RBR+TVBR INFOCUS
A town some 40 miles to the northwest of Birmingham, Ala., once ranked as one of the world’s top producers of coal. Today, this community of roughly 14,500 has been in the headlines for the individual that continues to operate North Alabama Public Service Broadcasters, licensee of a low-powered FM station that has been the focal point of much controversy in recent months.
The FCC on February 8 granted a request for a silent STA for this station. Yet, the station’s Facebook page was promoting on-air Valentine’s Day greetings at $7.50 a pop and “rock pop + country” music weeknights from 5-7pm.
Consider it the latest twist in a story that involves Terry Keith Hammond, recipient of multiple notices of violation from the Commission for broadcasting from an unauthorized location … and a past license loser.
Hammond’s request to the FCC, made 10 days ago, requested a silent STA “due to the loss of studio and transmitter sites.”
He also apologized for the late filing of the silent STA notice, noting that he accepted full responsibility as “Technical Director” and was unable to prepare this or any other filings due to “extenuating circumstances.”
It seems the Feb. 8 filing was two months late, as Hammond dated the request as Dec. 10, 2018.
And, it seems the request is retroactive, based on social media posts and e-mail communication with at least one Jasper, Ala., resident who tells RBR+TVBR that WQJJ-LP, branded as “101-9 The Fox,” is on the air.
But, from where?
An investigation of WQJJ conducted by RBR+TVBR in 2018 shows that Hammond was evicted from a building on Ninth Avenue in Jasper by Alec Grant in 2017. Following the forced move from this facility, WQJJ relocated to a rural area several miles to the north of town. This facility was a residence for Hammond, owned by James Key. He failed to pay rent at this home and was subsequently evicted by Key. As a result, WQJJ moved a second time to a location also north of Jasper, on Whitman Road. RBR+TVBR could not find a FCC filing noting any change in WQJJ’s transmitter location.
Furthermore, Mr. Hammond’s activity with the station as “Technical Director” is now in question. On March 6, 2017, a Form 316 form was filed with the FCC denoting “the simple replacement of a board member (the President) who has stepped down and has selected a replacement.”
This change in command saw Bessie Hammond replaced as President by Teri Danielle Hammond, with all interest transferred.
While Teri Hammond may be WQJJ’s licensee, the FCC and its Media Bureau may still question the purported activities of Bessie and Terry Hammond — and those that have transpired in the past.
Hammond has a rather infamous history as a radio station operator: he was convicted of felony theft that occurred in 2002 back in 2004, and among the penalties incurred for that infraction is the June 2009 determination by the FCC that he was unfit to remain licensee of KBKH-FM 92.7 in Shamrock, Tex. This led to a license revocation.
Before he was the station’s licensee, Hammond was convicted of altering checks received by the station and depositing them into a bank account that he controlled. His attempt to reverse the conviction failed, and he served time in prison.
Further, FCC records revealed that Hammond “engaged in multiple instances of unauthorized operation of unlicensed radio broadcast stations in California, Louisiana, and Texas prior to his acquisition of KBKH.” The Commission found that “this criminal misconduct justifies a finding that Mr. Hammond has demonstrated his propensity to evade, rather than comply with laws and regulations.”
Hammond’s license revocation is noted by Erwin Krasnow and John Wells King in their December 2015 column, “How To Lose Your Station’s License,” one of RBR+TVBR‘s most-read editorial pieces.
In May 2018 Hammond was arrested for felony theft while hiding in a bedroom in a Southwest Alabama home. Hammond was accused of stealing an AM radio transmitter valued at $1,150 that he had reportedly agreed to repair for someone in Maryland but instead posted for sale on Facebook, noting that he seized it under mechanic’s lien laws. This charge has been denied multiple times by Hammond, speaking to Birmingham-based AL.com. Hammond had been offering engineering services through Broadcast Technical Services, a Jasper-based business.
At the time of Hammond’s arrest, he was being held on a $25,000 cash bond after it was determined he was a flight risk. Bail was paid; WQJJ operations resumed following his exit from jail as Terry Hammond is not the licensee’s President and only serves as Technical Director.
Hammond’s wife Bessie, the former President of the licensee, also appears to be involved. As of May 2018, she was wanted by the District Attorney’s Office in Woodward, Okla., for obtaining cash or merchandise with a bogus check, AL.com reported.
“It appears that Mr. Hammond has a pattern of getting into trouble in one city and then relocating to another, even moving from state to state. It’s a shame when someone like this is interacting with our community through a radio station and Facebook news page, both being venues where citizens share information and where they spend their advertising dollars,” Walker County Sheriff Jim Underwood told the Daily Mountain Eagle in May 2018. “We’ve received a lot of complaints about Mr. Hammond over the last couple of years and have received questions about the legitimacy of various fund-raising efforts he was undertaking here in Walker County. After he resolves his criminal case here, he might as well find somewhere else to go because we’re not going to tolerate this type of activity.”
That hasn’t happened. Instead, it’s back to business for The Fox, even after receiving the second NOV in five years for transmitting several miles from WQJJ’s authorized location.
On Feb. 7, the WQJJ Facebook page posted the following:
The post also references the Walker County Area News blog, apparently available only via Facebook at this time.
The Facebook page features a post made Monday afternoon involving a local woman who “intentionally misrepresented” for the past six years as to how she “donated” appliances intended for a needy family that never the “gifts” as Hammond’s organization allegedly sold them for profit.
The post notes that the matter has dragged on for six years.
“After six long years of this person’s willfully malicious fabrications being told and retold and constantly used against our business, we feel that it is time the truth comes out,” the post reads.
There is no mention of WQJJ’s current home, or of any of Hammond’s confirmed and accused past occurrences that may cloud his character.
Calls to WQJJ from RBR+TVBR yielded a voicemail.
