On May 31, 2012, the license for Ohio Wesleyan’s student radio station WSLN was cancelled after the Delaware, Ohio university turned the 98.7 FM license back to the FCC. Trace Regan, WSLN adviser and Chair of the Ohio Wesleyan Journalism Department told me via email that, “WSLN will continue as ‘OWU Radio’ online. The webcast […]
Archive | FCC
Bethany College Station Fined for Late Renewal and for Being off the Air without Permission
In a Forfeiture Order released on Friday, Bethany College’s student radio station WVBC 88.1 FM has been fined $6500 for “remaining off the air without Commission authorization for a period of more than 30 days and failing to timely file a license renewal application for the Station.” According to the FCC’s Forfeiture Order, WVBC’s license […]
Supreme Court blocks FCC “fleeting expletive” sanctions, but ducks First Amendment issue
In a case with huge implications for broadcast radio, the Supreme Court has overturned the Federal Communications Commission’s sanctions against Fox Television News for broadcasting so called “fleeting expletives”—essentially potty talk spoken on the fly. The same relief was extended to ABC for broadcasting a brief nudity scene on NYPD Blue. “Because the Commission failed […]
Counsel for Friends of KUSF “Profoundly Disappointed” with FCC’s Ruling on KUSF Sale and Plan to Appeal
Today the FCC granted consent to the assignment of the license for University of San Francisco (USF) radio station KUSF to Classical Public Radio Network (CPRN). In light of this news, Friends of KUSF has announced that they intend to appeal the FCC’s approval of the license transfer. According to a statement from the lawyers […]
FCC Fines USF and CPRN $50K and Grants KUSF License to Classical Public Radio Network
Nearly 17 months after University of San Francisco (USF)’s college radio station KUSF was shut down without warning, the FCC has granted the KUSF license to Classical Public Radio Network (CPRN). For those who have been fighting this sale for all this time, there might be some comfort in the fact that the FCC has […]
Rough notes: where the radio spectrum is located (for radio)
In the face of a supposedly looming “spectrum crunch,” Congress and the President are endlessly threatening/promising to produce a conclusive compendium of where all the usable radio bands are presently located. I’m starting mine now for radio spectrum that is used in one way or another by radio stations—as opposed to TV, public safety responders, […]
The 7 dirty words’ mid-life crisis
It was forty years ago this Sunday that comedian George Carlin recorded the Class Clown album which five years later would inadvertently provoke the Supreme Court to canonize seven simple words as the apotheosis of American verbal vulgarity. That case, FCC v Pacifica, would come to be known as the “seven dirty words” ruling, named […]
FCC Grants Assignment of KCNL to USC for use as a KDFC classical radio outlet in San Jose
Yesterday the FCC granted the request by Principle Broadcasting Network to assign the license for San Jose-area radio station KCNL 104.9 FM to University of Southern California (USC) for use as an outlet for classical radio station KDFC. Along with granting the license assignment (part of a $7.5 million deal), the FCC also granted the […]
FCC will hold live forum on Low Power FM/translator applications
This Wednesday the Federal Communications Commission will hold a live, streaming forum on how the agency plans to handle Low Power FM and translator applications. “The focus of the forum will be how pending FM translator applicants from the 2003 Auction 83 window and pending and prospective FM translator modification applicants will be processed,” the […]
FCC drops non-commercial radio fundraising item from Friday’s meeting
Wednesday the FCC announced that it’s dropping from Friday’s open meeting an item addressing non-commercial radio stations’ ability to fundraise on-air for other non-profit organizations. The item appears to deal with stations raising money for efforts like disaster relief. But, as I wrote earlier this month, this rulemaking might also address non-commercial stations being operated […]