When it comes to the history of the grassroots, community oriented philosophy of a 1kw Class D daytime-only operation in Louisiana that must protect WFED-AM in Washington, D.C., after dark, station founder Roosevelt Gremillion — a Civil Rights leader turned Black hair care products distributor — has a rich story.
In 1989, he purchased this AM, changing the format from Country to Blues, Gospel, and Soul Music. In his bio, Gremillion admits, “I didn’t know much about owning or operating a radio station, but I was willing to learn…I had no choice!”
Now, Gremillion is learning another lesson, in the form of a FCC Consent Decree.
Gremillion’s New World Broadcasting Company has entered into the decree with the Media Bureau to resolve Online Public Inspection File Rule violations the Bureau was investigating as part of its license renewal process for KCLF-AM in New Roads, La., to the northwest of Baton Rouge.
The Consent Decree sees Gremillion acknowledge that New World violated section 73.3526 of the FCC’s rules. It also requires New World 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.”
There is no financial penalty assessed to Gremillion, which would have required a check be made payable to the U.S. Treasury. The Media Bureau addresses the downturn in advertising revenue and other fiscal struggles among U.S. radio licensees as one reason Consent Decrees with no payment to the government, such as this one, are being agreed to by the FCC.
