HRN's WZGM Gets Costly FCC Visit...

[eacalhoun1]

HRN Broadcasting's 1350 WZGM, Black Mountain has been fined $11,200. They were running 8kw nights (should be 56 watts) and the public file was at the corporate office (is this Lincolnton?) over 70 miles away from Black Mountain. I got this story from today's Radio Journal, formerly M Street Journal.

Some points...I think the FCC no longer requires the public file to be in the COL, but exactly where CAN it be and where can it NOT be--apparently it cannot be 70 miles from the COL, according to this "Notice of Apparent Liability". If it can be at the studio location(which is often NOT in the COL), what if--in this case--WZGM's studio was in Lincolnton? If it was a part of a simulcasted network, then it could very well be. BTW, I am NOT defending HRN...I think they've "screwed" with WZGM's format waaaay too much. What's it been...6 formats in 4 years, or something like that? And, where exactly is WZGM's studio now? They were in downtown Asheville during their first--and only--year of talk about 4 years ago.

Eric

 

[XTalker]

I believe the public file rule is 35 miles from center of COL.

 

[Art Sutton]

I believe the public file rule is 35 miles from center of COL.

The public file must be maintained in the city of license. The main studio must be within the city grade contour of the station or no more than 25 miles of the city of license. The studio must have at least one full time employee.

 

[XTalker]

You are correct, sir. Public file can be in a grocery store as long as it is in the COL. Look for studio rules to be relaxed!

 

[Mike Sheridan]

Didn't stations start keeping their public file at the local library? That seems reasonable and makes the most sense to me.

 

[Z-100]

This is a prime example of what happens when you have non-radio people as GMs! Nothing personally against them, but these things come up, and they just do not know any better. Just another part of where the business has ended up! There are dozens of veterans out of business now that should be in this position! We need not even address the reason why they have been forced out. I am suprised this type situation hasn't popped up more. We sure hear the result of it on the air!

 

[NewsNow]

If the FCC examined every station tomorrow, the fines would be in the millions by Monday.

There's a station near where I live that persistantly has tower lights non-functioning, and every time they examine the public file, it's either gone, located in the wrong place, or not in proper order. The station's first line of defense has consistently been that nobody at the main studio can speak english. When addressed in Spanish, they just played mute until a file could be cobbled together.

Other places I've lived, there were stations sold to illegal aliens, and I imagine that's got to be a big issue that's not being addressed.

 

[Z-100]

The broadcast business is another facet of our messed up society. A constant, never ending dumbing down. Trade anything for saving money..or getting something for nothing! Stations at night like morgues. This is another prime example. It's a shame! The fact that many solid radio vets aren't wanted anymore is what annoys me. "Oh, we might have to pay em"! I can list 20 people in a 50 mile radius with decades in the business that would love to come in a professionally operate many of these stations now circling the drain.

 

[jtudor]

The broadcast business is another facet of our messed up society. A constant, never ending dumbing down. Trade anything for saving money..or getting something for nothing!

Yep you are most correct here sir! the dumbing down started way back in the '70s when the FCC started relaxing financial rules in the name of allowing more minority ownership of stations. If my aging memory serves me correctly, at one time the rules mandated that a buyer for a station had to have enough capital on hand to buy the station and operate it for 12 months. That was relaxed to 6 months, then to 3 months, finally to no operating capital. All was in the name of more minority ownership.

In retrospect what did that accomplish? Many stations were bought by minority owners, some were real, some were only fronts for others who wanted to take advantage of the minority breaks. Most of those stations now have been sold to others who are not members of any minority group, or some have gone dark. That policy did not help any minority groups, it only hurt them. As I have said on other similar topics, it does nobody any good to lower the standards to accommodate those who cannot meet them, a better idea would be to raise the level of that group to help them meet the existing standard. Most of these standards were put there for a good reason, not to be discriminatory.

