It is a small town along the Columbia River known for Chief Joseph Dam, situated 125 miles west of Spokane, Wash. It is home to three low-powered TV stations, and it appears they were a bit late in the filing with their FCC license renewal applications.
As such, the licensee could be on the hook for a financial penalty.
For Chief Joseph Community Services, this means a $4,500 payment to the Commission to resolve its transgressions is in order, as it has received a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture from Video Division Chief Barbara Kriesman.
The penalty is tied to K25NY-D, K23MU-D and K24LM-D in Bridgeport, Wash.
The application for renewal of the Stations’ licenses should have been filed by October 3, 2022, the first day of the fourth full calendar month prior to the stations’ licenses expiration date of February 1, 2023.
However, Chief Joseph Community Services did not file the Application until November 30, 2022. Why? The licensee explains that it “had been relying solely on a third party contractor to manage FCC matters” and the “contractor had failed to file their license renewals.”
Too bad, Kreisman said, noting that every licensee is obligated to understand and meet the Commission’s rules. She noted, “Upon discovery of its failure to file, the Licensee took steps to hire a new third party entity to assist the Licensee in preparing the Application. We note that inadvertence is at best, ignorance of the law, which the Commission does not consider a mitigating circumstance.”
