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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of ) File Number EB-02-DL-295
)
Citadel Broadcasting Company ) NAL/Acct. No.200432500004
Licensee of KSYY in Kingfisher, )
Oklahoma ) FRN 0001-5952-14
)
Las Vegas, Nevada )
NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE
Released: March 8, 2004
By the Enforcement Bureau, Dallas Office:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for
Forfeiture (``NAL''), we find Citadel Broadcasting Company
(``Citadel''), licensee of radio station KSYY(FM),
Kingfisher, Oklahoma, apparently liable for a forfeiture in
the amount of nine thousand dollars ($9,000) for willful and
repeated violation of Sections 73.1125(a) and 73.3526(c)(1)
of the Commission's Rules (``Rules'').1 Specifically, we
find Citadel Broadcasting Company apparently liable for
failing to maintain a presence at the station's main studio
and failing to make available for inspection all of the
required material in the station's public inspection file.
II. BACKGROUND
2. On June 6, 2002, the FCC Enforcement Bureau's
Dallas Field Office (``Dallas Office'') received a complaint
alleging radio station KLGH2 failed to keep the public file
up to date, failed to log EAS broadcasts, failed to
originate EAS weekly tests, and failed to staff its main
studio during normal business hours.
3. On the morning of February 20, 2003, an agent of
the Dallas Office attempted an inspection of station KSYY's
main studio on Britton Road in Oklahoma City during regular
business hours. The agent found no staff at the main
studio.
4. On February 21, 2003, an agent of the Dallas
Office inspected the public inspection file at KSYY's main
studio on Britton Road during regular business hours. The
file was missing the last three quarterly programming and
issues lists and the most recent ownership report. The
transfer of ownership had been consummated approximately
five months before the inspection. Managerial staff offices
were located on NW 64th Street in Oklahoma City, over four
miles away from the main studio and located outside of all
authorized areas specified in Section 73.1125(a) for the
location of a main studio. No management personnel worked
at the Britton Road main studio.
5. On the morning of August 21, 2003, an agent from
the Dallas Office attempted an inspection of the public
inspection file at KSYY's main studio on Britton Road.
There was no one at the main studio. Managerial staff
traveled from their offices four miles away to provide
access to the file. The public inspection file was missing
completed Programming and Issues lists for the last five
quarters. The file did contain documentation for a program,
``Kingfisher Today'' covering the period October 27, 2002
through May 11, 2003 which was not reduced to list form and
was not maintained in quarterly segments of the year. The
station's general manager stated that the station had
considered applying for a waiver to move the main studio
from the Britton Road location to their offices on NW 64th
Street.
III. DISCUSSION
6. 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 addition, the station's main studio must
serve the needs and interests of the residents of the
station's community of license.3 To fulfill this function,
a station must, among other things, maintain a meaningful
presence at its main studio.4 The Commission has defined a
minimally acceptable ``meaningful presence'' as full-time
managerial and full-time staff personnel.5 In addition,
there must be ``managerial and staff presence'' on a full-
time basis during normal business hours to be considered
``meaningful.''6 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.''7 On February 20, 2003 and August
21, 2003, the KSYY main studio was not staffed during normal
business hours and management personnel offices were over
four miles away at a location outside any of the areas
permitted for the main studio by section 73.1125(a).
7. Section 73.3526(a)(2) of the Rules8 states that
every permittee or licensee of an AM, FM, TV, or Class A TV
station in the commercial broadcast services shall maintain
a public inspection file containing the material, relating
to that station, described in paragraphs (e)(1) through
(e)(10) and paragraph (e)(13) of this section.
Additionally, every permittee or licensee of an AM, or FM
station shall maintain for public inspection a file
containing the material, relating to that station, described
in paragraphs (e)(12) and (e)(14) of this section. Section
73.3526(b) of the Rules9 requires the public inspection file
be maintained at the station's main studio. Section
73.3526(c)(1) of the Rules requires the file be available
for public inspection at any time during regular business
hours. On February 21, 2003, an inspection of station
KSYY's public inspection file revealed that required
material was missing including the most recent ownership
report and three quarterly Issues and Programs Lists. On
August 21, 2003, an inspection of KSYY's public inspection
file revealed that required material was missing including
five quarterly issues and programs lists.
8. Based on the evidence before us, we find Citadel
willfully10 and repeatedly11 violated Sections 73.1125(a)
and 73.3526(c)(1) of the Rules by failing to maintain a
presence at the station's main studio and failing to make
available for inspection all required material in the
station's public inspection file.
9. Pursuant to Section 1.80(b)(4) of the Rules,12 the
base forfeiture amount for violation of the main studio rule
is $7,000, and the base forfeiture amount for violation of
the public file rules is $10,000. 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.13
Because the station maintained a portion of the required
items in the public inspection file, a downward adjustment
of the base forfeiture for that violation from $10,000 to
$2,000 is warranted. Considering the entire record and
applying the factors listed above, this case warrants a
$9,000 forfeiture.
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
10. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED THAT, pursuant to
Section 503(b) of the Act,14 and Sections 0.111, 0.311 and
1.80 of the Rules,15 Citadel Broadcasting Company is hereby
NOTIFIED of this APPARENT LIABILITY FOR A FORFEITURE in the
amount of nine thousand dollars ($9,000) for willful and
repeated violation of Sections 73.1125(a) and 73.3526(c)(1)
of the Rules by failing to maintain a presence at the
station's main studio and failing to make available for
inspection all required material in the station's public
inspection file.
11. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section
1.80 of the Rules, within thirty days of the release date of
this NAL, Citadel Broadcasting Company SHALL PAY the full
amount of the proposed forfeiture or SHALL FILE a written
statement seeking reduction or cancellation of the proposed
forfeiture.
12. 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. 20554.16
13. 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-
Spectrum Enforcement Division and MUST INCLUDE THE NAL/Acct.
No. referenced above.
14. 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.
15. 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 Spectrum
Enforcement 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.
16. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT a copy of this NAL
shall be sent by regular mail and Certified Mail Return
Receipt Requested to Citadel Broadcasting Company, 7201 W.
Lake Mead Boulevard, Suite 400, Las Vegas, Nevada 89128.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
James D. Wells
District Director, Dallas Office,
Enforcement Bureau
Attachment
_________________________
1 47 C.F.R. §§ 73.1125(a) & 73.3526(c)(1).
2 KLGH subsequently changed call sign to WWLF-FM and then to
KSYY.
3 See Main Studio and Program Origination Rules, 2 FCC Rcd
3215, 3217-18 (1987), clarified, 3 FCC Rcd 5024, 5026
(1988).
4 Id.
5 Jones Eastern of the Outer Banks, Inc., 6 FCC Rcd 3615,
3616 (1991), clarified, 7 FCC Rcd 6800 (1992).
6 Id., 6 FCC Rcd at 3616, n.2.
7 Id., 7 FCC Rcd at 6802.
8 47 C.F.R. § 73.3526(a)(2).
9 47 C.F.R. § 73.3526(b).
10 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).
11 The term ``repeated,'' when used with reference to the
commission or omission of any act, ``means the commission or
omission of such act more than once or, if such commission
or omission is continuous, for more than one day.'' 47
U.S.C. § 312(f)(2).
12 47 C.F.R. § 1.80(b)(4).
13 47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(2)(D).
14 47 U.S.C. § 503(b).
15 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311, 1.80.
16 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.