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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
)
Monroe Area Broadcasters, Inc. )
) File Number EB-02-AT-092
Licensee of AM Radio Station WRKQ )
) NAL/Acct. No.20023248009
Madisonville, Tennessee )
) FRN 0003-7200-59
)
NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE
Released: June 27,
2002
By the Enforcement Bureau, Atlanta Office:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, we
find that Monroe Area Broadcasters, Inc. (``Monroe''), licensee
of AM radio station WRKQ at Madisonville, Tennessee, willfully
and repeatedly violated Sections 73.1745(a), 73.1201(a)(2), and
73.44(b) of the Commission's Rules (``Rules''),1 by operating
with daytime power at night, failing to identify the station by
call sign, and failing to sufficiently attenuate transmission
system emissions by the amount prescribed in the Rules. We find
Monroe Area Broadcasters, Inc. apparently liable for forfeiture
in the amount of nine thousand dollars ($9,000).
II. BACKGROUND
2. On March 21, 2002, the FCC Enforcement Bureau's Atlanta
Field Office (``Atlanta Office'') received two complaints
alleging that WRKQ was not reducing power at sunset, not
identifying by call sign, and that the station's transmitter had
spurious emissions which were interfering with other stations,
including the reception of WWV on 2.5 MHz. WRKQ is assigned the
frequency 1250 kHz. Its second harmonic of 2.5 MHz falls on
WWV's authorized frequency of 2.5 MHz.
3. On May 14, 2002, an agent from the Atlanta Office
monitored WRKQ's signal. Field strength measurements revealed
that WRKQ did not reduce power at sunset as required by the
station authorization. WRKQ remained at daytime power all night.
Local sunset is 8:30 pm EDT in May. Also, spectrum analyzer
measurements of WRKQ's second harmonic on 2.5 MHz revealed that
it was attenuated 55 dB below the unmodulated carrier level. The
Rules require attenuation of 70 dB for a 500-watt station. WRKQ
also failed to identify by call sign between 7:00 and 10:00 pm
EDT.
4. On May 15, 2002, the agent again monitored WRKQ's
signal. Field strength measurements revealed that WRKQ did not
reduce power at sunset as required by the station authorization.
WRKQ remained at daytime power all night. Again, spectrum
analyzer measurements of WRKQ's second harmonic on 2.5 MHz
revealed that it was attenuated 55 dB below the unmodulated
carrier level.
5. On May 16, 2002, the agent inspected radio station
WRKQ. Monroe's operator on duty admitted to operating with
daytime power all night, stated that the station had received
verbal authority from the FCC to do so, but had never received
any written authorization. The agent advised the operator that
the transmitter's second harmonic was not adequately attenuated
and that the station had failed to identify by call sign during a
three-hour period on May 14, 2002.
III. DISCUSSION
6. Section 73.1745(a) of the Rules states that no
broadcast station shall operate at times, or with modes or power,
other than those specified and made part of the license. WRKQ
operated with daytime power all night on May 14 and May 15, 2002.
Section 73.1201(a)(2) of the Rules requires broadcast licensees
to identify the station hourly by call sign, as close to the hour
as possible, at a natural break in programming. WRKQ failed to
identify by call sign from 7:00 to 10:00 PM EDT on May 14, 2002.
Section 73.44(b) requires that the emissions of an AM broadcast
station that are removed by more than 75 kHz from the carrier be
attenuated at least 43 + 10 Log(Power in watts) or 80 dB below
the unmodulated carrier level, whichever is the lesser
attenuation. On May 14 and 15, 2002, WRKQ's second harmonic on
2.5 MHz was attenuated only 55 dB below the unmodulated carrier
level. Previously, on June 4, 1998, the Atlanta Office issued to
Monroe an Official Notice of Violation citing violation of
Section 73.44(b) as a result of Monroe's failure to attenuate its
second harmonic emissions.
7. Based on the evidence before us, we find Monroe
willfully2 and repeatedly3 violated Sections 73.1745(a),
73.1201(a), and 73.44(b) of the Rules by operating with daytime
power at night, failing to identify the station by call sign, and
failing to attenuate transmission system emissions by the amount
prescribed in the Rules.
