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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
)
In the Matter of ) File No.: EB-11-DL-0014
The L.R. Radio Group, Inc. ) NAL/Acct. No.: 201232500004
Licensee of Station KPIR ) FRN: 0018390310
Granbury, Texas ) Facility ID No.: 30195
)
FORFEITURE ORDER
Adopted: September 26, 2012 Released: September 26, 2012
By the Regional Director, South Central Region, Enforcement Bureau:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Forfeiture Order (Order), we issue a monetary forfeiture in
the amount of eight thousand dollars ($8,000) to The L.R. Radio Group,
Inc. (L&R), licensee of Station KPIR, in Granbury, Texas, for willful
violation of Section 73.3526 of the Commission's rules (Rules). The
noted violation involved L&R's failure to make available a complete
public inspection file.
II. BACKGROUND
2. On February 7, 2012, the Enforcement Bureau's Dallas Office (Dallas
Office) issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture and Order
(NAL) to L&R for its failure to maintain and make available a
complete public inspection file. L&R submitted a response to the NAL
requesting cancellation or reduction of the proposed $10,000
forfeiture, because the "public file was, in fact present at the KPIR
main studio throughout the brief inspection, and the assertion that it
was not was based upon misunderstanding and lack of communication."
L&R also requests reduction of the forfeiture because Station KPIR
allegedly has a history of compliance with the rules.
III. DISCUSSION
3. The proposed forfeiture amount in this case was assessed in accordance
with Section 503(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended
(Act), Section 1.80 of the Rules, and the Forfeiture Policy Statement.
In examining L&R's response, Section 503(b)(2)(E) of the Act requires
that the Commission 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. As
discussed below, we have considered L&R's response in light of these
statutory factors, and find that a reduction of the forfeiture based
on its history of compliance is justified.
4. We find that the evidence supports the Bureau's findings that L&R
failed to make available a complete public inspection file at Station
KPIR's main studio on May 17, 2011. It is undisputed that on May 17,
2011, an agent from the Dallas Office requested to inspect the
Station's public inspection file and did not find, among other things,
any issues programs lists. L&R, however, asserts that it did make its
public inspection file available, but due to several contributing
factors - (1) a language barrier; (2) the brevity of the inspection;
and (3) insufficient main studio staffing - the agent did not find the
missing documents, which it alleges were located in the bottom drawer
of the a cabinet. According to the agent's contemporaneous notes, at
the conclusion of the public inspection file and Emergency Alert
System (EAS) inspections, the agent asked the Station president
whether there was anything else in the file. The Station president
replied that he had recently acquired the Station and did not know the
whereabouts of the missing information.
5. Based on the evidence described above, we find the Station president
had a clear and sufficient opportunity to make the public inspection
file available during the inspection, but failed to do so. We are not
persuaded by L&R's asserted excuses for its failure to provide the
agent with a complete copy of the file. Indeed, L&R still has not
provided any physical evidence that its issues programs lists exist in
the first place, having failed to provide copies either after the
inspection or as an attachment to the NAL Response. In any event, even
if the lists existed at the time of the inspection, the licensee must
make the public inspection file available; it is not the agent's
responsibility to search the station to locate the station's public
inspection file. Thus, based on the preponderance of the evidence
before us, we find that L&R willfully failed to make available a
complete public inspection file in violation of Section 73.3526 of the
Rules.
6. We do, however, agree with L&R that we should reduce the forfeiture to
reflect its history of compliance with the Commission's rules. We
conclude that a reduction in forfeiture in the amount of $2,000 is
warranted. Accordingly, pursuant to Section 503(b) of the Act, and in
conjunction with the Forfeiture Policy Statement, we reduce the
forfeiture to $8,000, based on L&R's history of compliance with the
Commission's rules.
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
7. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to Section 503(b) of the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and Sections 0.111, 0.204,
0.311, 0.314, and 1.80(f)(4) of the Commission's rules, The L.R. Radio
Group, Inc. IS LIABLE FOR A MONETARY FORFEITURE in the amount of eight
thousand dollars ($8,000) for violation of Section 73.3526 of the
Commission's rules.
8. Payment of the forfeiture shall be made in the manner provided for in
Section 1.80 of the Rules within thirty (30) calendar days after the
release date of this Forfeiture Order. If the forfeiture is not paid
within the period specified, the case may be referred to the U.S.
Department of Justice for enforcement of the forfeiture pursuant to
Section 504(a) of the Act. The L.R. Radio Group, Inc. shall send
electronic notification of payment to SCR-Response@fcc.gov on the date
said payment is made. The payment must be made by check or similar
instrument, wire transfer, or credit card, and must include the
NAL/Account number and FRN referenced above. Regardless of the form of
payment, a completed FCC Form 159 (Remittance Advice) must be
submitted. When completing the FCC Form 159, enter the Account Number
in block number 23A (call sign/other ID) and enter the letters "FORF"
in block number 24A (payment type code). Below are additional
instructions you should follow based on the form of payment you
select:
* Payment by check or money order must be made payable to the order of
the Federal Communications Commission. Such payments (along with the
completed Form 159) must be mailed to Federal Communications
Commission, P.O. Box 979088, St. Louis, MO 63197-9000, or sent
via overnight mail to U.S. Bank - Government Lockbox #979088,
SL-MO-C2-GL, 1005 Convention Plaza, St. Louis, MO 63101.
* Payment by wire transfer must be made to ABA Number 021030004,
receiving bank TREAS/NYC, and Account Number 27000001. To complete
the wire transfer and ensure appropriate crediting of the wired funds,
a completed Form 159 must be faxed to U.S. Bank at (314) 418-4232 on
the same business day the wire transfer is initiated.
