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                           Before the
                Federal Communications Commission
                     Washington, D.C. 20554

In the Matter of                  )
                                 )
Citicasters Licenses, Inc.        ) File Number:  EB-01-LA-075
                                 ) NAL/Acct. No. 200232900001
Station KACD AM                   ) FRN  0004-9536-59
Thousand Oaks, CA.



           NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE

                                        Released:  March 12, 2002 

By the District Director, Los Angeles Office, Enforcement Bureau:

                        I.  INTRODUCTION

     1.   In this  Notice of  Apparent Liability  for  Forfeiture 
("NAL"),   we    find    that   Citicasters    Licenses,    Inc., 
(``Citicasters'') licensee of Station KACD(AM), in Thousand Oaks, 
CA, has apparently violated Section 503(b) of the  Communications 
Act of 1923, as amended  (``Act'')1 and has apparently  willfully  
violated sections  17.47(a)(1)  and  17.49  of  the  Commission's 
Rules2 by not  making an observation  of the antenna  structures' 
lights at least once each 24  hours and not maintaining a  record 
of  observed  or  otherwise  known  extinguishment  or   improper 
functioning of a structure light.  We also find that  Citicasters 
has apparently willfully violated sections 73.1125 and 73.1400(a) 
of the Commission's Rules3 by not maintaining a meaningful  staff 
presence  at  the   main  studio  and   operating  station   KACD 
unattended.   Further,  we   find  that  Citicasters   apparently 
willfully violated sections 73.1870(a)  and 73.1870(c)(3) of  the 
Commission's Rules4 by not designating  a person to serve as  the 
station's chief operator and the  failure of a chief operator  to 
review the station records at  least once each week to  determine 
if the required entries are being made correctly and to date  and 
sign the log.  We conclude that Citicasters is apparently  liable 
for a forfeiture in the amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000).

                         II.  BACKGROUND

     2.   On March 13, 2001, the  Los Angeles Office received  an 
e-mail complaint concerning a tower light outage.  The  complaint 
stated that  the light  on the  third tower  at station  KACD(AM) 
operating on 850 kHz in Thousand Oaks, California is out and  has 
been out for a week.  The tower, Antenna Structure Registration # 
1059707, is registered to Citicasters, Inc.5  An investigation by 
the Los  Angeles Field  Office revealed  that a  top mounted  red 
flashing beacon tower light outage existed on March 13, 2001, and 
that no automated alarm system  was installed at the station  for 
monitoring the tower lights and that the station operator did not 
make the  required visual  inspection of  the tower  lights  once 
every 24 hours.  The investigation also revealed that the station 
did not  properly maintain  required station  logs or  adequately 
staff the station.

     3.   On March 13,  2001, the station  engineer responded  to 
the inquiry made by  the Los Angeles  field office and  confirmed 
that in fact the third tower light was out, and acknowledged that 
he did  not know  how long  the tower  light had  been out.   The 
station engineer stated  that he immediately  reported the  tower 
light outage to the FAA and that the light should be repaired and 
returned to service by close-of-business the next day, March  14, 
2001.  On March 16,  2001, the station  engineer advised the  Los 
Angeles field office that the  tower light had been repaired  and 
returned to service on March 14, 2001.  On May 16, 2001, an agent 
from the Los Angeles office  attempted to inspect station  KACD's 
station logs during regular business hours, but found the station 
closed.  Subsequent investigation revealed the station was closed 
between May 14 and May 17,  2001, because the station's only  on-
site employee, the station operator, was ill.

     4.   On May 24, 2001, the  LA agent returned to the  station 
to review  the  station  logs.   A review  of  the  station  logs 
revealed no record of the March 13, 2001, light outage, no record 
of when the extinguishment  was noted, and  no record of  repairs 
made.  The station operator acknowledged that a light outage  had 
occurred on March 13, 2001 on the third tower, Antenna  Structure 
Registration # 1059707.  The  station operator stated that  there 
was no automated alarm system for  the tower lights, and that  he 
conducted a visual inspection only once every two weeks.

                      III.      DISCUSSION

     5.   Section 503(b) of the Act provides that any person  who 

willfully or repeatedly  fails to comply  substantially with  the 

terms and conditions of any  license, or willfully or  repeatedly 

fails to comply with any of the  provisions of the Act or of  any 

rule, regulation or  order issued by  the Commission  thereunder, 

shall be liable for a  forfeiture penalty.  The term  ``willful'' 

as used in  Section 503(b)  has been interpreted  to mean  simply 

that the acts or omissions  are committed knowingly.6  It is  not 

pertinent whether  or not  the licensee's  act or  omissions  are 

intended to violate the law. 