/soapbox mode off

 

[Z-100]

Jtudor....I agree 100%!! Right on the money. One thing that grips my %$* is these stations have a person with no knowledge of the radio business at all....in the GM position! I'll mention no names-- This is total nonsense, AND the reason these situations come up! We see many, many qualified radio vets sitting on the bench, or forced into other lines of work.

 

[93Q]

How true! I have over 25 years in the business. Why should I have to get a job at Walmart or the gas station, while this person with no radio experience has the damn job??

 

[fortmill]

OMG, WZGM's problems have zero, absolutely nothing, to do with efforts to foster minority ownership of broadcast stations in the 70's!!!! How could anybody make such a connection? I believe WZGM's ownership and management is lilly white, and the fact is they chose to violate FCC rules. It does not take too much experience, or intelligence, to know you cannot run a daytime station during nighttime hours with daytime power.

 

[XTalker]

The GM that lets that happen should be fired! First goal of the GM should be "protect the license"!

 

[ncradioeng]

It's a result of automating everything and not checking on it daily. My guess is the remote control locked up (or the clock got off time) and as a result, the transmitter was not powering down. Nobody was taking transmitter readings so they had no clue what was going on. This has happened before and it will happen again. Been there, seen it happening.

 

[93Q]

The GM has no business being a GM to start. He has zero experience in the radio business. The radio veteran sitting over selling used cars should be in there!!!! There is no sense in it! 30 years ago, it would not happen!

 

[jtudor]

OMG, WZGM's problems have zero, absolutely nothing, to do with efforts to foster minority ownership of broadcast stations in the 70's!!!! How could anybody make such a connection?

fortmill, please pay attention: nobody ever said that WZGM's problems were related to minority ownership. Please read all the posts.

What the connection comes from is that the dumbing down of the FCC rules started with the efforts to promote minority ownership and has continued into almost no regulation at all. It is the relaxation of so many rules that has allowed people with no previous radio experience to become general managers, while others (like me) with over 30 years of radio experience are in other professions now.

Because of the dumbing down of the rules, way too many great radio professionals are no longer in the business, and most radio is just terrible or is little more than a jukebox with commercials today. You have to hunt far and wide these days to find a quality radio station today, one that is involved in the community, and is truly concerned about entertaining and informing its listeners. They exist, but they are so few and far between that it is far from funny.

Most owners today have forgotten that the primary rule of broadcasting is that the station is licensed to operate in the public interest and is to serve the public. The station is allowed to sell commercials to support itself, and is allowed to make a profit to encourage investment. A license is not a permit to print money and run the station for the stockholders despite the fact that most stations today are operated that way. The sad part is that the regulating body and the congress don't care anymore, they are all in the hip pockets of whomever donates the most money to keep them in whatever job they are now holding.

Don't get me into my real soapbox mode or I will start mouthing off long posts about what is wrong with radio today. ;D

 

[BIG APE]

Go Ahead Go Ahead..."Clear Channel Sucks" Is that website still up??

 

[newsguync]

Jtudor....I agree 100%!! Right on the money. One thing that grips my %$* is these stations have a person with no knowledge of the radio business at all....in the GM position! I'll mention no names-- This is total nonsense, AND the reason these situations come up! We see many, many qualified radio vets sitting on the bench, or forced into other lines of work.

Let's tell the truth for just a moment. Keeping in mind that I do work for one of the stations owned by the ownership of WZGM....the reason that "these many qualified vets" are sitting on the bench is simply because AM stations cannot afford to pay talent what the talent themselves think they are truly worth.

Let me say this another way: if I had listened to my father many years ago, I'd have made a run for FM radio and not AM, which I grew up on in Michigan. (1330 WTRX; 1470 WKMF)

And for the record.....the GM you so wistfully speak of DOES have radio experience. A LOT of radio experience. I don't know where that rumor got started but that's just what it is, a RUMOR.

Now don't make me get out the hickory switch!!!!! (Old saying my dad used to say when I was little)