Blame the Public File on my wife.

Hopefully the above caption will make you read this column . Here is the story. During pril my wife and I were driving back from a radio station. I had been there for 2 days working and updating their Public File.

On our long trip home I had been silent for many miles and finnaly Millie says "What are you thinking about?"

"OH that station’s Public File." The file work work had been turned over to the overnight Jock and he didn’t have a clue as to what documents should be in their file.

The station was put on the air brand new in 1987. All the FCC application process should be in their early Public File. Such as the application, the issueance of the Construction Permit, the chosing of the Call Letters. Finally the station is ready to go on the air in 1989 and the stations files their 301 application for a new license for the station. Then in 1990 the station fills out their renewal application for a license for 1990 to 1997. Now all during those years the differenct all jocks keep throwing stuff into the drawer in the cabinet . Now the overnight jock read that years ago a station had to keep a Public File for the last 2 renewal periods but that was changed now to the current period only. So in Aug 1997, this station filed a new renewal application and shortly after that threw out the old Public File.

Lucky for Ken Orchard the overnigh Jock placed the old file in a cardboard box and stuck it in a storage cabinet. The owner of the station had heard about my work and so a visit to the station was in order. Now if I had been called into this matter in 1999, the FCC Public File rules want a station to keep 3 years of letters from the Public. So you see I would need material out of the old 1990-1997 Public File. Also where is the proof of the call letters. Well it was on a FCC document from 1988. So you can see that different documents are needed from the past.

In August of 1997, the station files their renewal application, Part of that application is annocements that you place on air that you have filed with the FCC for reneal of the stations license and if you want to come in and see the wonderful job we have done serving the community please do. This is where I always claim that all radio stations are now religious stations because the stations prays that nobody will come in. Now think about this. The radio station has place into their 1990-1997 Public File all the correct material plus all the issue lists and letters from the public. Now as soon as the application is sent in about Dec 1, 1997 the station received a little FCC Brown card stating that the stations renewal application was granted until Dec 2005. Well since Aug until December the station did not post anything more to their File. Now did they do anything for the month of December 1997 because who will come in during the Christmas Holidays. So we will start fresh in Jan 1998 as we have all those years ahead of us to do right as they say. So on Dec 31, 1997 somebody files a Petetion to Deny your renewal. Is this a story or did it happen. You can talk with your own FCC attorney. Yes it does.A Southern California Minortiy group filed against 50 radio stations and on some of them it was 2 years later before they got their license renewed. Some had documentation that their Public Files were in order some did not. They took it for granted that the overnight jock was doing OK. These stations had big legal fees and some received FCC fines .

All along serving the local community of your Radio Station License has been the longterm requirement of the FCC. In June 1988 the FCC changed some of their rules and everybody thought that all radio was deregulation during that year and stations didn’t have to be bothered with Public Service and Public Files any more. That was not the case. A sort of trust was set up between FCC and Broadcaster. All you had to do was check off on the different applications such as Renewal and applications for transfer of stations that you actually did up date your files and broadcast Public Affairs programming to the community of your license. Well at the recent NAB convention in Las Vegas in April 2000 was David Solomen the head of the new inforcement department. All the old Field offices a total of 25 around the nations are now Enforcement bureas and the FCC has asked for an increase in Compliance inspectors to inspect stations. A new attitude instead of just trusting the Broadcasters seems that it will be Trust but Verify. And that’s the reason for more inspectors.At this time, programming is still the number one indicator of service to your community of license. You have to provide some issue-responsive programming to its community of license. You cannot say my FM is all music and my AM does all that stuff. Thanks about this. When you build a new station or buy an existing station, all these stations list of community of license. And now with 5 stations in the same building, you will find that maybe all five of them serve different communitys of license but because of the location of these five stations they can all broadcast out of the same building. Remember you can’t run the same Public Affairs show on all five stations. They have different community of licenses. You still most provide some issue-responsive programming to these different communities.

So does your over night jock have all the documentation in the Public File. And Does each of the 5 stations in the building have their own Public File or is all the material kind of thrown together in a cabinet. I hope not. Its time to protect your investment in these stations and work with your FCC attorney, go to NAB conventions and get your FCC updates and hear it from the horses mouth of what is to be done. I believe that the days of the overnight jock doing Public Files is over. It must be turned over to somebody that has been around in radio long enough to have a passion to do this type of work.