Its now 2003 and in California, stations only have two years until they must file for license renewal. Nobody can be sure of any changes in FCC regulation for the future, but one fact remains sure, the FCC is actively investigating stations and issuing fines for non-compliance issues. As we read our submissions for the past year, we found a common theme that we’ve been pursuing. The following are excerpts from our contributions from 2002. The question is, where does your station stand on the issue of FCC Compliance? How confident are you in 2003 that you will not be the responsible party for the next Notice of Violation, or forfeiture issued by another inspection. The FCC’s budget was increased in 2002, and they fulfilled their promise that they would be enforcing the rules. Orchard Media Services has witnessed first hand the increased amount of interest in the Alternative Broadcast Inspection Program through the California Broadcasters Associations. As we close out 2002, our firm alone has performed these "mock" inspections on over 100 stations in California and Hawaii, and we are scheduling more well into 2003. Is your station taking the necessary steps as you reach the pinnacle date for license renewal?

Here’s what we were writing about in 2002:

If your license period is from 1997 to 2005, do you have that file in order with a table of contents? Why, you may ask? Well, in a recent FCC letter to a station, the FCC demanded a list of the items and documentation that was in their Public File. It certainly would have been easy to send or fax a "Table of Contents" for each year to the FCC. On a side note, the FCC did show up a few weeks later to verify the Public File contents.

The recommendation from one Law Firm was that is should be normal practice that one individual on the station’s staff be made responsible for the maintenance of the Public File.

The fine for not having a Public File is $10,000! I talked with one of the FCC bureau offices and they told me they could add more dollars to that initial fine if they found other commonly owned stations in that same building also did not maintain files. Additionally, the FCC would be alerted to watch other stations in the same ownership group.

FCC Compliance is an ongoing requirement for the term of your license. For example, in California, the 8-year license term runs from 1997 to 2005. All stations should have closed out 2001 and made sure that everything was up to date because we have passed the mid way point of the license period leading to your renewal application. Remember the material in your public file is the only evidence that you will have if somebody files a petition to deny your renewal application.

While working at this AM station, we ran across a letter that was written by the FCC stating that several years ago the FCC did a nationwide compliance survey. The FCC found many AM stations were deficient in the following areas: Public Files, Directional Antenna, Monitor Points, and operating Power. The last paragraph of this FCC letter stated:

"The commission will continue to conduct broadcast station inspections through the year and the years to come. The inspections may encompass any or all of the broadcast regulations with special emphasis toward the problem area listed above. Monetary forfeitures may be assessed for any type of violations of the FCC’s Rules and Regulations."

There have been many articles lately, in regular newspapers about radio and television. There are still so many independent small market stations across America, doing an incredible job of serving the community. From a local newspaper insert, we found a story written about a station in Abilene, Texas, and its owner Jim Baum. He says, "When you get a license from the FCC to operate a radio station, you have to prove to them that you’re going to serve the community. They’re not interested in whether you make money, lose money, or anything else." We couldn’t have said it any better than that.

You cannot assume that the FCC is not going to come and inspect your station. If you, the owner or manager believe that your station will never get inspected, you are very misled. There are several elements that could trigger an FCC Inspection. It could be a random inspection because the FCC records indicate the station hasn’t been inspected for a number of years, or, a disgruntled employee or listener could file a complaint.

Procrastination needs to be addressed. So, here is some sound advice. All states have a Broadcast Association. Of course there is the National Association, and most broadcasters only attend the convention to look at the newest technology. But each state has an association whose primary job is to assist broadcasters. Some of you belong to them but many don’t. Perhaps the reason is, that it costs money to join these state associations and many broadcasters don’t wish to lay out this annual fee. Unfortunately, many broadcasters don’t see the benefits of belonging to these State Associations. The humble, yet fragile ego of management sometimes has the attitude, "I work for a huge corporation, and our legal department handles all of our FCC Issues. I don’t need to join my state association; I need to network with advertisers and other financial partners. That’s my job."

But, we also hear managers claim that they have two jobs. One is to increase profits, but the other is to protect the license of the station. How are you going about doing that? And are you absolutely sure that you are?

First of all, it is really no secret that the Enforcement Bureau of the FCC is out and inspecting stations all over the country on a regular basis. The list of actions (from the FCC Website) for March 2002 shows a total of 116 FCC actions taken. These are Notice of Violation, Notice of Liability and even Forfeitures, ranging from $8,000 to $10,000. The list showed the following as items the FCC cited stations for:

these are items from as recently as last month that stations have been cited for non-compliance.

We learned that the FCC’s new budget has been approved, and along with their additional Enforcement Staff, they have also been approved for travel expenses. What does this mean? The FCC now has additional budget for travel to increase the amount of stations to inspect in 2002 and beyond. And, if you watch how many they have already been performing each month, what do you suppose the odds are before your station is inspected?

We move on to a bigger station in a bigger market. Are they doing a better job in meeting with their license requirements in the bigger markets? This particular station is one that is billing several million dollars each year. While somebody on the staff had made an effort to organize some items for the Public File to give the appearance that they had a wonderful and organized Public File, I went right to the Quarterly issue list. At least this station actually had a Public File! But, they weren’t exactly dealing with their Quarterly Issues properly.

The FCC Rule States:

The following is a portion of Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold’s statement on Market Concentration that was issued to the President just a few weeks ago:

You can see this statement in its entirety on the Senator’s website, and of course it has a great deal to do with the music industry, concerts and promotions, but the main theme that is being driven is this: Regulation by the FCC is going to continue. Anyone claiming that they don’t have to be concerned with issues of FCC compliance is completely misinformed.

So back to our concept that "punishment" in the form of fines and loss of license may just be the motivating factor for radio groups to clean up the industry and maintain the rules set forth by the FCC in order to hold a license to broadcast. This seems to be the idea all over the industry, which seems to explain our recent amount of interest and questions in the Alternative Broadcast Inspection Programs offered by the state associations in cooperation with the FCC. This is the most opportune time to focus on the areas of FCC Compliance for all your stations, before somebody else does (like the FCC, or your competitor, or an angry mob of listeners, or an angry community interest group).

A recent article from an FCC inspector suggested that the station manager should review the station’s log occasionally to see if they can reconstruct what the problem was and what was done to correct it. If the manager cannot read the station log or understand what problem occurred; then an FCC Inspector will not either.

We have not found a station manager in any market that even looks at the station log. Yet this simple piece of paper is to be kept for two years and could bring a large fine if not done correctly as specified by the rules of the FCC.

It seems as though many station managers are abdicating the responsibility of FCC compliance to those who don’t know what to do. And of course, the station manager is very good at maintaining the stations budget, so the first line of defense is to say "no" to the engineer in buying and updating EAS or test equipment.

Our story seems to remain the same throughout the year. We find stories about stations in trouble and share them. Perhaps to scare you into fitting FCC Compliance into your daily broadcasting routine, and in part to help readers understand that radio is an industry that belongs to the public. It is a privilege to have a license to broadcast and should not be taken lightly. Orchard Media Services performed literally over one hundred inspections last year through our affiliation with the California Association of Broadcasters. It was astounding the number of stations who would have been found in violation had the FCC inspected them instead. Whatever state you are broadcasting in, you have a state association nearby that offers the Alternative Broadcast Inspection Program. It’s an excellent form of insurance against a surprise visit from the FCC, and a sure way to be aware of potential problems at your station. You should make it part of your 2003 business plan.