Acting on a complaint, the FCC fined the owner of WFWO/Totally Gospel FM $8K for moving a transmitter without proper authorization–twice. The Class A is licensed to 89.7 mHz Medina, NY. The broadcaster was first served with a Notice of Unlicensed Operation for moving the transmitter from Knowelesville, NY (about halfway between Medina and Albion) to Buffalo, NY (1420 Main Street). The move occurred in October and November 2012.
Licensee principal John Young of Fellowshipworld told the FCC that his kids were to blame for turning on the improperly-moved transmitter. The station’s licensed Class A contour doesn’t touch Buffalo’s city limits. But the Fellowship Christian Center is located at the 1420 Main Street address in Buffalo.
Young told the FCC he had to stop operating out of Knowelsville because the property owner at the site needed to remove trees. Young said he was transmitting just a one-watt signal in Buffalo, but the FCC found otherwise, and they told him to shut it down. Then the agency got a tip it was still operating and a visit revealed that WFWO was on the air again in Buffalo via a rooftop antenna. The FCC doubled the fine from the base amount of $4K to $8K.
