A Legal Perspective

Voluntary Inspections Of Broadcast Stations

By Robert Gonsett
Communications General Corp.

Robert interviews Philip Kane, Principal Attorney, Communications Law Center, San Francisco.

Question: According to my notes from the March 17, 1999 San Diego SBE meeting, June Butler (FCC) indicated that you are available to inspect broadcast stations, and that following an inspection a station will remain free from a formal FCC inspection for two years unless there is some mitigating circumstance.

Reply: The California Broadcasters Association has made an agreement with the District Directors of the three FCC Districts covering California to conduct a program of voluntary compliance inspections which the FCC calls the Alternative Broadcast Inspection Program (ABIP) and the Association calls the Voluntary Inspection Program (VIP). I serve as the Program Supervisor for the CBA and have been making the inspections myself but starting this summer, there will be several other inspectors doing the actual field work under my supervision.

The inspection standard used is the current Broadcast Self-Inspection Checklist. If after inspection the station is found to be in compliance, the FCC is so notified and the station is excused from "routine random inspections" for two years after being found in compliance. At the present time, this "immunity" is also extended to a station which has paid the fee to the Association and is awaiting inspection. If a station is found not to be in compliance, the FCC is NOT notified of that situation, and the station will have to make arrangements for a re-inspection at a slightly reduced fee.

Being found in compliance does not mean that the station is totally "immune" from FCC inspections during the two-year period. The program agreement provides that the FCC can inspect the station as part of a limited-scope compliance survey (such as of Tower Lighting or EAS Compliance) and if there are specific enforcement reasons to so inspect the station.

Question: I suspect that many California stations are unaware of the program. What is your take on this?

Reply: The CBA has been hawking this program to members and non-members for the past three years. The fees are set by the Association and depend on whether the station is a ND AM, Directional AM, FM, or TV station, whether it is in the major (SF, LA, SD) markets, and whether it is a CBA member or not.

Stations interested in requesting an inspection should contact:

California Broadcasters Association
915 L Street - Suite 1150
Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 444-2237

©1999 Communications General Corporation. All rights reserved.

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Society of Broadcast Engineers Chapter 36 San Diego. For more information, to become a member or a sponsor, or to make suggestions or comments, e-mail sbe36@broadcast.net. Write to P.O. Box 710702, San Diego, California 92171-0702.  

Edited by Gary Stigall. Posted 19-Mar-99.