Don’t Be The Weakest Link

By Ken and Kelly Orchard

There is a television program with a comical element lately that is scoring big ratings. The Weakest Link is a combination of "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire" meets "Jeopardy". The purpose is to work together as a team for the greater good by answering questions correctly. The contestants have the opportunity to eliminate the "Weakest Link" if they feel that they are not helping to reach the common goal, which is the cash prize.

The following is a list of questions that you as a manager, chief operator, engineer or owner should ask yourself. Only you can determine if you are "The Weakest Link":

If you have doubts about any of the above questions, you could be your station or groups "Weakest Link". Penalties for some violations can be as high as $25,000. The penalty for no Public File is $10,000. Each violation really adds up!

Each month, after our article in Radio Shopper has been released, we get many emails and calls from broadcasters all over the country. We always appreciate the input, suggestions, stories and questions. We are not FCC attorneys. Orchard Media Services is a consulting firm, specializing in FCC Compliance for radio and television stations. Our objective is to be an advocate for broadcasters, we never turn anyone in to the FCC, but we do take seriously the issues by broadcasters who willfully ignore their own station’s FCC Compliance. We appreciate the opportunity to share our experiences and knowledge with readers and fellow broadcasters and of course we always look into the questions that come up.

Recently, after a lengthy telephone conversation, the party asked how much they owed for our advice. It didn’t occur to us to charge them. Maybe we missed an opportunity to bill someone for services, but we’d rather help where we can, and a phone call didn’t warrant sending out an invoice.

However, usually these are employees new to the broadcast industry. Most times we wonder about the wisdom of putting a stations license and FCC Compliance in the hands of a newly hired receptionist or Administrative Aid who perhaps only earns the minimum salary allowed by law and will leave at any moment for pennies more an hour.

We recently completed work on a Public File for a client, and could see physical proof of when the seller stopped living up to their Community Service responsibilities and when the buyer took over control of the station. This is a very disturbing occurrence in the broadcast industry, nation wide.

A regularly scheduled visit to a long term client was also discouraging as a Program Director, who has been in radio for only eighteen months disputed whether the stations were even required to do public service anymore. It’s a constant battle to educate broadcasters, which is why we are always on our "soap box".

Somebody asked us recently, what would we do if we were in charge of the FCC for a year. That’s a great question. If I earned a 20% commission on financial fines issued by the FCC, I could make a very good living. Regardless, I told them the first thing I would do is look at all the stations operating under a Local Market Agreement across the country.

These details of this agreement are where a station is committed to buy another station in the same market. The two parties sign a "Letter of Intent" to purchase and also on the same date they commit to a Local Market Agreement. The buyer pays the seller an agreed upon fee per month to have the right to operate the station and sell advertising time. Lets use $25,000 per month as a general amount.

This LMA document is usually about fifteen pages long and signed by both Licensee (current owner) and the (potential) new buyer. The station licensee does not transfer until the sale has approval from the FCC. The Licensee (current owner) is still responsible for the Public Inspection File. The Licensee is still responsible for station logs, employees and other technical matters. The Licensee is responsible for all FCC Compliance.

The truth is that both parties are not living up to the FCC requirements of their Local Market Agreement. Part of the requirement is that a copy of that LMA is to be submitted to the FCC. Additionally, copies are to be placed in the Public File of the seller’s station as well as the buyers. Now it is a matter of record that the FCC is aware of this LMA.

So if I were personally in charge of the FCC, I would send the FCC Enforcement Bureau out to all stations operating under an LMA in the US. Based on what I have already seen as a compliance specialist, I predict that 85% would be in violation of FCC rules. So if you are in a LMA, you should reread your contract, call your Lawyer, or call a friend and double check on your compliance.

Another thing I would do if I were in charge of the FCC is mandatory inspection of stations prior to approval of consent to transfer control after a sale. As a California Real Estate Broker for more than 40 years, I have sold many properties. It is law that a "termite inspection’ be performed before the close of Escrow on a property. Broadcasting could avoid many problems if the FCC would adopt a similar practice.

The purpose of this inspection would be to insure that this particular station is in full FCC compliance. I mean a full FCC inspection; from Public Files, transmitter site, fencing, to EAS and other engineering issues. When all is found to be in compliance, only then would the FCC would grant the consent for the transfer of the license. If compliance is not attained, then the seller is fined as he has been operating in violation anyway.

I personally think that the FCC has the power to look at both the LMA’s and this inspection upon transfer of station and to bring into force right now the above. If you too could play this game, what would you come up with as the FCC?

I have talked with numerous old broadcasters on the subject. And when I say old, I don’t mean they are 85, I mean they were in radio or TV for longer than seven years. One broadcaster who has left the business said that on September 11, the Day of Terror, when he wanted to hear what was going on in New York and Washington, he was disappointed when he could not hear any news or news updates, because the station he received had to play 23 songs in a row.

He asked me where I was on that date. My wife and I were in the Motor home traveling in Washington State after seeing clients when our son called on the cell phone and told us to pull over and turn on the TV. At the next exit we pulled over and ran up the TV antenna and watched it on TV. Why? Because the stations in that area were all operating off satellite receivers play 21 songs in a row. I found some AM stations pulled in from far away and then I found a NPR FM Station which did a great coverage job. On that day I was very disappointed with Radio. Radio really failed by the way they covered the biggest story of a lifetime. Now, have these stations put a plan into effect to really cover the next incident, or is the plan only that when you enter the station you have to go through a metal detector?

We ask this because we recently had to do some FCC Compliance work at a large TV station and we could not get into the building unless we had this new pass, saw the guard, and went through a metal detector and submit to a personal search.

Has the era of radio really passed where broadcasters maintained their commitment to serve the community, even if it means breaking format to cover a worldwide story such as that on September 11^th? I wonder where the priorities of the programming departments are?

Basically, going back to the beginning of this article, are you your station or group’s "Weakest Link"? Is there any pride in radio left in 2001 and beyond? If you questioned your knowledge or answers to any of the above, perhaps you should seek out the correct answers, whether you call a lawyer, a friend, or me.