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FCC Invetigating WCKL Silence License May Be at Risk

M

MHVRadiofan

Once again I am visiting the Catskill area now that the nice weather is here. For the past three weeks I, as long as I have been coming up here I noticed WCKL has been silent. I know their license is up for renewal next month , it is still listed as accepted for filing .I checked the correspondence folder and apparently someone else noticed and reported it to the FCC. I found this : reference to expiration date was blank and in the correspondence folder was this;

http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getimportletter_exh.cgi?import_letter_id=49486.

Apparently someone has reported to the FCC that WCKL was silent. Now the FCC wants an explanation within 30 days of the May 22 notification or there will be adverse actions jeopardizing the stations license and call letters. Tim Alan is listed as contact person ??.
 
I'm curious, by silence do you mean a silent carrier or no carrier at all?

R
 
Currently there is no carrier at all. 560 WCKL is off the air completely. That is what the FCC refers to as silent . However, last summer for days and at times over a week WCKL was transmitting a dead carrier. One of a long list of violations.
 
WCKL remains silent this morning. I re-checked the FCC data base and the stations license expires today June 1, 2014 . Family Broadcasting applied for renewal back in March , but perhaps due to the FCC’s issues with Brian Dodge it remains in ‘Accepted for filing’ limbo.
With 3 weeks left to respond to the FCC inquiry about the stations silence ,which I have noted for 3 weeks, although it has possibly been longer, it will be interesting to see Dodge try to wiggle out of this at the last moment.
I would not be surprised to see him spin a yarn about loosing his transmitter site. While technically true it has been over a year, and he would have to explain where he was transmitting intermittingly from in the mean time. Unless he lies and says it happened recently. >*sarcasm alert> He wouldn’t do that would he ?

I wonder how long that can go in. Can he legally broadcast if he choses in the interim ?
 
So, if he gets in trouble with the commission, will this place his translators in jeopardy? FCC wise, there isn't much worse than "Lack of Candor".
 
jry said:
So, if he gets in trouble with the commission, will this place his translators in jeopardy? FCC wise, there isn't much worse than "Lack of Candor".
Click to expand...

There's three stations in Michigan that have been silent for a long time:
A graveyard AM that hasn't been on since 2010 (at least I haven't heard it on, I've been away at school, so it may have signed on briefly while I was gone)
Two 50kW FMs in a rated market that haven't been on since late 2012/early 2013 (at least I haven't heard them on, I've been away at school, so they may have signed on briefly while I was gone)
These stations are co-owned and several years ago, a sister station had its CP pulled.
 
Your time is up......
The required maximum thirty days response time has now passed since the May 22 notice to WCKL to explain their current operation status. There has not yet been anything on the FCC website about the response. So...did they or didn't they respond, and if so what did they say? It will be interesting to see what happens now.
 
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