Boot and reboot

0

An attempt to kick a broadcaster off the air via denial of license renewal and replace him with another designated party has been rebuffed by the FCC. Roy E. Henderson’s KNUZ-AM Bellville TX was the target of informal objections filed by Elizabeth P. Conway, Jeff Pullin and Nathan Simecek. The trio made a number of charges, such as failure to maintain a public file since 2002, broadcasting only two weeks annually, and others. They failed, however, to make any attempt to prove their allegations and Henderson refuted them via signed affidavit.


The objectors had gone further, suggesting that once Henderson is removed, the station should go to Tony Johnson, who runs an unlicensed microstation called CAT-AM out of Monaville TX (a Part 15 0.05 watt AM station). Johnson’s station was proposed for the KNUZ license because "they prefer its programming." This was a non-starter. "There is no statutory provision that would authorize the Commission to take such an action," the FCC explained. "In fact, the Commission is prohibited from accepting competing applications filed against applications for renewal of a broadcast radio station license."

RBR observation: Wow. A hostile takeover masquerading as a license renewal challenge. This is one FCC rule we’re happy to stand behind