I have inspected nearly 500 radio and television stations over the past 10 years, and I’ve heard and seen every excuse to why stations don’t have a fully compliant Public File. Some stations feel that since nobody from the “public” ever comes in to see the Public File, much less even knows they have a right to, then the Public File should just be eliminated. There have been some rumblings with attorneys and such to try and do away with them, but so far, the FCC isn’t going to deregulate the necessity of stations maintaining the documents that provide proof that they are meeting their obligations to hold their license to broadcast.
When I go out to conduct “mock” inspections at stations, I’m a stickler for the rules. I owe it to my clients to play “devil’s advocate” and arm them with information and advice to insure that they are operating under full FCC Compliance. My clients appreciate it, and I believe that I have a good reputation with the FCC.
So, when I go out to a station who has hired me and find that their Public File has been neglected, I become very concerned. It’s like the old adage, “where there’s smoke, there’s fire”. The Public File is always the first task of my visit. If its orderly, neat, and complete, I already know that the rest of the inspection I’ll find that they are organized and compliant as well. But, if the Public File is disorganized, missing important documents and clearly neglected, rest assured, there will be problems elsewhere at the station.
If you’re a manager, or someone who just works at a radio or television station, go look at the Public File. It’s going to be an indicator on how well your organization is managing to “protect the license”.
I’ve been on the road a lot in 2011. Last week, I gave you a general idea of a recent trip. So, let’s talk about a specific market. There were several stations located in one building in this city in Oregon. The first thing I did was go through their Public Files. The following are just a few problems that I found and reported back to the company:
A) Possible $10,000 FCC fine as station could not produce a full public file.
B) No renewal Post card in Public File posted along with station license.
C) No contour map.
D) Did not find renewal application in Public File.
E) Did not find local Public Notice in Public File.
F) Did not find last Ownership filing in Public File.
G) Did not find Articles of Corporation in Public File
H) Did not find EEO file.
I) Did not find appointment of chief operator letter.
J) Did not find 2 years of “Station Logs” for viewing. Possible more violations.
K) There are 20 Quarterly reports missing.
L) This public file has not been touched in years.
M) Where is the LMA agreement that it is operating under?
N) EEO documents are for 2005 only.
O) Some material about license for another station is in this file. Needs correction.
P) Only quarterly report was 4th QT of 2005. Nothing after that.
Q) Toss old stuff from back in 1993
(V) K*** has old version (1999) of FCC Manual in File.
Keep in mind; this is the report for just ONE station in the cluster. Every station’s Public File had similar problems. Thankfully, by participating in the Alternative Broadcast Inspection Program, this group of stations is protected, and has earned a “time out” to get their documentation in order. But, what if the new management had NOT been smart enough to bring someone in to conduct a “mock” inspection, and the FCC decided to pay a random visit?
Each Public File alone would have been a $10,000 fine. No, I’m not kidding. And you know what? Where there’s smoke, there’s fire…you guessed it, there are issues with engineering documentation as well, and out at the transmitter.
Not too long ago, a station was fined $9,000 for a Public File violation by the FCC. The station tried to appeal the findings by stating: “we conducted an informal survey among our clients which established that the public has no interest in the content of station issues/programs lists”. The station felt that the “assumption” by the FCC that the “people” are interested is unwarranted and therefore, the fine was excessive.
The FCC disagreed with the stations appeal and they were ordered to pay the fine.
Perhaps you are dealing with a high turnover of staff at your stations. Maybe training has had to take a backseat to develop your sales team to increase revenue during these tough economic times. Or, perhaps you just acquired or took control of some stations. Whatever your circumstances are, it would be wise to invest in a little insurance, like some of my clients have. If you’re a member or your state association, you could call them. If not, you can call me. I have been authorized by the FCC to conduct Alternative Broadcast Inspections in every state across our country.
Next week, I’ll tell you about what I found in Washington State, and we’ll go from there! In the meantime, please invest in your station in a way that insures the FCC won’t be calling attention to your problems!
Call me for a confidential conversation! I’m here to help!
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