FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20554 In reply refer to: 1800C1-JWS Ref #s 99080338, 99090113 Facility I.D. #85291 KYCM(FM) October 27, 1999 Released: October 29, 1999 CERTIFIED MAIL RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED Barton Prideaux, Chairman American Broadcasting Educational Foundation Permittee, Station KYCM(FM), Bastrop, Texas 8103 Brodie Lane, Suite 3 Austin, Texas 78475 Dear Mr. Prideaux: This letter constitutes a NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR A FORFEITURE to American Broadcasting Educational Foundation ("ABEF" or "Permittee") pursuant to Section 503(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (the "Act"). As explained herein, we believe that ABEF willfully and/or repeatedly violated Sections 73.1125 and 73.3527 of the Commission's Rules. This action is taken pursuant to authority delegated to the Chief, Mass Media Bureau, by Section 0.283 of the Commission's Rules. By letter dated June 29, 1999, the Commission, by the Chief, Audio Services Division, granted applications (and denied, in part, a related petition to deny) to assign authorizations for various facilities, including the permit for Station KYCM(FM), Bastrop, Texas. In so doing, however, the Commission determined that violations of the Commission's rules may have occurred. Specifically, it appeared from documentation submitted in connection with the then-pending assignment application that ABEF may have, inter alia: 1) operated KYCM(FM)'s main studio at locations and at staffing levels, contrary to Section 73.1125 of the Commission's Rules; and 2) failed to keep its public file accessible, contrary to Section 73.3527 of the Commission's Rules. The application was granted without prejudice to further Commission action. By letter dated July 12, 1999, we sought further information to determine whether, and, if so, to what extent, violations of our rules occurred. You responded by letter dated September 3, 1999. In your response, you report that the station was on the air between June 16, 1998 and September 1999. You identify the locations that served as the station's main studio and note that all of them were within the station's city grade contour. However, you also admit that from June 16, 1998 until January 1999, the main studio for KYCM(FM) was often left unstaffed. You state that, beginning in January, ABEF employed a station manager and another individual. Both individuals have been available to assist the public weekdays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. They also review mail, monitor station broadcasts and maintain the station's public file. With respect to the public file, you indicate that between April and May 1998, the station had two public files, one at the station's then main studio and the other at the Bastrop City Hall. However, you also indicate that, from June 16, 1998 until January 1999, a copy of the station's public file was only at the Bastrop City Hall. Moreover, even then, you acknowledge that for a period of four days in December 1998, you personally had the file "for the purpose of obtaining a few additional documents, such as the Public and Broadcasting." You report that, since January 1999, the file has always been at the station's main studio. Main Studio Prior to October 30, 1998, Section 73.1125 of the Commission's Rules required that a station maintain its main studio within the station's principal community contour. Effective October 31, 1998, this rule was amended to allow a station greater flexibility in the location of its main studio. See Review of the Commission's Rules Regarding the Main Studio and Local Public Inspection Files of Broadcast Television and Radio Stations, 13 FCC Rcd 15691 (1998). In either case, the main studio must serve the needs and interests of the residents of the station's community of license. To fulfill this function, a station must, among other things, maintain a meaningful management and staff presence at its main studio. See Main Studio and Program Origination Rules, 2 FCC Rcd 3215, 3217-18 (1987), clarified, 3 FCC Rcd 5024, 5026 (1988). In Jones Eastern of the Outer Banks, Inc., 6 FCC Rcd 3615 (1991), clarified, 7 FCC Rcd 6800 (1992), the Commission defined a minimally acceptable "meaningful presence" as full-time managerial and full-time staff personnel. It further stated that there must be "management and staff presence" on a full-time basis during normal business hours to be considered "meaningful." 6 FCC Rcd at 3616 n. 6; 7 FCC Rcd at 6800 n. 4. Moreover, while management personnel need not be "chained to their desks" during normal business hours, they must "report to work at the main studio on a daily basis, spend a substantial amount of time there and ¼ use the studio as a 'home base.'" 7 FCC Rcd at 6802. Finally, the main studio requirements extend to both commercial and noncommercial educational stations. Main Studio and Program Origination Rules, 3 FCC Rcd at 5026-27. The information before us indicates that from June 16, 1998, to January 1, 1999, ABEF willfully and repeatedly violated Section 73.1125 of the Commission's Rules by failing to maintain a meaningful management and staff presence at the main studio for KYCM(FM). According to your September 3, 1999, response to the Commission letter of inquiry, ABEF, between June 16, 1998, and January 1, 1999, relied on three of its employees to rotate office duty. Each of the three held a management position at ABEF. However, you acknowledge that the individuals reported to the studio only on an intermittent basis. Moreover, beginning in July and continuing to November 5, 1998, you acknowledge that while station employees would visit the studio for periods up to eight hours, there were lengthy periods of time when the main studio was left unmanned. Thereafter, from November 5, until January 1999, the studio was left unstaffed because the station was automated. Thus, it appears that KYCM(FM) did not have either a full-time management and/or or a full-time staff presence at its main studio from June 16, 1998, until January 1, 1999. Therefore, pursuant to Section 503(b) of the Communications Act, and in accordance with the forfeiture guidelines set forth in the Commission's Forfeiture Policy Statement, which provides for a forfeiture of $7,000 as the base amount for willful or repeated violations of the main studio rule, ABEF is hereby advised of its apparent liability for a forfeiture of $7,000 for failing to maintain a meaningful management and staff presence at the KYCM(FM) main studio. Public File Effective October 30, 1998, Section 73.3527(b) of the Commission's Rules prescribes in pertinent part that every permittee of a noncommercial FM station maintain its local public inspection file at the station's main studio. The information before us indicates that ABEF willfully and repeatedly violated Section 73.3527 of the Commission's Rules by failing to maintain the KYCM(FM) public file at the station's main studio between October 30, 1998, and January 1, 1999. Specifically, the only public file ABEF had was at the Bastrop City Hall, not the station's main studio. Moreover, during a four-day period in December 1998, even that file was unavailable. As a result, an individual who sought to review the file at that time could not do so. At the same time, however, we recognize that ABEF always had a public file and that it was unavailable for a relatively short time. Accordingly, we will not impose a forfeiture of $10,000, which is the base amount recommended in the Forfeiture Policy Statement. Rather, we will impose a $3,000 forfeiture. Therefore, pursuant to Section 503(b) of the Communications Act, and in accordance with the forfeiture guidelines set forth in the Commission's Forfeiture Policy Statement, ABEF is hereby advised of its apparent liability for a forfeiture of $3,000 for failing to maintain its public file at the main studio for KYCM(FM). Conclusion In view of the above, pursuant to Section 503(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, ABEF is hereby advised of its apparent liability for a forfeiture of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000) for its willful and repeated violations of Sections 73.1125 and 73.3527 of the Commission's Rules. In regard to this forfeiture, ABEF is afforded a period of thirty (30) days from the date of this Notice "to show, in writing, why a forfeiture penalty should not be imposed or should be reduced, or to pay the forfeiture. Any showing as to why the forfeiture should not be imposed or should be reduced shall include a detailed factual statement and such documentation and affidavits as may be pertinent." 47 C.F.R.  1.80(f)(3). Other relevant provisions of Section 1.80 are summarized in the attachment to this Notice. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Roy J. Stewart Chief, Mass Media Bureau Attachment cc: Lee J. Peltzman, Esq.