Savage said:
...And so is mine [particularly this morning], Bob! So I’m to understand that there IS a difference between “community of license” and “market”. That’s fairly simple to comprehend, BUT – I thought the FCC rarely [if ever] concerned itself with a licensee’s self-definition OF, or aspirations FOR, “a market” on a map—in fact, I’ve always been told by competent legal counsel the latter didn’t count in technical matters before the Commission. Example: required FULLTIME coverage OF and studio location IN the COL.
It appears there are MULTIPLE scenarios of corporate radio “having it BOTH ways” in regard to recent matters before the Regulators. On one hand, “Largess Radio” routinely cites their concept of, and need for, “the market”—and attaches THEIR self-interest regarding such on the road to self-gratification. The COL is little-more than some pesky and passé political term left-over from those nasty years of regulation... It is STILL a matter of official FCC policy, but: “WE don’t have to pay attention to it if gets in the way of OUR goals!” ...At least NOT until that inconvenient little term juxtaposes itself into an event where it becomes advantageous for corporate radio to recruit and make use of it – THEN “relevance” makes a surprising refrain!
EXAMPLE: ‘Like leaving behind ONLY a tiny 250-watt-day/FIVE-WATT-NIGHT high-dial-position AM station as a “creative” yet acceptable qualification for “fulltime LOCAL service FOR the COL” in a city of 17,000 [and seat of County government] when large corporate radio RAIDED that city’s ONLY FM assignment [of SIXTY YEARS] and moved it SIXTY MILES to provide FIRST LOCAL SERVICE to “the non-urbanized and underserved COL” of Norwood, Ohio! BTW, Norwood is boundary-encapsulated on ALL FOUR SIDES by Cincinnati... Norwood is about as “non-urbanized” as a rapper’s wardrobe, and as “under-served” as a Vegas high-roller in a comp’d suite on a much-needed stress-release from the gaming floor! The “modified” and downgraded 100.3 facility transmits FROM and its operation originates WITHIN the political boundaries of Cincinnati – and THE ONLY interest served by this moral and regulatory outrage is to “top-off the cluster” of a prominent corporate broadcaster with a “history of accommodation” at the FCC!
Like nighttime IBOC on AM, FEW predicted the Commission would permit this to happen – based on their historical priorities and technical prudence – BUT IT DID! ...And were the Regulators merely off on another coffee-break or have they become “CORPORATELY disposed” in actions statutorily-mandated to meet the PUBLIC INTEREST?
I just received an Email from “a seasoned, savvy, and successful hand” at technical matters before the FCC – and he assures me that 5kw, given an easily-attained redirection of the WBZ antenna array, WOULD FULLY-COVER the political limits of their Boston COL at night. You are righteous in your pursuit of fair play Mr. Savage... WBZ SHOULD NOT have it BOTH ways!