* Payment by credit card must be made by providing the required credit
card information on FCC Form 159 and signing and dating the Form 159
to authorize the credit card payment. The completed Form 159 must then
be mailed to Federal Communications Commission, P.O. Box 979088, St.
Louis, MO 63197-9000, or sent via overnight mail to U.S. Bank -
Government Lockbox #979088, SL-MO-C2-GL, 1005 Convention Plaza, St.
Louis, MO 63101.
9. Any request for full payment under an installment plan should be sent
to: Chief Financial Officer-Financial Operations, Federal
Communications Commission, 445 12th Street, S.W., Room 1-A625,
Washington, D.C. 20554. If you have questions regarding payment
procedures, please contact the Financial Operations Group Help Desk by
phone, 1-877-480-3201, or by e-mail, ARINQUIRIES@fcc.gov.
10. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Order shall be sent by both
First Class and Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested, to The L.R.
Radio Group, Inc. at 1620 Weatherford Highway, Granbury, Texas 76048
and to its counsel, Anne Goodwin Crump, Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth,
1300 North 17th Street, 11th Floor, Arlington, VA 22209.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Dennis P. Carlton
Regional Director, South Central Region
Enforcement Bureau
47 C.F.R. S: 73.3526.
The L.R. Radio Group, Inc., Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture
and Order, 2X FCC Rcd XX (Enf. Bur. 2012) (NAL). A comprehensive
recitation of the facts and history of this case can be found in the NAL
and is incorporated herein by reference.
Letter from Anne Goodwin Crump, Counsel for The L.R. Radio Group, Inc., to
the Dallas Office at 1 (Mar. 7, 2012) (on file in EB-11-DL-0014) (NAL
Response).
Id. at 3.
47 U.S.C. S: 503(b).
47 C.F.R. S: 1.80.
The Commission's Forfeiture Policy Statement and Amendment of Section 1.80
of the Rules to Incorporate the Forfeiture Guidelines, Report and Order,
12 FCC Rcd 17087 (1997), recons. denied, 15 FCC Rcd 303 (1999) (Forfeiture
Policy Statement).
47 U.S.C. S: 503(b)(2)(E).
L&R states that it maintained all of the required issues programs lists,
the contour map, and a 2009 ownership report in the bottom drawer of a
file cabinet. L&R admits that its public inspection file was missing "The
Public and Broadcasting" and the most recent ownership report. NAL
Response at 2.
According to the agent's recollections, which are supported by a
seven-page inspection checklist, the public inspection file and EAS
portions of the inspection took at least 15 minutes each, as opposed to
the 10 minute total overall inspection time described by L&R.
L&R states that when the agent arrived at the main studio it was staffed
by only the Station president, who "at that moment ... had no one to help
him with both a live, on-air show and the FCC inspector." NAL Response at
2. L&R's failure to have adequate staff presence at its main studio, for
whatever reason, does not warrant mitigation of the forfeiture. The
Commission has explained that a station must "maintain a meaningful
management and staff presence" at its main studio. Main Studio and Program
Origination Rules, Memorandum Opinion and Order, 3 FCC Rcd 5024, 5026
(1988). The Commission has defined a minimally acceptable "meaningful
presence" as full-time managerial and full-time staff personnel. Jones
Eastern of the Outer Banks, Inc., Memorandum Opinion and Order, 6 FCC Rcd
3615, 3616 (1991), clarified, 7 FCC Rcd 6800 (1992). Although the NAL did
not propose a forfeiture based on L&R's lack of a staff person at the main
studio, we caution the licensee that future failures to maintain a
meaningful presence of both management and staff may result in monetary
penalties.
NAL Response at 2.
By this point of the inspection, the Station president had stepped out of
the studio and was no longer on the air.
We caution L&R that it could be subject to more severe forfeiture
penalties if a subsequent FCC inspection encounters similar difficulties
or determines that L&R has not properly maintained its issues programs
lists.
See, e.g., Taylor Communications, Inc., Forfeiture Order, 26 FCC Rcd 12885
(Enf. Bur. 2011) (licensee, who was unable to locate station's public
inspection file, held liable for willfully failing to make available
public inspection file); Media East, LLC, Forfeiture Order, 26 FCC Rcd
7618 (Enf. Bur. 2011) (same).
Because we conclude L&R failed to make a complete public inspection file
available, we need not address whether L&R willfully and repeatedly failed
to maintain a complete public inspection file. The Enforcement Bureau has
issued forfeitures in the amount of $10,000 for failing to make available
a complete public inspection file. See, e.g., Media East, LLC, Forfeiture
Order, 26 FCC Rcd 7618 (Enf. Bur. 2011); 127, Inc., Memorandum Opinion and
Order, 22 FCC Rcd 3801 (Enf. Bur. 2007) (upholding finding that station
willfully failed to make available a complete public inspection file).
47 U.S.C. S: 503(b).
47 U.S.C. S: 503(b); 47 C.F.R. S:S: 0.111, 0.204, 0.311, 0.314,
1.80(f)(4), 73.3526.
47 C.F.R. S: 1.80.
47 U.S.C. S: 504(a).
An FCC Form 159 and detailed instructions for completing the form may be
obtained at http://www.fcc.gov/Forms/Form159/159.pdf.
See 47 C.F.R. S: 1.1914.
Federal Communications Commission DA 12-1537
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Federal Communications Commission DA 12-1537