Boston Radio: Nom-Com WGBH Survives License Challenge

The FCC has denied a petition challenging the lisence renewal of non-com WGBH 89.7 FM Boston/

A local media advocacy group called The Committee for Community Access filed a petition with the Federal Communications Commission asking it to deny renewal of the license.  The group wanted the station to restore music programming” that was either cut or shifted to WCRB 99.5 FM in 2009.

According to the CCA, the “near-total expungement of music from the airwaves” of WGBH was done to transform the station into a full-time news and talk station, and therefore limited format diversity in the Boston area. Listener letters sharing similar concerns were also submitted to the FCC.

In its complaint, the CCA called on the commission to “hold public radio licensees to a higher standard than commercial licensees” when it comes to adequately serving the listening public with diverse format options. The CCA also asked that the commission reconsider its Format Policy, saying that alleged “market failures” call for the commission to revisit the issue, and that listeners have a “First Amendment right to be served,”

WGBH 89.7 FM (98 Kw) Red=Local Coverage Area

The FCC countered by saying — as it has many times before — that it does not regulate programming, nor does it take potential changes in entertainment programming formats into consideration in reviewing license renewal applications.

The agency also declined to reconsider its Format Policy. “When addressing matters of broad applicability, the commission has preferred utilizing rulemaking proceedings and policy statements rather than fact-specific adjudicatory proceedings to give guidance and reasonable notice to licensees on going forward requirements,” the ruling said.