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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
)
Fellowshipworld, Inc. ) File No. EB-FIELDNER-12-00004958
Licensee of Station WFWO )
Facility ID # 172262 )
Medina, New York ) NOV No. V201332400014
)
NOTICE OF VIOLATION
Released: January 3, 2013
By the District Director, Philadelphia Office, Northeast Region,
Enforcement Bureau:
1. This is a Notice of Violation (Notice) issued pursuant to Section 1.89
of the Commission's rules (Rules) to Fellowshipworld, Inc.
(Fellowshipworld), licensee of FM Station WFWO in Medina, New York.
Pursuant to Section 1.89(a) of the Rules, issuance of this NOV does
not preclude the Enforcement Bureau from further action if warranted,
including issuing a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture for
the violations noted herein.
2. On October 18, 2012 and November 15, 2012, an agent of the Enforcement
Bureau's Philadelphia Office monitored and inspected FM Station WFWO
located at 1420 Main Street, Buffalo, New York and observed the
following violations:
a. 47 C.F.R. S: 73.1350(a): "Each licensee is responsible for
maintaining and operating its broadcast station in a manner ... in
accordance with the terms of the station authorization." At the time
of the inspections, Fellowshipworld was operating Station WFWO at
1420 Main Street, Buffalo, New York at the coordinates 42o 54' 44.6"
North Latitude 078o 51' 56.3" West Longitude. The license
BLED-20120724AAB authorizes a transmitter location at the coordinates
43o 14' 33" North Latitude 078o 18' 27" West Longitude. Station WFWO
was operating at a location 36.2 miles (58.3 km) from the location
authorized in its license.
b. 47 C.F.R. 73.1125(a): "...each AM, FM, TV broadcast station shall
maintain a main studio at one of the following location: (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 S: 73.208(a)(1.)" The Commission
has interpreted this rule to require a station to "equip the main
studio with production and transmission facilities that meet
applicable standards, maintain continuous program transmission
capability, and maintain a meaningful management and staff presence."
Specifically, the Commission has found that a main studio "must, at a
minimum, maintain full-time managerial and full-time staff
personnel." At the time of the inspections, the WFWO main studio at
1420 Main Street, Buffalo, New York did not meet any of the three
requirements specified in Sections 73.1125(a)(1), 73.1125(a)(2), or
73.1125(a)(3). Furthermore, at the time of the inspections,
Fellowshipworld did not maintain a full time staff presence at the
WFWO main studio.
c. 47 C.F.R. S: 73.3526(e)(5): "The material to be retained in the
public inspection file is as follows...A copy of the most recent,
complete ownership report filed with the FCC for the station,
together with any statements filed with the FCC certifying that the
current report is accurate, and together with all related material.
These materials shall be retained until a new, complete ownership
report is filed with the FCC, at which time a copy of the new report
and any related materials shall be placed in the file..." At the time
of inspection on November 15, 2012, there was no ownership report in
the public inspection file.
d. 47 C.F.R. S: 73.3526(e)(12): "The material to be retained in the
public inspection file is as follows...For commercial AM and FM radio
broadcast stations, every three months a list of programs that have
provided the station's most significant treatment of community issues
during the preceding three month period. The list for each calendar
quarter is to be filed by the tenth day of the succeeding calendar
quarter (e.g. January 10 for the quarter October-December, April 10
for the quarter January-March, etc.). The list shall include a brief
narrative describing what issues were given significant treatment and
the programming that provided this treatment. The description of the
programs shall include, but shall not be limited to, the time, date,
duration, and title of each program in which the issue was treated.
The lists described in this paragraph shall be retained in the public
inspection file until final action has been taken on the station's
next license renewal application." At the time of inspection on
November 15, 2012, the public inspection file was missing one
Issues-programs listing for the third quarter of 2012.
e. 47 C.F.R. S: 73.1870(b)(3): "The designation of the chief operator
must be in writing with a copy of the designation posted with the
station license. Agreements with chief operators serving on a
contract basis must be in writing with a copy kept in the station
files." At the time of the inspection on November 15, 2012, the chief
operator's designation was not in writing.
f. 47 C.F.R. S: 73.1590(d): "Equipment Performance Measurements. The
data required by paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, together
with a description of the equipment and procedure used in making the
measurements, signed and dated by the qualified person(s) making the
measurements, must be kept on file at the transmitter or remote
control point for a period of 2 years, and on request must be made
available during that time to duly authorized representatives of the
FCC." At the time of the inspection on November 15, 2012,
Fellowshipworld was unable to provide the agent any records of the
equipment performance measurements that were allegedly made when the
station commenced operations in July 2012.
g. 47 C.F.R. S: 11.35(a): "EAS Participants are responsible for ensuring
that EAS Encoders, EAS Decoders, Attention Signal generating and
receiving equipment, and Intermediate Devices used as part of the EAS
to decode and/or encode messages formatted in the EAS Protocol and/or
the Common Alerting Protocol are installed so that the monitoring and
transmitting functions are available during the times the stations
and systems are in operation. Additionally, EAS Participants must
determine the cause of any failure to receive the required tests or
activations specified in S: 11.61(a)(1) and (2). Appropriate entries
indicating reasons why any tests were not received must be made in
the broadcast station log as specified in S:S: 73.1820 and 73.1840 of
this chapter for all broadcast streams...." At the time of the
inspection on November 15, 2012, Fellowshipworld did not have any EAS
equipment installed for Station WFWO.
