Media Foundation (AzCMF)
Independent Media for Arizona
www.action.freepress.net/campaign/ownership.
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FCC Awards Construction Permit for Apache Junction to East Valley Institute of Technology
In October, 2007, in response to a limited, five day filing window opened by the FCC, AzCMF, the East Valley Institute of Technology (EVIT) and 9 other Arizona and Texas organizations submitted applications for full power non-commercial stations to operate at 90.7 on the FM dial. Three applicants, AzCMF, EVIT, and Black Entrepreneurs, filed with Apache Junction as their city of license. Another organization filed from Buckeye. Three applications were from Tonopah and Cockleburr, Arizona and San Lucy Village, Texas. The Apache Junction applications were in conflict with each other, a situation abbreviated as "MX," meaning that more than one applicant was applying for the same location and frequency. The Buckeye application was a stand alone. The three southern Arizona and Texas applications were also independent from each other. Steve Grosz, head of the Radio Department at EVIT, filed his original application over 10 years ago, only to have it set aside when the FCC changed its rules on how to determine winning applications. When the October, 2007 window opened up, the FCC allowed suspended applications from the previous window to be refiled, and Steve did do. In total, his application has been pending almost 11 years, and needless to say, he was overjoyed when AzCMF sent him a notice that he had been declared the winner. EVIT and AzCMF have a time and frequency sharing agreement that both parties wish to pursue. After a thirty day period for any member of the public to file objections to the award, we look forward to working with Steve and EVIT to bring real community radio to the East Valley. 2. Group 309. This group is comprised of nine applications proposing service to six different communities in Arizona and Texas. The following three applicants propose service to Apache Junction, Arizona: Arizona Community Media Foundation (“ACMF”), Black Entrepreneur Association (“BEA”), and East Valley Institute of Technology District # 401 (“EVIT”). Community Impact Foundation, Inc. (“CIF”) and Hispanic Family Christian Network, Inc. (“HFCN”) each propose service to Tonopah, Arizona. The remaining Arizona applicants are: The Johnson Foundation (“Johnson”) for Casa Grande; Tohono O’Odham Nation (“Tohono”) for Cockleburr; and The Helpline (“Helpline”) for Buckeye. Primera Iglesia Evangelica de Apostoles y Profetas (“PIEA”) proposes to serve San Lucy Villa, Texas. None of the applicants claims that it is eligible for a fair distribution preference. The entire group therefore proceeds to a point hearing. 3. ACMF, EVIT, and Tohono each certify that they are entitled to three points as established local applicants. CIF, BEA, Johnson, Helpline, HFCN, and PIEA do not claim localism points. Each applicant certifies that it is entitled to two points for diversity of ownership. None of the applicants claim points as a statewide network. With respect to technical parameters, CIF claims that its proposed 60 dBu contour would encompass 4,576 square kilometers with a population of 4,993; ACMF, 848 square kilometers and 189,127 people; BEA, 1,031 square kilometers and 336,744 people; EVIT, 961 square kilometers and 219,934 people; Tohono, 449 square kilometers and 469 people; Helpline, 5,552 square kilometers and 13,459 people; HFCN, 520 square kilometers and 426 people; and PIEA, 1,203 square kilometers and 2,685 people. Johnson failed to specify its proposed technical parameters.[1] No applicant is eligible for any points under the best technical proposal because no applicant proposes to serve both the most area and population, at least 10 percent greater than the next best applicant. Accordingly, ACMF, EVIT, and Tohono are credited with a total of five points each. CIF, BEA, Johnson, Helpline, HFCN, and PIEA receive two points each and are therefore eliminated. ACMF, EVIT, and Tohono proceed to a tie-breaker. 4. The first issue considered in a tie-breaker for NCE FM applicants is the number of radio station authorizations attributable to each applicant. The applicant with the fewest authorizations prevails. Tohono certifies that it has one attributable interest. ACMF and EVIT each certify that they have no attributable interest in any radio authorization. Tohono is therefore eliminated, and ACMF and EVIT proceed to the second issue considered in a tie-breaker – the number of pending radio applications attributable to each applicant. ACMF certifies that it has two applications; EVIT certifies that it has one pending application. EVIT therefore prevails based on this second tiebreaker criterion and is the tentative selectee in Group 309. [1] Because Johnson provided no numbers, we will consider it to serve zero square kilometers with a population of zero. See, e.g., NCE Omnibus, 22 FCC Rcd at 6121 (when, in two-applicant group, one applicant provided technical numbers and the other did not, applicant providing the numbers was awarded maximum technical points).
A twelfth organization, Johnson Foundation, filed an application which conflicted with all of the other applications, creating a dumbbell shaped broadcast area with Johnson Foundation as the bar joining the two ends. For whatever reason, the FCC decided that it would treat these twelve applications as one large group and that it would award only one permit even though the two subgroups were not in conflict with each other.
AzCMF filed several petitions with the FCC showing that Johnson Foundation was in fact a fake, that it didn't exist, and claiming that the only reason Johnson filed was to try to extract money from the applicants with which it was in conflict. Research by AzCMF counsel revealed that Johnson Foundation was not registered as a non-profit organization with the IRS; that it was not, contrary to its FCC filing, registered as a corporation in Texas; and that its representative was known to the FCC for having filed false affidavits in the past. However, the FCC ignored all these pleadings and refused to dismiss Johnson.
