies (earthquake, riots etc) is NOT done best by TV crews. They tend to focus on very local damage at the exclusion of important but unexciting information. For instance, TV crews shot over and over the same buildings and piles of bricks after the Nisqually earthquake. Shots of the many undamaged bridges and roads across the lakes and cuts which would have been good information were not even considered. Local radio, both AM and FM, were better but still focused on the irrelevent news. Local HAM operators would answer specific questions about neighboorhood damage, bridges and roadways.

TV coverage simply sucked, so I do not consider addition of a TV to my kit as needed. My wife watches the Soaps at lunch so it is essential to her "kit" <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />