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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of ) File Number: EB-02-NF-035
)
Sinclair Telecable, Inc. ) NAL/Acct.: No.200332640005
Licensee of FM Radio Station WROX )
in Cape Charles, Virginia ) FRN: 0004833745
Norfolk, Virginia )
NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE
By the Enforcement Bureau, Norfolk Office: Released:
April 2, 2003
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for
Forfeiture (``NAL''), we find Sinclair Telecable, Inc.,
(``Sinclair'), licensee of FM radio station WROX, Cape
Charles, Virginia, apparently liable for a forfeiture in the
amount of eight thousand dollars ($8,000) for willful and
repeated violation of Sections 73.1125(a) and 73.1201(b) of
the Commission's Rules (``Rules'').1 Specifically, we find
Sinclair apparently liable for failing to maintain a
presence at its main studio during normal business hours,
and failing to transmit official station identification.
II. BACKGROUND
2. On July 18, 2002, the FCC Enforcement Bureau's
Norfolk Office received a complaint concerning alleged
overpower operation by WROX's translator station causing
interference to mobile FM Broadcast reception in Newport
News, Virginia.
3. On August 27, 2002, at the request of a Commission
agent, a Cape Charles, Virginia police officer visited
WROX's main studio address at 316 Randolph Avenue, Cape
Charles, Virginia, during normal business hours. The police
officer reported that there were no signs or markings on the
office at the listed address identifying the location of
WROX's main studio. In addition, the office door was
locked, the lights were out, there were no office hours
denoted on the door, and no indication of why the office was
closed.
4. On November 26, 2002, an agent of the Norfolk
Office visited WROX's main studio location, 316 Randolph
Avenue, Cape Charles, Virginia, during normal business
hours. There were no signs or markings on the office to
identify the location of WROX's main studio. The door to
the office was locked, the lights were out, there were no
office hours denoted on the door and no indication of why
the office was closed.
5. On November 27, 2002, the agent telephoned
Sinclair's Norfolk, Virginia office and made a second visit
to the listed address of WROX's main studio location, during
normal business hours. During the visit, the agent found
the main studio location locked, unlit, unoccupied, absent
of any identifying markings, or signs of office hours, with
no indication of why the office was closed. During the
telephone conversation, a Sinclair employee admitted that no
one was present at WROX's main studio location in Cape
Charles, Virginia because of ``...the long holiday
(Thanksgiving weekend)...''
6. Also, on November 25, 2002, from 1:50pm to 2:11pm,
and on November 26, 2002, from 11:52am to 12:08pm, the agent
monitored the transmissions of WROX. During those times,
WROX identified only as ``... 96X ....'' The official
station identification for WROX was not broadcast during
those times.
III. DISCUSSION
7. Section 73.1125(a) of the Rules states that each
AM, FM, or TV broadcast station shall maintain a 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 as described in
§73.208(a)(1). In adopting the main studio rules, the
Commission stated that the station's main studio must have
the capability to serve the needs and interests of the
residents of the station's community of license.2 To
fulfill this function, a station must, among other things,
maintain a meaningful presence at its main studio.3 The
Commission has defined a minimally acceptable ``meaningful
presence'' as full-time managerial and full-time staff
personnel.4 The licensee need not have the same staff
person and manager at the studio, as long as there was
management and staff presence there during normal business
hours.5 Although management personnel need not be ``chained
to their desks'' during normal business hours, they must
``report at the main studio on a daily basis, spend a
substantial amount of time there and ... use the studio as a
home base.''6 On August 27, November 26 and November 27,
2002, no person was present at WROX's main studio at its
listed address in Cape Charles, Virginia, during normal
business hours. On each day, the main studio was locked,
unlit and unoccupied. There was no notice at the main
studio indicating the studio was closed or whom to contact.
8. Section 73.1201(b) of the Rules states that,
``[o]fficial station identifications shall consist of the
station's call letters immediately followed by the community
or communities specified in its license as the station's
location...'' On November 25 and November 26, 2002, WROX
failed to transmit its official station identification,
identifying only as ``...96X....''
9. Based on the evidence before us, we find Sinclair
willfully7 and repeatedly8 violated
Sections 73.1125(a) and 73.1201(b) of the Rules by failing
to maintain a presence at the main studio of WROX during
normal business hours and by failing to transmit an official
station identification.
10. Pursuant to Section 1.80(b)(4) of the
Rules,9 the base forfeiture amount for violation of main
studio rules is $7,000, and for failing to transmit the
required station identification 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 Communications Act of 1934, as amended (``Act''), which
include 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.10
Considering the entire record and applying the factors
listed above, this case warrants $8,000 forfeiture.
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
11. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED THAT, pursuant to
Section 503(b) of the Act,11 and Sections
0.111, 0.311 and 1.80 of the Rules,12 Sinclair is hereby
NOTIFIED of this APPARENT LIABILITY FOR A FORFEITURE in the
amount of eight thousand dollars ($8,000) for willful and
repeated violation of Sections 73.1125(a) and 73.1201(b) of
the Rules by failing to maintain a presence at the main
studio of WROX during normal business hours and by failing
to transmit its official station identification.
12. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section
1.80 of the Rules, within thirty days of the release date of
this NAL, Sinclair SHALL PAY the full amount of the proposed
forfeiture or SHALL FILE a written statement seeking
reduction or cancellation of the proposed forfeiture.
13. 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. and FRN referenced
above. Requests for payment of the full amount of this NAL
under an installment plan should be sent to: Chief, Revenue
and Receivables Operations Group, 445 12th Street, S.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20554.13
16. The response, if any, must be mailed to Federal
Communications Commission, Office of the Secretary, 445 12th
Street SW, Washington DC 20554, Attn: Enforcement Bureau-
Technical & Public Safety Division and MUST INCLUDE THE
NAL/Acct. No. referenced above.
17. 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.
18. Under the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of
2002, Pub L. No. 107-198, 116 Stat. 729
(June 28, 2002), the FCC is engaged in a two-year tracking
process regarding the size of entities involved in
forfeitures. If you qualify as a small entity and if you
wish to be treated as a small entity for tracking purposes,
please so certify to us within thirty (30) days of this NAL,
either in your response to the NAL or in a separate filing
to be sent to the Technical & Public Safety Division. Your
certification should indicate whether you, including your
parent entity and its subsidiaries, meet one of the
definitions set forth in the list provided by the FCC's
Office of Communications Business Opportunities (OCBO) set
forth in Attachment A of this Notice of Apparent Liability.
This information will be used for tracking purposes only.
Your response or failure to respond to this question will
have no effect on your rights and responsibilities pursuant
to Section 503(b) of the Communications Act. If you have
questions regarding any of the information contained in
Attachment A, please contact OCBO at (202) 418-0990.
19. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT a copy of this NAL
shall be sent by regular mail and
Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested to Sinclair
Telecable, Inc., 500 Dominion Tower, 999 Waterside Drive,
Norfolk, Virginia 23410 and to Sinclair Telecable, Inc., 316
Randolph Ave., Cape Charles, Virginia 23310.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Luther Bolden,
Resident Agent, Norfolk Office,
Enforcement Bureau
_________________________
1 47 C.F.R. §§ 73.1125(a) and 73.1201(b).
2 Main Studio and Program Origination Rules, 2 FCC Rcd 3215,
3217-18 (1987), clarified, 3 FCC Rcd 5024, 5026 (1988).
3 Id.
4 Jones Eastern of the Outer Banks, Inc., 6 FCC Rcd 3615,
3616 (1991), clarified, 7 FCC Rcd 6800 (1992).
5 Id., 6 FCC Rcd at 3616, n.2.
6 Id., 7 FCC Rcd at 6802.
7 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 4387-88
(1991).
8 The term ``repeated'' means the commission or omission of
an act more than once or, if such commission or omission is
continuous, for more than one day. 47 U.S.C. § 312(f)(2).
9 47 C.F.R. § 1.80(b)(4).
10 47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(2)(D).
11 47 U.S.C. § 503(b).
12 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311, 1.80.
13 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.