If you have an FCC issued license for a full power AM or FM radio station, you have a legal obligation to keep it on the air. If you don’t, the FCC has the power to revoke your license.
If something happens – beyond the control of the owner – the owner can file a request to remain silent while they work diligently to return the station to the air. Examples of things the law intended would be
- The tower collapses when vandals cut the guy wires or construction equipment accidentally topples the tower
- A hurricane or tornado or flood destroys the transmitter
- the station is taken over by an involuntary bankruptcy receiver
- Our studio was destroyed by a fire
Things that would not have qualified before 2008, when the FCC noticeably relaxed the enforcement
- Our tower lease expired and we decided we won’t renew it
- We’re broke and can’t afford to staff the station
- We can’t decide on a programming format that can make money
- We were leasing the station out (LMA) and the LMA partner left
- We don’t know how to fix our broken transmitter
The FCC has become selective on whether it accepts the “We’re broke” excuse to allow the station to stay off the air. If the FCC approves the request, it is for 180 days. The Station can apply for an additional 180 days if they can demonstrate they are making tangible progress in resolving the reason for the station being off the air.
With that background, here is the “reason” WNGA-AM in Helen Georgia gave the FCC a week ago. About a month ago, the station proposed to move its transmitter, which has not yet been approved. The CAPS are the way the FCC database treats all text. It’s 1978 and the world is running on PDP11s
“APPLICANT REQUESTS SPECIAL TEMPORARY AUTHORITY (STA) TO TEMPORARILY SUSPEND THE BROADCAST OPERATIONS OF WNGA(FM), CLERMONT, GEORGIA, OWING TO THE LICENSEE’S FINANCIAL CONCERNS. WNGA WILL TEMPORARILY CEASE OPERATIONS AS OF AUGUST 10, 2011.
AN STA OF 180 DAYS IS REQUESTED, BY WHICH TIME APPLICANT ANTICIPATES BEING ABLE TO RESUME WNGA’S OPERATIONS. APPLICANT SUBMITS THAT A GRANT OF THIS STA REQUEST WILL SERVE THE PUBLIC INTEREST BY ALLOWING THE LICENSEE TO FOCUS ON ITS FINANCIAL CONCERNS IN AN EFFORT TO RETURN THE STATION TO LICENSED OPERATIONS AS EXPEDITIOUSLY AS POSSIBLE.”
So what they are saying is that It is better serving the public if the Radio Station stays off the air in the hope that some day it might be able to return to the air – rather than say… selling the station to someone who can afford to run it…
This is the same logic as “the fastest way to stimulate the economy is to give more checks to the unemployed” or “the best way to fight poverty is to give people food stamps”.
This owner already has several other stations that are silent for financial reasons. This would be a prime candidate for Townsquare media to buy up
Something wierd is happening with North GA radio. Another station, WNGM has gone off the air but is now supposedly on the internet with somthing called ‘Poker Radio’ Any thoughts on what that is or what is going on?
The web site domain expired. The station itself is off the air as of about a week ago. Here is the official explanation to the FCC:
It kind of matches up to my description above, and that I think there are probably 500 AM stations that have gone dark – many of which didn’t even bother telling the FCC because the license is worthless and they have no money.
An interesting note: Back in 2009, this station was one of the pioneers asking the FCC for permission to transmit the AM signal over an FM translater – but the FCC turned them down. I wasn’t for another year that it became FCC policy to allow this – especially a station like this that has a very weak night time signal.