FCC Petitions
A pair of operators are asking for their translator Construction Permits to be restored due to the majority of their employees contracting COVID-19.
Media Logic’s 102.5 K273DC Sterling and 106.9 K295CS Wray CO’s CPs expired on January 8. Media Logic states that both translators were properly constructed ahead of the deadline “but due to distractions related to the COVID-19 pandemic” which included owner Wayne Johnson and four employees contracting the virus, they were unable to file their license to cover in time.
A similar petition was requested by Glendive Broadcasting’s 103.1 K276GO Glendive MT. Glendive states that its CP was properly constructed back in July 2018. Their FCC attorney notified them in December 2020 that ahead of the CP’s expiration they had never properly filed for its license to cover. The group never did claiming that eleven of its thirteen employees at its studios contracted COVID-19 starting in late November. Because the translator was constructed with a different antenna model they first needed to apply for a modification to the CP which was done ahead of the January 11 expiration deadline, but because no license was filed for, the CP was deleted and the application dismissed.
FCC Actions
A pair of Kentucky translators have been fined $1500 for failing to file a timely license renewal.
Both Heritage Media of Kentucky’s 103.9 W280FH Leitchfield and Letcher County Broadcasting’s 103.5 W278BK Jenkins failed to file their license renewals by the April 1, 2020 deadline. W280FH did so on July 27 and W278BK on July 16. The FCC dropped the fines from $3000 for being secondary service translators that both did file ahead of their licenses expiration of August 1, 2020.