[WXBH-Discuss] Re: WXBH studio in the Brick House: Is there a ten mile limit?

[John Hicks]

I just received the following (belated) reply from Andy at Prometheus 
Radio Project. I had written him on June 13 when we first came to a 
consensus that we needed to go ahead and get the studio going (but 
before we began to discuss a studio in Buechel). --John

andy gunn wrote:
> hi john, sorry it took me so long to get back to you about this - i have been
> out of the office and am desperately trying to catch up now.  petri has been
> trying to get in touch with someone at the fcc with more details on your
> situation, and he will answer when he hears back, but let me see if i can answer
> any questions in the meantime:
>
> John Hicks wrote:
>   
>> Andy (and Pete):
>>
>> (I'm writing you from my Mindspring account because my regular email
>> account is temporarily down.)
>>
>> The WXBH governing board is considering establishing a central studio
>> for the station rather than relying on decentralized uploads of
>> prerecorded programs from various persons' broadband connections.
>>
>> One natural location for such a studio is the Brick House itself. It's
>> in a central downtown location and we have plenty of space there (and we
>> have had studio space set aside there ever since we purchased the
>> building).
>>
>> The Brick House was just under ten miles from our original antenna
>> coordinates. But now that we've obtained the modification to move to our
>> shared facility in Fern Creek, we will be about 10.47 miles from the
>> antenna. We want to know if that poses a problem.
>>
>> My understanding is that a ten-mile limit exists for two things:
>> --one of two alternative criteria for obtaining the
>> local-community-presence point in the CP competition. (We qualified for
>> this based on the other alternative: 75% of our board being within 10
>> miles of the antenna).
>> --the criterion for defining locally-produced programming. We scored a
>> point in the competition by agreeing to produce six hours a day of
>> locally produced programming.
>>
>> Questions:
>>
>> --If we produce all of our programming at the Brick House, do we need to
>> ask for a waiver of this limit? (And is it likely we would receive it?)
>>     
>
> you might need to request a waiver due to the time sharing nature.  i think you
> are very likely to get this because the fcc is flexible for time sharing
> partners.  they are just happy not to have to deal with fighting groups, so they
> cut some slack to make agreements easier.  it could be worded very simply and
> explain that you will still be producing local content for the community you serve.
>
>   
>> --Since we are time-sharing, is the six hour requirement pro-rated?(Or
>> maybe even no longer relevant?)
>>     
>
> this has never been clear - i think we need to wait for the answer from the fcc
> on this one...  i think under the current rules you will need to still adhere to
> the 6 hour limit, but the fcc doesn't always publish everything in an
> easy-to-find place, there might be some obscure ruling we don't know about.
>
>   
>> --If we do need to comply, what's the time frame under which we would
>> have to comply? (We know we will have some programming that is recorded
>> in the southeastern county near the antenna and it will probably grow
>> over time.)
>>     
>
> you would have to comply as soon as you can.  the fcc will understand if you are
> making a good faith effort and if it takes a few weeks, they will be more
> lenient since you are just starting up.
>
>   
>> --Are there any other matters where a ten-mile limit applies other than
>> the two I mention above?
>>     
>
> not that can be found on the 318 application - i don't think there are any other
> rules.
>
>   
>> Thanks,
>>
>> John Hicks
>> WXBH-LP and Brycc House, Inc.
>> Phone 502-213-0428
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>     
>
>   

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