FCC License Revocations?

[seattlesarchiebunker]

Was reading about Gene Scott and his runaround with the FCC. Eventually, his licenses for TV in LA/SF along with KHOF were revoked.

In the 70’s-80’s, it appears the FCC was far more active in stripping licenses from folks. Some of that was political/activist pressure, some of it was stricter regulation.

Question I want to know is has someone gathered up a list of stations who have had their license pulled while still broadcasting (not for going dark)? Every station I have heard with a license revocation has been a fascinating story.

I am aware of WMJX Miami, KHOF LA, WXUR Philly, and the Rice stations (including WZZQ/WBOW Terre Haute). And WNEV-TV Boston. That’s really all I can think of...

Any other good ones I’ve missed?

 

[TheBigA]

In the 70’s-80’s, it appears the FCC was far more active in stripping licenses from folks. Some of that was political/activist pressure, some of it was stricter regulation.

Probably the biggest was RKO General in 1983:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RKO_General

But it was also around that time that the Reagan administration started to cut back on regulations as an attempt to make the government smaller. The FCC gets a lot of criticism for deregulation, but the other side of that discussion is that regulations cost money to enforce. If you have a government trying to cut taxes, the way to do that is to cut regulations. That's what Reagan wanted to do, and that continues to the present day.

 

[rfburns]

Here's one that gained a lot of attention in the late 60's:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WLBT

 

[Sammi Brie]

Here are several:

• KIKX Tucson, Arizona, where a hoax kidnapping to promote the station's radio show led to a years-long revocation battle (8 and a half years).

• KDUS/KUPD in Phoenix, Arizona (unauthorized transfer of control) which was hardly noticeable because the new licensee was the stations' former owner and bought their assets.

• The Gila Broadcasting network in Arizona of five AMs and one FM, which opted to shutter in the middle of the hearings because it was losing staff because of the uncertainty. The thrust of the hearing was unauthorized transfer of control.

• One of the earliest examples was KGEF in southern California, owned by Robert P. Shuler.

• WPST Miami, for ex parte bribing of an FCC commissioner; the replacement station signed on the day after the old one folded.

 

[davideduardo]

Add in:

Rev. Norris AM, FM and Short Wave in Red Lion, PA. The famous Farness Doctrine case, ending in license loss.(WGCB)

Don Burden's Star group of Portland, Indianapolis, Omaha and Denver. Ex-parte contacts with congressmen and bribing of them, too. Lost all his licenses (KISN, KBTR; KOIL, WIFE)

There was one in a rural South Carolina location called Kingstree that was lost due to obscene / suggestive / profane content in the morning show. I believe it was a daytimer on 1310, WDKD.

Richard Eaton's WOOK AM in Washington, DC. Ran hidden lottery numbers in fake bible verse numbers.

WFAB, Miami. Also Richard Eaton. Double billing and other irregularities found when there was a deeper investigation.

KRLA Pasadena: foreign ownership against the rules discovered.

 

[dumber than a box of hair]

Wasn’t there a revocation action against a south Florida station due to a rigged contest?

 

[Sammi Brie]

While searching for examples, I learned of, and wrote a Wikipedia article about, this one in Chicago...

 

[davideduardo]

Wasn’t there a revocation action against a south Florida station due to a rigged contest?

The OP mentioned this... WMJX in Miami which lost its license due to a contest to "find" a "missing" DJ who was actually not even in the station service area at the time.

 

[gr8oldies]

WDRK, Greenville, OH though I don't know all the issues.

 

[gr8oldies]

This DJ was apparently one Chuck Williams/Greg Austin/Chuck McKay, who you may remember from a certain drunken meltdown aircheck from CKLW that has made the rounds

The OP mentioned this... WMJX in Miami which lost its license due to a contest to "find" a "missing" DJ who was actually not even in the station service area at the time.

 

[Kelly A]

The OP mentioned this... WMJX in Miami which lost its license due to a contest to "find" a "missing" DJ who was actually not even in the station service area at the time.

That's interesting. Was the claim that the 'missing DJ' was in the service area? Reason for asking.. I worked at a station in the 70's/early 80's that sent their morning guy missing. He called in with daily clues with the grand prize being his and her Porsche's and an expense-paid trip where the morning guy was missing. I can't recall where the Jock ended up being; but it sure wasn't within the service area.