     6.   Section 17.47 (a) (1) of  the Rules requires the  owner 
of the antenna structure registered  with the Commission to  make 
an observation of  the antenna structure's  lights at least  once 
each 24  hours  either  visually or  by  observing  an  automatic 
properly maintained indicator to insure that all such lights  are 
functioning properly.  Section 17.49  of the Rules requires  that 
the  owner  of  an  antenna  structure  record  any  observed  or 
otherwise known  extinguishment  or  improper  functioning  of  a 
structure light.   The recorded  information is  to include  such 
things  as  the   nature  of  the   extinguishment  or   improper 
functioning, the  date  and  time the  observation  was  made  or 
otherwise noted, and  the date, time  and nature of  adjustments, 
repairs, or  replacements made.   Section  73.1125 of  the  Rules 
requires each licensee to maintain a main studio and to  maintain 
a meaningful management  and staff  presence at  its main  studio 
location.7  The  Commission has  defined a  minimally  acceptable 
``meaningful  management  and   staff  presence''  as   full-time 
managerial and full-time staff  personnel during normal  business 
hours.8  Only one  full-time employee is  not sufficient to  meet 
the minimum  requirements.9  Section  73.1400  (a) of  the  Rules 
requires attended  operation  to assure  that  at all  times  the 
station  operates  within  tolerances  specified  by   applicable 
technical rules and in accordance  with the terms of the  station 
authorization.   Unattended  station  operation  under   Sections 
73.1300 and 73.1400(b) could not  be employed because the  remote 
control system was  not fully  automated.10  Sections  73.1870(a) 
and 73.1870(c)(3) require that the licensee designate a person to 
serve as  the  station's chief  operator  and that  the  operator 
review the station records at  least once each week to  determine 
if required entries are being made correctly and to date and sign 
the  log.   In  such  instances  where  the  chief  operator   is 
unavailable or  unable to  act (e.g.,  vacations, sickness),  the 
licensee shall  designate  another  person as  the  acting  chief 
operator on a temporary basis.

     7.     Based  on  the  evidence  before  us,  we  find  that 
Citicasters willfully violated Sections 17.47(a)(1) and 17.49  of 
the Rules when it  failed to make an  observation of the  antenna 
structure's lights  at least  once each  24 hours  and failed  to 
record the observed or otherwise known extinguishment or improper 
functioning of a structure light.  We also find that  Citicasters 
willfully violated Sections  73.1125, 73.1400(a), 73.1870(a)  and 
73.1870(c)(3) of the  Rules by failing  to maintain a  meaningful 
management and staff presence at  the main studio and failing  to 
maintain attended operation of the station, failing to  designate 
another person as the acting chief operator on a temporary basis, 
and failing to review the station records at least once each week 
to determine if required entries  are being made and verify  that 
the station has  been operated as  required by the  rules or  the 
station authorization.  

     8.   The base  forfeiture  amount set  by  The  Commission's 
Forfeiture Policy Statement and Amendment of Section 1.80 of  the 
Rules to Incorporate the Forfeiture Guidelines, 12 FCC Rcd  17087 
(1997), recon. denied, 15 FCC Rcd 303 (1999) (``Forfeiture Policy 
Statement''), for failure to comply with the main studio rule  is 
$7,000, for failure to conduct required monitoring is $2,000  and 
for failure to maintain required records is $1,000.  In assessing 
the monetary forfeiture  amount, we must  also take into  account 
the statutory factors  set forth in  Section 503(b)(2)(D) of  the 
Act11, which  includes  the nature,  circumstances,  extent,  and 
gravity of the  violation(s), and with  respect to the  violator, 
the degree of culpability, and history of prior offenses, ability 
to pay, and other such matters as justice may require.   Applying 
the Forfeiture Policy Statement and the statutory factors to  the 
instant case, a $10,000 forfeiture is warranted.         


                                
                      IV.  ORDERING CLAUSES

     9.   Accordingly, IT IS  ORDERED THAT,  pursuant to  Section 
503(b) of  the  Communications Act  of  1934, as  amended12,  and 
Sections 0.111,  0.311  and  1.80 of  the  Commission's  Rules13, 
Citicasters Licenses,  Inc. is  hereby NOTIFIED  of its  APPARENT 
LIABILITY FOR A FORFEITURE in the amount of ten thousand  dollars 
($10,000)  for  violations  of  Sections  17.47  (a)(1),   17.49, 
73.1125, 73.1400(a), 73.1870(a) and  73.1870(c)(3) of the  Rules, 
47 C.F.R. §17.47(a)(1), 47 C.F.R. §17.49, 47 C.F.R. §73.1125,  47 
C.F.R. §73.1400(a), 47 C.F.R. §73.1870(a) and §73.1870(c)(3). 

