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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
)
In the Matter of
)
Davidson Media Station WACM Licensee,
LLC ) File Number EB-06-BS-151
Licensee of Station WACM ) NAL/Acct. No. 200732260004
West Springfield, Massachusetts 01809 ) FRN 0012983367
Facility ID # 60390 )
)
NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE
Released: July 18, 2007
By the District Director of the Boston Office, Northeast Region,
Enforcement Bureau:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture ("NAL"), we find
that Davidson Media Station WACM Licensee, LLC ("Davidson"), licensee
of AM station WACM in West Springfield, Massachusetts, apparently
willfully and repeatedly violated Section 73.3526(e)(12) of the
Commission's Rules ("Rules") by failing to maintain a radio
issues/programs list in the station's public inspection file. We
conclude, pursuant to Section 503(b) of the Communications Act of
1934, as amended ("Act"), that Davidson is apparently liable for a
forfeiture in the amount of four thousand dollars ($4,000).
II. BACKGROUND
2. On November 28, 2006, an agent from the Commission's Boston Office
conducted an inspection at station WACM's main studio at 34 Sylvan
Street in West Springfield, Massachusetts. The agent reviewed the
station's public inspection file and found that the file did not
contain any issues/programs lists.
III. DISCUSSION
3. 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. The term "repeated" means the commission or omission of
such act more than once or for more than one day.
4. Section 73.3526(e)(12) of the Rules provides that commercial AM and FM
broadcast stations must place in their public inspection file, for
each calendar quarter, a radio issues/programs list, which is a list
of programs that have provided the station's most significant
treatment of community issues during the preceding three-month period.
The lists must be retained in the public inspection file until final
action has been taken on the station's next license renewal
application. During the inspection conducted on November 28, 2006, the
agent did not find any issues/programs lists in the public inspection
file. The FCC's Media Bureau took final action on WACM's renewal
application on March 28, 2006 and, therefore, the station's public
inspection file should have included issues/programs lists for the
second and third quarters of 2006. Based on the evidence before us, we
find that Davidson apparently willfully and repeatedly violated
Section 73.3526(e)(12) of the Rules by failing to maintain in its
public inspection file quarterly issues/programs lists concerning the
station's most significant treatment of community issues.
5. Pursuant to The Commission's Forfeiture Policy Statement and Amendment
of Section 1.80 of the Rules to Incorporate the Forfeiture Guidelines,
("Forfeiture Policy Statement"), and Section 1.80 of the Rules, the
base forfeiture amount for violation of the Public Inspection 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)(E) of the Act, which include the nature, circumstances,
extent, and gravity of the violations, 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. Because
WACM's public file was mostly complete, we conclude a reduction in the
base forfeiture amount for the public file violation to $4,000 is
appropriate. Applying the Forfeiture Policy Statement, Section 1.80,
and the statutory factors to the instant case, we conclude that
Davidson is apparently liable for a $4,000 forfeiture.
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to Section 503(b) of the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and Sections 0.111, 0.311, 0.314
and 1.80 of the Commission's Rules, Davidson Media Station WACM License,
LLC is hereby NOTIFIED of this APPARENT LIABILITY FOR A FORFEITURE in the
amount of four thousand dollars ($4,000) for violation of Section
73.3526(e)(12) of the Rules.
6. 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 for Forfeiture, Davidson Media Station
WACM Licensee, LLC. SHALL PAY the full amount of the proposed
forfeiture or SHALL FILE a written statement seeking reduction or
cancellation of the proposed forfeiture.
7. Payment of the forfeiture must be made by check or similar instrument,
payable to the order of the Federal Communications Commission. The
payment must include the NAL/Acct. No. and FRN No. referenced above.
Payment by check or money order may be mailed to Federal
Communications Commission, P.O. Box 358340, Pittsburgh, PA
15251-8340. Payment by overnight mail may be sent to Mellon
Bank /LB 358340, 500 Ross Street, Room 1540670, Pittsburgh, PA
15251. Payment by wire transfer may be made to ABA Number 043000261,
receiving bank Mellon Bank, and account number 911-6106.
8. The response, if any, must be mailed to Federal Communications
Commission, Enforcement Bureau, Northeast Region, Boston Office, 1
Batterymarch Park, Quincy, Massachusetts, 02169 and must include the
NAL/Acct. No. referenced in the caption.
9. 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.
10. Requests for payment of the full amount of this Notice of Apparent
Liability for Forfeiture under an installment plan should be sent to:
Associate Managing Director, Financial Operations, 445 12th Street,
S.W., Room 1A625, Washington, D.C. 20554.8
11. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Notice of Apparent Liability
for Forfeiture shall be sent by Certified Mail, Return Receipt
Requested, and regular mail, to Davidson Media Station WACM Licensee,
LLC at its address of record.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Dennis Loria
District Director
Boston Office
Northeast Region
Enforcement Bureau
47 C.F.R. S: 73.3526(e)(12).
47 U.S.C. S: 503(b).
Section 312(f)(1) of the Act, 47 U.S.C. S: 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 or any rule or regulation of the Commission
authorized by this Act...." See Southern California Broadcasting Co., 6
FCC Rcd 4387 (1991).
Section 312(f)(2) of the Act, 47 U.S.C. S: 312(f)(2), which also applies
to violations for which forfeitures are assessed under Section 503(b) of
the Act, provides that "[t]he 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 C.F.R. S: 73.3526(e)(12).
Section 73.3526(e)(12) provides that the "list for each calendar quarter
is to be filed by the tenth day of the succeeding calendar quarter. . . ."
47 C.F.R. S: 73.3526(e)(12).
12 FCC Rcd 17087 (1997), recon. denied, 15 FCC Rcd 303 (1999); 47 C.F.R.
S:1.80.
47 U.S.C. S: 503(b)(2)(E).
47 U.S.C. S: 503(b), 47 C.F.R. S:S: 0.111, 0.311, 0.314, 1.80,
73.3526(e)(12).
8 See 47 C.F.R. S: 1.1914.
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Federal Communications Commission
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Federal Communications Commission