As we have noted in the past, noncommercial and college stations are not exempt from the FCC’s public file obligations. We see this issue play out as the FCC reviews radio license renewals for New York. A recent decision involving Alfred University’s radio station serves as an example:
“Consent Decree resolves issues arising from the Bureau’s review of the captioned license renewal application (Application) for the Station. In particular, the Consent Decree resolves the Bureau’s investigation of Licensee’s compliance with the Public File Rule contained in section 73.3527 of the Commission’s rules (Rules). The Bureau’s Audio Division suspended processing of the Application because Licensee did not comply with its public file obligations in section 73.3527. 2. The Bureau and Licensee have negotiated the attached Consent Decree in which Licensee stipulates that it violated section 73.3527 of the Rules. Pursuant to the Consent Decree, Licensee agrees, among other things, to implement a comprehensive compliance plan to ensure future compliance with its online public inspection file obligations and, one year after entering into the Consent Decree, submit a compliance report to the Audio Division.”
The Media Bureaus Decision and consent decree can be found here.
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