Click here for Adobe Acrobat version
Click here for Microsoft Word version
********************************************************
NOTICE
********************************************************
This document was converted from Microsoft Word.
Content from the original version of the document such as
headers, footers, footnotes, endnotes, graphics, and page numbers
will not show up in this text version.
All text attributes such as bold, italic, underlining, etc. from the
original document will not show up in this text version.
Features of the original document layout such as
columns, tables, line and letter spacing, pagination, and margins
will not be preserved in the text version.
If you need the complete document, download the
Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat version.
*****************************************************************
Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
)
American Family Association ) File Number EB-02-KC-236
)
Licensee of FM Broadcast Station ) NAL/Acct.
KBKC in Moberly, Missouri ) No.200232560005
)
Tupelo, Mississippi FRN 0005-0259-11
NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE
Released: May 28,
2002
By the Enforcement Bureau, Kansas City Office:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for
Forfeiture, we find that American Family Association,
licensee of FM broadcast station KBKC in Moberly, Missouri,
willfully violated Section 73.1125 of the Commission's Rules
(``Rules'')1 by operating KBKC without a main studio. We
conclude that American Family Association is apparently
liable for a forfeiture in the amount of seven thousand
dollars ($7,000).
II BACKGROUND
2. On April 8, 2002, an agent of the FCC Enforcement
Bureau's Kansas City Field Office (``Kansas City Office'')
attempted an inspection of FM radio station KBKC licensed to
Moberly, MO. Investigation revealed no listing for the
station in the local telephone directories. The agent went
to the KBKC transmitter site and found a sign on the tower
with the phone number 662-844-8888. The agent called this
number and spoke with Mr. Shan Easterling and Ms. Marsha
Schrader of American Family Association in Tupelo,
Mississippi. Mr. Easterling and Ms. Schrader stated there
was no main studio for KBKC and that the station's public
inspection file was located at the Little Dixie Regional
Library on 4th Street in Moberly. The agent inspected the
public inspection file and found no waiver of the main
studio rules for the station.
3. During the week of April 15, 2002, the Kansas City
Office agent again contacted American Family Association in
Tupelo, Mississippi to inquire regarding the tower
coordinates, main studio waiver and the EAS installation.
The agent was told that information was available from Pat
Vaughn who was not in the office at the time but would
return soon. The agent left a message for Vaughn to call
the agent back, but no call was ever received.
4. On April 16, 2002, the Kansas City Office agent
requested from the FCC's Media Bureau a copy of all current
authorizations or waivers for KBKC. Media Bureau responded
with the latest document consisting of a copy of the
station's license. The file contained no authorization for
waiver of the main studio rules.
III DISCUSSION
5. 47 C.F.R. § 73.1125 states that each broadcast
station shall maintain a main studio at one of the following
locations: (1) Within the station's community of license;
(2) At any location within the principal community contour
of any AM, FM, or TV broadcast station licensed to the
station's community of license; or (3) Within twenty-five
miles from the reference coordinates of the center of its
community of license. American Family Association failed to
maintain a main studio for station KBKC. American Family
Association neither requested nor received a waiver of the
main studio rules for KBKC.
6. Based on the evidence before us, we find that
American Family Association willfully2 violated Section
73.1125 of the Rules by failing to maintain a main studio
for KBKC. Pursuant to Section 1.80(b)(4) of the Rules, the
base forfeiture amount for violation of the main studio rule
is $7,000.3 Section 503(b)(2)(D) of the Communications Act
of 1934, as amended (``Act''), requires us to take into
account ``...the nature, circumstances, extent, and gravity
of the violation, and with respect to the violator, the
degree of culpability, any history of prior offenses,
ability to pay, and other such matters as justice may
require.''4 Considering the entire record and applying the
statutory factors listed above, this case warrants a $7,000
forfeiture.
IV ORDERING CLAUSES
7. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED THAT, pursuant to
Section 503(b) of the Act,5 and Sections 0.111, 0.311 and
1.80 of the Commission's Rules,6 American Family Association
is hereby NOTIFIED of its APPARENT LIABILITY FOR A
FORFEITURE in the amount of seven thousand dollars ($7,000)
for willfully violating Section 73.1125 of the Rules.
8. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section
1.80 of the Commission's Rules, within thirty days of the
release date of this NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY, American
Family Association SHALL PAY the full amount of the proposed
forfeiture or SHALL FILE a written statement seeking
reduction or cancellation of the proposed forfeiture.
9. 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 MUST INCLUDE the FCC Registration Number (FRN)
and the NAL/Acct. No. referenced in the letterhead above.
10. The response, if any, must be mailed to Federal
Communications Commission, Office of the Secretary, 445 12th
Street, S.W. Washington, D.C. 20554, ATTN: Enforcement
Bureau - Technical & Public Safety Division, and MUST
INCLUDE the FRN and the NAL/Acct. No. referenced in the
letterhead above.
11. 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.
12. Requests for payment of the full amount of this
Notice of Apparent Liability under an installment plan
should be sent to: Federal Communications Commission, Chief,
Revenue and Receivables Operation Group, 445 12th Street,
S.W., Washington, D.C. 20554.7
13. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT a copy of this NOTICE
OF APPARENT LIABILITY shall be sent by Certified Mail Return
Receipt Requested to American Family Association at P. O.
Drawer 2440, Tupelo, Mississippi 38803.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Robert C. McKinney
District Director
Kansas City Office
_________________________
1 47 C.F.R. § 73.1125.
2 Section 312(f)(1) of the Act, 47 U.S.C. § 312(f)(1), which
applies equally to 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).
3 47 C.F.R. § 1.80(b)(4).
4 47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(2)(D).
5 47 U.S.C. § 503(b).
6 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311, 1.80.
7 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.