One decade ago, Tom Birch had a big headache on his hands. For his Lakes Media, which serves an area of Virginia just over the North Carolina state line, a co-channel FM translator designed to serve listeners in Durham, N.C., was creating unacceptable interference. As November 2018 began, a two-year battle ended with the silence of W234AR.
Then came tiny W252EL at 98.3 MHz in Cary, N.C., creating in fall 2024 a second interference headache for Lakes Media. Three attempts to attract the Commission’s attention were conducted, with a renewed call for help in November 2025. At long last, Birch has his third interference win.
The road to a victory for Birch began in late August 2025, when First State Communications filed an application for a license to cover associated with W252EL. This triggered an informal objection from Lakes Media, filed Sept. 16, 2025.
Al Shuldiner, the longtime Audio Division Chief in the FCC’s Media Bureau, initiated an investigation. And, it turns out the interference claims that Birch had been dealing with are legitimate, with listener reception of WLUS-FM 98.3 in Clarksville, Va., impeded by W252EL.
What does this mean for First State — a.k.a. Curtis Media? W252EL’s program test authority operation has been suspended, “pending resolution of all valid listener complaints” in accordance with the interference remediation procedures set out in the FCC’s 2019 Translator Interference Order.
“We are, of course, happy that the Commission agreed with our filing and has ordered the termination of this illegal interference and we are hopeful that this will not happen again,” Birch said.
The trouble with W252EL dates to June 2024, when Curtis-linked First State filed a modification application to change W252EL’s operating frequency from 98.5 MHz to 98.3 MHz, with a new directional pattern.
The FCC notes that no parties objected to the change, which was granted on August 7, 2024. But, that doesn’t mean that it was Lakes Media’s responsibility to have filed one. And, it immediately responded with the September 2024 petition for reconsideration of the grant.
Credit First State for seeking to resolve the interference issues, or so it claimed. In February 2025, a modification request was filed with the FCC for a new directional antenna with the intent of reducing the undesired-to-desired (U/D) signal strength ratio at each listener location submitted with the Lakes Media’s First Interference Claim to over -20 dB.
In August 2025, Curtis’ First State moved ahead with a license application for the FM translator. Still, there was interference impacting WLUS listeners, even with the tweak, Lakes Media countered. This set off a tussle between Birch and privately held Curtis Media, which alleged that Birch “repeatedly suggested that First State pay Lakes $500,000 payment to ‘settle this matter,’ indicating that profit motives, not the interests of its listeners, underpin Lakes’ interference allegations.”
That claim failed to motivate Shuldiner. Helping him were 10 valid listener complaints and a map plotting listener interference locations within WLUS’s 45 dBu contour; signal strength data indicating over -20 dB U/D ratios at each listener location; and a statement that Lakes has made commercially reasonable efforts to privately resolve the claimed interference.
This didn’t satisfy First State, asserting that Lakes’ technical exhibit is defective because “when the actual, measured, certified and installed antenna pattern of W252EL is properly considered [rather than its licensed parameters] and the more accurate 30-meter resolution terrain data is used . . . 10 complaints are not compliant under 74.1203(a)(3)(v).”
This was rejected by Shuldiner. “The Commission has made clear that both the 45 dBu contour limitation and the zone of potential interference are to be calculated using the Commission’s standard contour prediction methodology,” he ruled.
With Curtis now required to shut down W252EL until it can fully address the interference to WLUS, Birch was admonished by Shuldiner for Curtis Media’s claim of a payoff to “settle” the matter. “We caution Lakes against any possible abuse of the Commission’s processes arising from financial settlement offers beyond its legitimate and prudent expenses in filing its claim,” he said.
That may not sit well with Lakes Media’s head. “This is the third time WLUS-FM has been blocked from reaching its listeners,” Birch said. “This is not an accident. This is not a technical glitch. This is a blatant and repeated assault on our licensed service area. First State should be required to reimburse every dollar we’ve spent to end this crime.”
Serving as Lakes Media legal counsel in this matter are Dawn Sciarrino and Megan Wilson Davis.