3. As the nation's emergency warning system, the Emergency Alert System
is critical to public safety, and we recognize the vital role that
broadcasters play in ensuring its success. The Commission takes
seriously any violations of the Rules implementing the EAS and expects
full compliance from its regulatees. We also must investigate
violations of other rules that apply to broadcast licensees. Pursuant
to Section 308(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and
Section 1.89 of the Rules, we seek additional information concerning
the violations and any remedial actions taken. Therefore,
Fellowshipworld must submit a written statement concerning this matter
within twenty (20) days of release of this Notice. The response (i)
must fully explain each violation, including all relevant surrounding
facts and circumstances, (ii) must contain a statement of the specific
action(s) taken to correct each violation and preclude recurrence, and
(iii) must include a time line for completion of any pending
corrective action(s). The response must be complete in itself and must
not be abbreviated by reference to other communications or answers to
other notices.
4. In accordance with Section 1.16 of the Rules, we direct
Fellowshipworld to support its response to this Notice with an
affidavit or declaration under penalty of perjury, signed and dated by
an authorized officer of Fellowshipworld with personal knowledge of
the representations provided in Fellowshipworld's response, verifying
the truth and accuracy of the information therein, and confirming that
all of the information requested by this Notice which is in the
licensee's possession, custody, control, or knowledge has been
produced. To knowingly and willfully make any false statement or
conceal any material fact in reply to this Notice is punishable by
fine or imprisonment under Title 18 of the U.S. Code.
5. All replies and documentation sent in response to this Notice should
be marked with the File No. and NOV No. specified above, and mailed to
the following address:
Federal Communications Commission
Philadelphia Office
One Oxford Valley Building, Suite 404
2300 East Lincoln Highway
Langhorne, Pennsylvania 19047
6. This Notice shall be sent to Fellowshipworld, Inc. at its address of
record.
7. The Privacy Act of 1974 requires that we advise you that the
Commission will use all relevant material information before it,
including any information disclosed in your reply, to determine what,
if any, enforcement action is required to ensure compliance.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
David C. Dombrowski
District Director
Philadelphia District Office
Northeast Region
Enforcement Bureau
47 C.F.R. S: 1.89.
47 C.F.R. S: 1.89(a).
Amendment of Sections 73.1125 and 73.1130 of the Commission's Rules, the
Main Studio and Program Origination Rules for Radio and Television
Broadcast Stations, Memorandum Opinion and Order, 3 FCC Rcd 5024, 5026
(1988) (Main Studio and Program Origination Rules), erratum issued, 3 FCC
Rcd 5717 (1988) (correcting language in n.29).
See Jones Eastern of the Outer Banks, Inc., Memorandum Opinion and Order,
6 FCC Rcd 3615, 3616 & n.2 (1991) (noting that, "This is not to say that
the same staff person and manager must be assigned full-time to the main
studio. Rather, there must be management and staff presence on a full-time
basis during normal business hours to be considered `meaningful.'"),
clarified, 7 FCC Rcd 6800 (1992) (Jones Eastern II). See also Birach
Broadcasting Corporation, Notice of Apparent Liability, 25 FCC Rcd 2635
(Enf. Bur. 2010).
Fellowshipworld filed an ownership report with the Commission on or about
February 7, 2011. See File No. BOS-20110207ADG.
At the time of the inspection, Fellowshipworld was only required to
maintain the Issues/Programs list for the 3rd Quarter of 2012 in the WFWO
public inspection file because it commenced operation of the station on or
about July 24, 2012.
47 U.S.C. S: 308(b).
47 C.F.R. S: 1.89(c).
Section 1.16 of the Commission's Rules provides that "[a]ny document to be
filed with the Federal Communications Commission and which is required by
any law, rule or other regulation of the United States to be supported,
evidenced, established or proved by a written sworn declaration,
verification, certificate, statement, oath or affidavit by the person
making the same, may be supported, evidenced, established or proved by the
unsworn declaration, certification, verification, or statement in writing
of such person . . . . Such declaration shall be subscribed by the
declarant as true under penalty of perjury, and dated, in substantially
the following form . . . : `I declare (or certify, verify, or state) under
penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on
(date). (Signature)'." 47 C.F.R. S: 1.16.
18 U.S.C. S: 1001 et seq. See also 47 C.F.R. S: 1.17.
P.L. 93-579, 5 U.S.C. S: 552a(e)(3).
Federal Communications Commission
2
Federal Communications Commission