     10.  IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section 1.80 of 
the Commission's Rules14, within thirty days of the release  date 
of this NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY, Citicasters Licenses,  Inc. 
SHALL PAY the  full amount  of the proposed  forfeiture or  SHALL 
FILE a written statement seeking reduction or cancellation of the 
proposed forfeiture.

     11.  Payment of  the forfeiture  may be  made by  mailing  a 
check or similar instrument, payable to the order of the  Federal 
Communications Commission, to the Forfeiture Collection  Section, 
Finance  Branch,  Federal  Communications  Commission,  P.O.  Box 
73482, Chicago, Illinois 60673-7482.  The payment should note the 
NAL/Acct. No. 200232900001 and FRN # 0004-9536-59.

     12.  The  response,  if  any,  must  be  mailed  to  Federal 
Communications  Commission,  Enforcement  Bureau,  Technical  and 
Public Safety Division, 445  12th Street, S.W., Washington,  D.C. 
20402 and MUST INCLUDE THE NAL/Acct. No. 200232900001.  

     13.  The Commission will not consider reducing or  canceling 
a forfeiture in response  to a claim of  inability to pay  unless 
the petitioner  submits: (1)  federal tax  returns for  the  most 
recent  three-year  period;  (2)  financial  statements  prepared 
according to generally accepted accounting practices  (``GAAP''); 
or (3)  some  other  reliable and  objective  documentation  that 
accurately reflects  the petitioner's  current financial  status.  
Any claim  of inability  to pay  must specifically  identify  the 
basis for the claim by  reference to the financial  documentation 
submitted.  

     14.  Requests for payment of the full amount of this  Notice 
of Apparent Liability  under an installment  plan should be  sent 
to: Chief, Credit  and Debt Management  Center, 445 12th  Street, 
S.W., Washington, D.C. 20554.15 

     15.   IT IS FURTHER  ORDERED THAT a copy  of this NOTICE  OF 
APPARENT LIABILITY shall be  sent by Certified  Mail # 7001  2510 
0001  9914  6408,  Return   Receipt  Requested,  to   Citicasters 
Licenses, Inc. at 200 East Basse Road, San Antonio, TX. 78209.


                              FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

                         

                              Catherine Deaton
                              District Director, LA Office
_________________________

1 47 U.S.C. §503(b).

2 47 C.F.R §§17.47(a)(1), 17.49.

3 47 C.F.R §§73.1125, 73.1400(a).

4 47 C.F.R. §§73.1870(a) and (c)(3).

5 Ownership information filed with the Federal Communications 
Commission indicates Citicasters Licenses, Inc. and Citicasters, 
Inc. are affiliated.  In addition, section 17.6 of the Rules 
provides that licensees authorized on antenna structures must 
take steps to ensure that the antenna structure is in compliance 
with the antenna structure painting and lighting requirements.  
47 C.F.R. § 17.6.  

6 Section 312(f)(1) of the Act, 47 U.S.C. § 312(f)(1), which 
applies to violations for which forfeitures are assessed under 
Section 503(b) of the Act, provides that ``[t]he term `willful', 
when used with reference to the commission or omission of any 
act, means the conscious and deliberate commission or omission of 
such act, irrespective of any intent to violate any provision of 
this Act ....''  See Southern California Broadcasting Co., 6 FCC 
Rcd 4387 (1991).

7 47 C.F.R. § 73.1125; Main Studio and Program Origination Rules 
(Clarification), 3 FCC Rcd 5024 (1988).

8 Jones Eastern of Outer Banks, Inc., 6 FCC Rcd 3615 (1991), 
clarified, 7 FCC Rcd 6800 (1992); see also, KLDT-TV 55, Inc., 10 
FCC Rcd 3198 (1995).

9 Queen of Peace Radio, Inc., 15 FCC Rcd 1934 (Enf. Bur. 2000), 
recon. denied, 15 FCC Rcd 7538 (Enf. Bur. 2000); B&C Kentucky, 
LLC., 16 FCC Rcd 9305, ¶ 19 (M.M.B. 2001).

10 Amendment of Parts 73 and 74 of the Commission's Rules to 
Permit Unattended Operation of Broadcast Stations and to Update 
Broadcast Station Transmitter Control and Monitoring 
Requirements, 10 FCC Rcd 11479 (1995).

11 47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(2)(D).

12 47 U.S.C. § 503(b).

13 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311, 1.80.

14 47 C.F.R. § 1.80.

15 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.