We promised to hit the topic of the new radio market definitions, and to that end, we posed a number of questions to the FCC Media Bureau. Today, we get out our magnifying glass, put on our Sherlock Holmes deerstalker hat and consider the strange case of WHFS-FM.

For starters, Arbitron is specifically named as the sole definer of markets. However, it is Arbitron as reported by BIA (Broadcast Investment Analysts) - - and in particular, BIA's Media Access Pro database, that is used as a source for the FCC's purposes in administering the process of transferring stations within the bounds of local market ownership caps.

Arbitron defines a market's territory on a county and even a split-county basis, but since it does not report noncommercial stations, and since in many cases commercial stations which are clearly smack dab in the middle of a given market fail to get ratings, and hence are not included in the most recently published Arbitron book, the FCC's requirements clearly leave some heavy lifting to BIA when it comes to identifying which stations are or are not in a given market.

Today we will look at our favorite special case station within range of RBR's editorial office in the Washington DC market. That would be WHFS-FM Annapolis MD. It's a unique station - - it's located between and gets strongly into two major markets, Washington and Baltimore. In fact, on 6/2/03, at the infamous FCC ownership rulemaking, we asked MB Bureau Chief Ken Ferree specifically about this station. Where is it?

The Media Bureau says it's in both - - it's in Washington by virtue of Arbitron's decision to list it there above the line, and despite the fact that it's listed below the line in Baltimore, it counts there too, because it's in a community of license clearly within the geographical bounds of the market as defined by Arbitron.

Here's the rub - - that may be what the FCC expects to see, but if you look at the Market Access Pro database currently available, WHFS is only listed in Washington.

By the way, distant signals coming into a market, like WFAN-AM New York, which shows up as far away as Cape Cod MA and Allentown PA, would not be considered part of those markets because it fails to satisfy either of these counts; i.e., it is neither above either line nor is it geographically home to either market.

More to come.