8. Pursuant to Section 1.80(b)(4) of the Rules,4 the base
forfeiture amount for exceeding power limits is $4,000, failure
to identify is $1,000, and unauthorized emissions is $4,000. In
assessing the monetary forfeiture amount, we must also take into
account the statutory factors set forth in Section 503(b)(2)(D)
of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (``Act''), which
include the nature, circumstances, extent, and gravity of the
violation, and with respect to the violator, the degree of
culpability, any history of prior offenses, ability to pay, and
other such matters as justice may require.5 Considering the
entire record and applying the factors listed above, this case
warrants a $9,000 forfeiture.
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
9. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section
503(b) of the Act,6 and Sections 0.111, 0.311 and 1.80 of the
Rules,7 Monroe Area Broadcaster, Inc. is hereby NOTIFIED of its
APPARENT LIABILITY FOR A FORFEITURE in the amount of nine
thousand dollars ($9,000) for willful and repeated violation of
Sections 73.1745(a), 73.1201(a)(2), and 73.44(b) of the Rules, by
operating with daytime power at night, failing to identify the
station by call sign, and failing to attenuate the second
harmonic by the amount prescribed in the Rules. IT IS FURTHER
ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section 1.80 of the Commission's Rules,
within thirty days of the release date of this Notice Of Apparent
Liability, Monroe Area Broadcasters, Inc. SHALL PAY the full
amount of the proposed forfeiture or SHALL FILE a written
statement seeking reduction or cancellation of the proposed
forfeiture.
10. Payment of the forfeiture may be made by mailing a
check or similar instrument, payable to the order of the Federal
Communications Commission, to the Forfeiture Collection Section,
Finance Branch, Federal Communications Commission, P.O. Box
73482, Chicago, Illinois 60673-7482. The payment should note the
NAL/Acct. No. and FRN referenced above. Requests for payment of
the full amount of this Notice of Apparent Liability under an
installment plan should be sent to: Chief, Revenue and
Receivables Operations Group, 445 12th Street, S.W., Washington,
D.C. 20554.8
11. The response, if any, must be mailed to Federal
Communications Commission, Office of the Secretary, 445 12th
Street SW, Washington DC 20554, Attn: Enforcement Bureau-
Technical & Public Safety Division and MUST INCLUDE THE NAL/Acct.
No. referenced above.
12. The Commission will not consider reducing or canceling
a forfeiture in response to a claim of inability to pay unless
the petitioner submits: (1) federal tax returns for the most
recent three-year period; (2) financial statements prepared
according to generally accepted accounting practices (``GAAP'');
or (3) some other reliable and objective documentation that
accurately reflects the petitioner's current financial status.
Any claim of inability to pay must specifically identify the
basis for the claim by reference to the financial documentation
submitted.
13. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT a copy of this Notice Of
Apparent Liability shall be sent by regular mail and Certified
Mail Return Receipt Requested to Monroe Area Broadcasters, Inc.,
P. O. Box 489, Madisonville, TN 37354.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Fred L. Broce
District Director
Atlanta Office, Enforcement Bureau
_________________________
1 47 C.F.R §§ 73.1745(a), 73.1201(a)(2), and 73.44(b).
2 Section 312(f)(1) of the Act, 47 U.S.C. § 312(f)(1), which
applies to violations for which forfeitures are assessed under
Section 503(b) of the Act, provides that ``[t]he term `willful',
when used with reference to the commission or omission of any
act, means the conscious and deliberate commission or omission of
such act, irrespective of any intent to violate any provision of
this Act ....'' See Southern California Broadcasting Co., 6 FCC
Rcd 4387 (1991).
3 The term ``repeated'' means the commission or omission of an
act more than once or, if such commission or omission is
continuous, for more than one day. 47 U.S.C. § 312(f)(2).
4 47 C.F.R. § 1.80(b)(4).
5 47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(2)(D).
6 47 U.S.C. § 503(b).
7 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311, 1.80.
8 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.