In addition, Johnson failed to file any technical data showing how large an area it would serve, or how many potential listeners it had. A cursory review of the application would have shown that the Johnson application should have been dismissed for failure to comply with FCC filing requirements.
Nonetheless, on June 24, the FCC ruled on all the pending applications as one group, and determined that EVIT would be awarded the permit which authorized construction of a new station. As a result of the FCC's refusal to consider dismissing Johnson, the wholly independent application of the Tohono O'Odham Nation for a station in Cockleburr was also dismissed. Until the very end, AzCMF and EVIT were tied, but the application of a “tie breaker” which would give the construction permit to the applicant with the least number of applications led to the selection of EVIT, since AzCMF has two applications pending, and EVIT has only one.
Here is the text of the FCC decision:
Radio Phoenix Named "Best of Phoenix" by New Times After only a year in operation, Radio Phoenix has been named "Best in Phoenix" by the newspaper in the category "Best Online Music Station that Should be a Radio Station." Needless to say, we agree completely. The article said, "In a just and fair world, the signals of Radio Phoenix would surge across the Phoenix area with 100,000 watts of clarity. Car stereos and hi-fi sets from Surprise to San Tan Valley would broadcast the station's über-eclectic blend of indie/underground music and community-based talk programming. We know listeners would dig Hip Rawk Nation with Kaja Brown on Wednesdays, which boasts a diverse mix of gospel, electronica, pop, and urban music (the kinda stuff that's usually relegated to an audiophile's iPod), as well as the retro soul and R&B sounds of The Dalton Green Show every Sunday afternoon. It would put Tucson's KXCI to shame. Yeah, wouldn't that be something? Returning to that nasty thing called reality, such a feat is a long way from happening, if at all, as this volunteer-run station is currently broadcast online only. According to station manager Jeremy Deatherage [actually, Kaja Brown, ed.], plans are afoot to someday obtain a bona fide FCC license, which costs into the hundreds of thousands. Several benefit gigs have taken baby steps toward that goal, but, like we said, it might not happen anytime soon. In the meantime, we'll keep our fingers crossed and stay tuned." Thanks to all our staff, volunteers, underwriters, and the hundreds of supporters around the Valley who have done so much to keep us on the air and bringing you the most interesting and diverse programming in the Valley. We are all looking forward to that letter from the FCC. Senate Defeats McCain Effort to End Radio Funding Senator had Supported Obama Budget Cuts Since 1986, new applicants for non-commercial stations, such as the Arizona Community Media Foundation (AzCMF), have relied on the Public Telecommunications Facilities Grant Program (PTFP) for their advance planning and construction costs, which can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and which are sometimes far beyond the financial capabilities of local communities. Because of the restrictions placed on other radio funding programs by Congress, the PTFP grant has become the only possible major funding source for as yet unproven local radio broadcasters. Last year, PTFP distributed $18 million, a small fraction federal communications support, which runs into billions. Senator John McCain, who at one time was a strong supporter of community radio, jumped on the defunding bandwagon, and threw his weight behind the Obama termination plan. The Senator offered an amendment to the House Bill, which included a $20 million appropriation for PTFP funding. His amendment would have "supported" the President and eliminated the PTFP grant from the new federal budget. On October 12, by a 64-33 vote, the Senate defeated the McCain amendment and approved the $20 million for continued community radio development. The defeat of the amendment recognizes the overwhelming need the PTFP program fills for communities, and will allow AzCMF to move ahead with its station and broadcast planning. _________________________
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In October, 2007, some 3,800 applicants undertook the expenses necessary to file for new non-commercial licenses. AzCMF was among those who incurred tens of thousands of dollars in legal and engineering fees in pursuit of its goal to provide real community radio. Nonetheless, the Obama administration decided that it was going to terminate funding of the PTPF program, which would have left hundreds of applicants without the capability of planning and constructing a station and going on the air once the license application was approved. Without PTFP support, most non-religious applicants, who do not have the support of major national faith based organizations, would be without the ability to raise the hundreds of thousands of dollars necessary to create community radio station..
AzCMF Files Two Applications for Full Power FM Community Radio.
For the first time in eight years, the FCC opened a filing window for non-commercial educational FM broadcast licenses. Although the window was only five days long and the FCC had imposed a ten filing per organization limit, there were still over 3,800 filings nation-wide, showing the pent-up demand for more non-commercial stations. The massive number of filings caused a break-down in the FCC computer system and required an extension of the window for an additional two days.
In Arizona, 88 applications were submitted, including two from AzCMF. The two applications, one for Apache Junction and the other for Chandler, cover over 500,000 potential listeners in the southeast Valley and Phoenix areas. To view the AzCMF applications, go to
As you go through the application, you will see several exhibits highlighted in blue. These will take you to the mission statement, statement of principles, proposed preogramming schedule, coverage maps, and other interesting details.
Because of the large number of overlapping applications, the FCC announced special procedures for resolving conflicts. Several other groups filed for Apache Junction, but we hope that all these conflicts will be resolved much more quickly than the last time around (some cases in the previous window have not yet been finally resolved after seven years).
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