The latest installment from featured Media Information Bureau featured columnist Ken Benner is all about the money. Specifically, Benner has combed through all of the Alternative FCC Compliance Certification Inspections he and his wife conducted over a 15-year period.
The amount of dollars that broadcasters didn’t have to pay to the Federal Communications Commission, as a result of a forfeiture, is staggering.
By Ken Benner
This column’s main takeaways are based upon a statistical analysis of approximately 1,000 Alternative Broadcast Inspection Program (ABIP) compliance certifications conducted between 1995 and 2010.
It was originally presented as part of a booklet I prepared for the 2011 Iowa Broadcasters Association annual convention.
During that 15-year period, FCC fines for violations were typically $10,000 to $30,000 — each.
For the sake of approximate comprehension, let’s take an average fine of $15,000 per possible violation, multiplied by a percentage of those 1,000 stations in terms of their fine-vulnerability, to understand the approximate value of the program my wife and I provided over those years.
Totaling those potential fines comes to almost $30 million.
All items listed above were easily correctable while we were on site for any station.
We were able to assist without additional charge any stations’ basic items of non-compliance as described herein, until the coordinator of our Alternative Inspection Program demanded modification to his program’s Code of Conduct prohibiting inspectors to assist any station to achieve compliance while we were on site.
It was this action that prompted my severance with his Alternative Inspection Program. To prohibit the rendering of a good-faith assistance without charge from a 50+ year licensed, certified, experienced, dedicated veteran of broadcasting was ridiculous.
While we saved $30 million in forfeitures over 15 years from going to the Federal government, please realize the reality of the situation: These finds are but a small fraction for any legitimate violation properly found and cited in a NAL.
Ken Benner has written print and broadcast news and commentary for more than 50 years. He holds lifetime certifications from the Society of Broadcast Engineers and a lifetime Master’s certification from the International Association of Radio and Telecommunications Engineers, and also serves as an examination proctor for FCC License Examinations. He began his broadcast career with the U.S. Armed Forces Radio and Television Service while in the U.S. Navy.
