[BC] Re: WBAA?

[Reader]

At 06:37 AM 6/14/2006, Blaine Thompson wrote
>Daniel Skinner, GM at WBAA(AM)/FM tells me: "Everything was filed on 
>time back in 2004. It appears there was a processing problem with 
>the FCC on-line filing system. Our attorneys are working with the 
>FCC to solve the problem. Resolution is expected soon."

The Lafayette Journal & Courier has a story on the issue:

On the air without a license?
WBAA, FCC disagree on station's status

By Tanya Brown
tbrown at journalandcourier.com <mailto:tbrown at journalandcourier.com>

WBAA, Purdue University's public radio station, has been operating 
without a license for at least two years.

The Federal Communications Commission, which governs broadcast media, 
confirmed Tuesday that WBAA failed to file license renewal paperwork 
for both its AM and FM frequencies in April 2004. The licenses 
expired on Aug. 1, 2004.

"As of Aug. 2, 2004, these stations had no authority to be on the 
air," Michael Wagner, assistant chief of the audio division in the 
media bureau of the FCC, said in a telephone interview.

Wagner said the FCC discovered the problem recently and notified WBAA 
in a letter June 8 that it must take immediate steps to rectify the 
situation or face fines and possible termination.

WBAA general manager Dan Skinner did not return phone calls seeking 
comment, but Joe Bennett, vice president for university relations at 
Purdue, alleges the situation is nothing more than a simple mix-up.

"Dan filed everything on schedule two years ago when he was supposed 
to do it," Bennett said. "Dan has documentation of everything he 
filed. It's unfortunate that their (FCC) records are not showing it, 
but ours do."

Radio and broadcast stations are licensed to operate for eight years, 
at which point they must submit paperwork for renewal. Renewal 
applications are due with the FCC four months before a license is 
scheduled to expire.

Wagner said the FCC often doesn't "get to" renewal applications until 
some time after they are due, but it did notify WBAA as soon as it 
found the discrepancy.

"Unfortunately, we don't have the resources to keep up with it all," 
Wagner said.

The license renewal procedure is one of the only occasions the FCC 
asks for details of a station's operation and solicits responses from 
the public on a station's programming and progress.

"This is important for two reasons," Wagner said. "First, Congress 
dictated it and we don't have the authority to change it, and 
secondly, while most licenses are routinely granted, we don't monitor 
radio stations. This is the only time we get feedback on what 
stations are doing."

John Gambs, a Lafayette attorney and loyal WBAA listener, said he 
hopes the situation is resolved quickly.

"Obviously someone should have been minding the store on that one, 
but I still think it's the best station in town. I think it would be 
a tragedy if they were taken off the air, but obviously they need to 
get it fixed."

While Wagner has not personally seen the FCC letter sent to WBAA on 
June 8, he said it likely explained that the station was operating 
without FCC authority and recommended that the station be shut down.

"That's what they usually say," he said, noting that WBAA could be 
facing about $7,000 in fines for each license expiration, for a total 
of about $14,000 for the AM and FM licenses.

Beyond fines, WBAA would need to immediately file for the license 
renewals and also file requests to continue operating pending the 
consideration of the filed renewal applications.

Bennett said WBAA's attorneys, with the Washington, D.C., firm Wiley, 
Rein and Fielding, LLP, had already contacted the FCC.

"The license renewals are done online, but Dan (Skinner) took the 
precaution of printing everything out," Bennett said. "It was done 
and it is not a concern. The attorneys have assured us they are going 
to work everything out."

The attorneys handling the situation at Wiley, Rein and Fielding 
could not be reached for comment by press time Tuesday.

But Wagner said he spoke with the firm Tuesday.

"They called me this very day and ... we talked about what we think 
they should do and they know the deal," he said. "They know what to 
do to make it right."