WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Nexstar Media Group CBS affiliate faces a small financial penalty for its apparent failure to submit its quarterly TV issues/programs lists to the FCC in a timely manner.
WSPA-7, which serves the Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, S.C. DMA, received a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture in the amount of $3,000 for the transgression.
Section 73.3526(e)(11)(i) of the Rules requires every commercial television licensee to
place in its Online Public Inspection File (OPIF), on a quarterly basis, a TV issues/programs list that details programs that have provided the station’s most significant treatment of community issues during the preceding three month period and must include a brief narrative of the issues addressed, as well as the time, date, duration, and title of each program in which the issues were treated.
TV issues/programs lists must be placed in the station’s OPIF by the tenth day of the succeeding calendar quarter and copies must be retained until final action on the station’s next license renewal application.
On August 3, 2020, Nexstar filed its application for WSPA. A staff inspection of the station’s
OPIF revealed that the company had failed to upload some copies of its TV issues/programs lists by the deadline.
It was hardly a few days, or weeks, late.
Specifically, WSPA uploaded four lists more than one year late and three lists between one month and one year late. Nexstar did not provide an explanation for the delay.
As such, Barbara Kreisman, the Video Division Chief, wants Nexstar to pay up. It has 30 days to do so, or seek a reduction or cancellation of the proposed fine.
The company is likely to pay the fine and move on.
