This month, the Pillsbury Law’s FCC Enforcement Monitor includes big fines having to do with Deepfake Robocalls, a failure to negotiate retransmission consent in good faith, and a Pirate Radio operation uncovered-again.
While these deeds seemed to range from playing hardball to nefarious intent, many actions that the FCC takes is directly related to tardy or shoddy record-keeping that can usually be avoided. As Mike Langner points out, “The government is watching you.”
Actually, the government is closely watching your Online Public Information File. And these days all it takes to get in trouble is missing a filing deadline, particularly those Quarterly Program/Issues filings. But the feds are looking at other filing requirements, too, and missing one or more is likely to trigger a closer look by the FCC, and in many cases, fines.
Here’s the most recent one – Rocking M Media, LLC and Melia Communications, Inc. have been fined $25,000 for failing to timely file EEO Public File reports and for failing to execute its EEO responsibilities properly.
It all started when the FCC’s file-checking program flagged the station’s failure to file EEO reports on time, which triggered a closer look at the station’s EEO compliance resulting in the $25,000 fine!
Missing an FCC Public File deadline is a little like driving with a broken taillight – by itself it seems to be no big deal, but it’s a “trigger,” potentially leading to a closer look by the authorities.
A wise man once said to me, “If you don’t want to be seen, don’t wag a flag!” This goes for your station’s Public File requirements – small infractions can open up much loser looks at your operation. That same wise man also once said “No operation is perfect – if the FCC looks long and hard enough, they’ll find something.”
Personal experience – while getting a surprise, luck-of-the-draw, walk-in FCC inspection years ago the inspector spent a long time looking for non-compliant items at a station where I was the engineer. After not finding any violations, he asked if the station had news department cars with 2-way radios in them. “Yes,” I said, and we went out to the back parking lot. There he climbed into the trunk of both news department cars and found that the radio’s type registration number for one of the 2-way transmitters was off by one digit. Having found something, the inspector advised me to file for a corrected license, we shook hands, and the inspection was over. He’d found something, so now he could end the inspection. Thankfully, not all FCC field inspectors are like this!
Do you have a detail-oriented person in your station watching over your Public File and its filing deadlines? Remember the old adage – an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! In this case, simply complying with filing deadlines can be worth thousands of dollars to your station if fines your station won’t get!!
