$17,500 Penalty Proposed for Birach Over Silences

The FCC Media Bureau proposed a $17,500 penalty for Birach Broadcasting for public file violations and unauthorized silences at KTUV(AM) Little Rock and its FM translator K260DT Little Rock, said a notice of apparent liability and order Monday. The bureau said Birach requested special temporary authority for the stations only after complaints were filed with the agency, and KTUV’s online public files weren’t properly maintained. Birach also certified in a renewal application filed before the stations went silent that they were still broadcasting. Since the application was pending when the stations went dark, Birach was “subject to a continuing obligation to ensure the accuracy of the Application,” and should have amended it when the facts changed, the NAL said. The bureau said it will grant Birach’s renewal applications for the stations on the conclusion of the forfeiture proceeding, conditional on Birach submitting a report to the bureau showing online public file compliance. A similar penalty was proposed in 2018 for another Birach station over unauthorized silence (see 1812210060).