How do you set/change the default alarm TYPE in iCal?

I like to think I'm a power user, but this one I just can't figure out. The question/problem is: How do you sent the default alarm TYPE in iCal? The problem is illustrated in the picture below in the blue circled area.

Specifically, whenever I set a new event in iCal, it defaults to this window with the default alert being "Default (1 hour before)." The one hour before is fine, but the problem is, WHAT is the default? It seems to be just a sound, but that's not good enough to actually alert me of anything.

The goal I'm trying to achieve with this post is to determine how to CHANGE the "default" new event alert FROM "Default (1 hour before)" TO one of two alerts that I actually find useful: I want MY "default" new event alert to be either "email" to the primary address, OR, "Message with Sound".

Any ideas, folks? Thanks.