Question. Ive been in contact with someone that owns an AM station in GA. Its been off air for two years. She reported it off air and hired a sleeze bag consultant that filed an STA saying she rebuilt and is operating at low power on a wire but that's an outright lie but she signed a power of attorney giving him the right to file this. There is no wire and no electric bill for two years. The consultant now has a buyer and ASCAP wants paid fees for the last year operating on an STA that isnt really there. If caught is she in trouble ? The consultants 20k fee comes out of the sale of the station. If she stops the sale he can sue. I contacted her because this same consultant hacked in to my FCC FRN acct and filed some stations amd he did sue me. Cost me an arm and a leg to defend myself.The problem is she has allowed this to go on since Sept. The consultant filed a resumption of operations in Sept.
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- Thread starter AmyMegan
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The broker would have a tough time winning a case if he in fact made false filings with the FCC and the licensee's only transgression was correcting the record.
The FCC enforcement bureau has not ceased operations. The bureau recently began fact-finding proceedings against a station in Birmingham which is accused of being off the air longer than the permissible 1 year and filing false notifications of resumption of operation, after filing for a sale.
Anybody could notify the enforcement bureau at any time that a station is off the air long-term.
Obviously I'm a disc jockey who couldn't make it in the biz, not an attorney.
The FCC enforcement bureau has not ceased operations. The bureau recently began fact-finding proceedings against a station in Birmingham which is accused of being off the air longer than the permissible 1 year and filing false notifications of resumption of operation, after filing for a sale.
Anybody could notify the enforcement bureau at any time that a station is off the air long-term.
Obviously I'm a disc jockey who couldn't make it in the biz, not an attorney.
This is fascinating.... I'm not fully understanding all the details, but it is interesting as I enjoy to try to learn more about radio.
I contacted this person because I saw a sale of a station and the broker I knew had a bad history. The contract had no signatures and was just a donation. So I started researching and found its been off air for two years. Wondered why the owner was filing fake STAs to keep a station alive that she just plans to donate so I contacted her. She seemed responsive at first but then edgy. Basically worried about getting sued so she is going along with this to not get sued. Although i think the FCC can fine the them both of caught but they never catch folks for being off air.
So I have an update. Have researched this station more and I no longer blame it all on the broker although he's not.a favorite of mine. The station is WYTH AM in Madison and it operates on a long wire STA after losing their tower site or having damage the site. Upon further research from djs that used to work there and local businesses , more than one person says the station is completely off air and has been for 10 years. So therefore yes this broker is a creep and a bully but he took on something that was gonna backfire im a big way anyway.
So, I have a generic question. There are a lot of stations that have gone off the air for a year or more due to economics and not a need to relocate the transmitter site or similar situation.
So, among those stations that went silent due to losses, how many came back with a new owner and actually succeeded? I'm curious whether a dead station can be resuscitated into profitability.
I think the FCC's hands are usually tied when the station has been off the air for more than a year due to regulations. I know of one station (outside of a major market) where the primary station has been down for more than 2 years and they are just originating content from their translator (illegal). They have even taken the primary station antenna down. I think if someone complained, I'm sure the license would be cancelled. I don't think the current owner knows (or cares) the rules well enough to realize this.
K
kf4rca
Guest
Amy, saw your post under another thread. The only stations I can get on 1250 are Fort Payne, ALA. and Charleston, SC.
Not an AM and not off the air for a year, but the former WACF 95.1 (Young Harris GA) now WJRB had financial issues. The original owner with fortune 500 management experience had bad advise. The station is doing quite well now.
Thank you for posting this note. I looked up the STA paperwork and will avoid said broker. Meanwhile, thanks to Google Earth and similar platforms it has become much more easy to verify temporary antennae, STA configurations, etc.
I remember WYTH quite well. Madison served as beacon of light for those many nighttime drives between Atlanta and Augusta. The town is home to a historic courthouse.. Per exploregeorgia.org "It has been used as background in a number of television and film projects, including "Goosebumps," "I'll Fly Away," Rob Zombie's "Halloween II," "Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2" and "American Made," starring Tom Cruise.". The WYTH property was close to I-20 so land prices jumped there.
I remember WYTH quite well. Madison served as beacon of light for those many nighttime drives between Atlanta and Augusta. The town is home to a historic courthouse.. Per exploregeorgia.org "It has been used as background in a number of television and film projects, including "Goosebumps," "I'll Fly Away," Rob Zombie's "Halloween II," "Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2" and "American Made," starring Tom Cruise.". The WYTH property was close to I-20 so land prices jumped there.
K
kf4rca
Guest
In defense of consultants, one that I knew, said a lot of AM's don't pay their bills.
Thanks for the shout-out. WACF was a jewel when I got there in 2012. It was billing $900/month.
WNGM Hiawassee (now WJUL) was off the air for six months when I bought it for the cost of scrap.
WIMO in Winder (now WJBB) was billing $100 (courtesy of a guitar shop who thought we were WMOQ in Monroe) and was possibly the worst radio station in the lower 48.
Unless they have some sort of outside cash flow it probably gets worse not better. Upon even more research WYTH AM lost its tower lease in 2008. They moved to a single tower and built.a wire to broadcast on and told the FCC im 2012. They were to rebuild at the original site which they never did. Then in 2019 they filed to go off air and then in 2020 They as back on air at the temp site. Im told though that they went off air around 2008 for 4 or 5 and then in 2016 until now. Now the owner has some fruit loop consultant calling the shots who granted is a moron but she isn't stopping him from filing all this garbage neither is the FCC. As far as they know it's been on a temp tower since 2012 which is a long time.
Thanks. WYTH AM is definitely off air. Now do they sign on one day a year to.stay viable ? That I don't know.
I posted a question about WYTH AM on a local board and got pics and stories from people who grew up listening to stories about their grandparents listening. James Brown was a regular visitor as was Homer Pyle. It's a mess now. I've researched it further and it's been operating at reduced power from a wire since 2012 according to FCC records. According to locals it's been on and off air( mostly off) since 2008. I think it might be a case of it signing on for a few days every year to keep the license alive. Supposedly they transmitter was at the studio which is now gone. It had a pending sale to Livingston fulton but that.was dismissed.
WKVL in Knoxville TN on 850 and WMYL (AM)-670, Sweetwater TN lost their tower site a few years ago. WKVL was 50,000 watts mostly directional southeast. It was bought by the existing operator of WGAP-1400 and WLOD-1140 after exactly a year, but with 1000 watts diplexed off of WGAP's tower and feeding a translator. They're doing a brokered sports format. WMYL never came back on, but has an FM that serves Sweetwater, a religious AM and an FM in far-suburban Knoxville
When will the WJBB translator be on the new CP? Last time I tried to tune into 107.1 I still got the WTSH La Raza signal out of Rome.
Radio is a fascinating thing, really.
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