 

[gr8oldies]

No, the personality was lost in the something Triangle (not Bermuda, they made something up). The Coast Guard went looking and that didn't help their license situation

That's interesting. Was the claim that the 'missing DJ' was in the service area? Reason for asking.. I worked at a station in the 70's/early 80's that sent their morning guy missing. He called in with daily clues with the grand prize being his and her Porsche's and an expense-paid trip where the morning guy was missing. I can't recall where the Jock ended up being; but it sure wasn't within the service area.

 

[KeithE4]

WHDH-TV Channel 5 Boston lost its license in March 1972 due to a long battle with the FCC, accused of improprieties by the Boston Herald-Traveler newspaper in obtaining its license. It never had a license for longer than six months, from sign-on in 1957 until final sign-off in 1972 in favor of WCVB-TV.

WBOW radio (1230, later 640 kHz) & WBOQ 107.5 Terre Haute IN, along with co-owned stations in Missouri, were shut down by the FCC in 2001, due to the felony sexual abuse of childern conviction of the owner in 1994.

 

[seattlesarchiebunker]

Did some more looking up into WDKD in South Carolina. A morning man by the name Charlie Walker (generally speaking) is to blame. He claimed the excrement from all the animals on Noah’s Ark was washed off...and that’s how they created the nearby town of Lake City! Considering Lake City, SC is maybe 30 minutes away, not far enough to avoid angry folks in the listening area.

It was opined that WDKD lost its license because it was a “white” station who sold airtime to black preachers. Definitely a no-no in early 60’s SC. That was not the official reason, though. Charlie Walker’s repeated non sequiturs apparently violated “community standards for decency”. Light stuff by today’s standards if you ask me.

Best part of the story is after WDKD returns from its license revocation (I’m assuming the station never went dark as it’s a first local service), Charlie Walker returns to do mornings. Afterwards, he was not allowed to run the board or anything related to the FCC (doubt they renewed his 3rd class after this). All in all, he spent about 60 years on the radio...over 50 at WDKD/WDKT!

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

Probably the biggest was RKO General in 1983:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RKO_General

But it was also around that time that the Reagan administration started to cut back on regulations as an attempt to make the government smaller. The FCC gets a lot of criticism for deregulation, but the other side of that discussion is that regulations cost money to enforce. If you have a government trying to cut taxes, the way to do that is to cut regulations. That's what Reagan wanted to do, and that continues to the present day.

KHJ-TV Los Angeles was the most notable one was when Fidelity Television was in dispute with RKO General and the FCC over its City of License in Norwalk until Disney took over KHJ-TV 9 and renamed it KCAL9 in 1989.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

The Biggest FCC license dispute in the past decade would be Entercom's handling over KDND-FM Sacramento. Initially the issue was over how the 2007 Entercom Sacramento management failed to stop the "Hold Your Wii" incident with its then talent. But that later became a dispute over Ed Stolz trying to get stations in Sacramento and the delay of the CBS Radio/Entercom deal until Entercom divested stations in Sacramento and San Francisco radio markets and handed KDND-FM back to the FCC in 2017 though.

 

[anotherguyTN]

WHBQ 13 in Memphis was one of the RKO stations whose license was revoked and was sold to Fox in 1995. Since then it was sold to Cox and is now in the process of bei8ng sold to Apollo.

 

[TheBigA]

Entercom divested stations in Sacramento and San Francisco radio markets and handed KDND-FM back to the FCC in 2017 though.

The only station involved was KDND. The other stations divested were completely unrelated to that situation.

I was very surprised when this case was revived after it had already been settled. This may be the only case like this in the last 20 years.

 

[dumber than a box of hair]

The OP mentioned this... WMJX in Miami which lost its license due to a contest to "find" a "missing" DJ who was actually not even in the station service area at the time.

I also seem to recall that the dishonesty was unmasked by a station employee who, while in a stall in the men’s bathroom, overheard two managers discussing it.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

The only station involved was KDND. The other stations divested were completely unrelated to that situation.

I was very surprised when this case was revived after it had already been settled. This may be the only case like this in the last 20 years.

The crazy part is that when KDND-FM was handed back to the FCC other stations that Entercom had to divest was for the CBS Radio deal. It's two unrelated events within Entercom that happen to take place at the same time though.