On May 31, RBR+TVBR shared with its readers the decision by the FCC’s Administrative Law Judge to give the licensee of a low-power FM radio station in Marion, Ohio, exactly 20 days from that date to respond to requests it had seemingly not heeded as part of its license revocation hearing. The inaction led the licensee’s attorney to withdraw as counsel.
At the time, one of the key figures at the LPFM station spoke with RBR+TVBR, suggesting a second communications breakdown was the only reason for the malfeasance.
Scott Spears has now reached out to RBR+TVBR with a detailed explanation as to what’s transpired at WWGH-LPFM, licensed to the Marion Education Exchange.
The licensee is in the midst of a hearing to determine whether or not it violated the Communications Act of 1934 by not only failing to respond to letters of inquiry, but also for misrepresentations and lying to the FCC.
The matter was brought to the Commission’s attention by Spencer Phelps, who once was involved with a rival low-power radio station in Marion. Phelps noticed something a bit odd about the board members shown as associated with WWGH-LPFM — a deceased woman was noted as an active board member.
Phelps has proven to be a chief antagonist for Spears. In late May, he again turned his attention toward the former WDIF-LPFM associate, saying the license revocation is largely fueled by his desire to have WWGH sign off the air, leaving the LPFM Phelps was once involved with as the only local voice in Marion.
Phelps on June 3 responded to Spears’ accusations by telling RBR+TVBR that he does not own or have involvement with any radio station. “I haven’t for years … I’m an accountant,” Phelps said. “This isn’t about some rivalry he’s making up. It’s about the fact that he defrauded one charity in Marion, and then set up a fake charity so he could run his personal radio station. He’s distanced himself from any official involvement because he didn’t want to get caught lying again.”
With the clock ticking at the FCC for Spears, he penned the following letter to the editor, which has been edited for grammar and style:
I am not a member of the board — just the program director
This report by the FCC is being sent to media outlets by the person who made the original complaint, who operated another radio station in Marion, and who has admitted in emails to the FCC that his goal is not to see us in compliance — it is to see us taken off the air.
In regard to having a deceased person on the board, the person was put on the board in 2014. They died unexpectedly on vacation in November 2016. The board decided not to fill that position and go to a four-person board. The FCC was asked how to handle this in January 2017. The Commission said if the change did not effect a voting quorum, and we were not filling that spot with anyone new ,that nothing needed to be done. That’s what we did.
The lawyer we had consulted on this case was receiving all of our correspondence with the FCC. We were not. He was emailing these correspondences to us. We never got the emails, and nobody from his office ever called to see why we were not answering the emails. Because of not getting his emails and receiving no calls, we were not even aware he resigned as our lawyer. We became aware due to [RBR+TVBR] contacting us on May 31.
We plan to seek new legal council because of these issues and respond to the FCC before June 20.
LPFM stations do not make thousands of dollars. To retain a lawyer for an issue like this could bankrupt a station. If someone would like to represent us pro bono I am sure we would win. We would love to hear from them. We live in a world of podcasts and streaming services which we are on. We will not be going anywhere regardless of what happens, much to the sadness I am sure of the person who continues to harass us on social media, and to other organizations and media outlets.
I have been dealing with a health issue most of this year, and this seems so small. It is not even remotely what’s important in life when you are going through a health issue, or watching what is going on in the world.
Scott Spears
Program Director, WWGH-LPFM
Marion, Ohio
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