ATTN: Sinclair license in Raleigh Durham NC expires Dec 1st

[In Truth We Trust]

Any advise as to how we should proceed?

[RobertSeattle]

1. AAR's first TV Station?

OK longshot...

:evilgrin:

[2Design]

4. see if we can get al gore and others to buy the station

[calimary]

2. Highy intriguing.

Kick!

Not sure exactly how to proceed, especially since I don't know the rules and regs now. But there's FCC info in the Five-Star list in the Activism/Events forum. Maybe a link from there will be of service.

[NVMojo]

3. I hear that complaints about new stations and renewals

can tie up the process for almost a year.

[hlthe2b]

5. Good luck, guys.... GO FOR IT!

[ClassWarrior]

6. CALLING BEN BURCH!!

24.

[benburch]

7. I'm here....

Where do we start?

[ClassWarrior]

8. Maybe our first step is a phone call to AAR?

Second, find us an attorney familiar with FCC policy.

24.

[benburch]

10. I think the first step has to be to figure out how to protest to FCC

Until they lose the license, I cannot see investors being interested.

[ClassWarrior]

11. But can AAR offer any advice?

24.

[benburch]

12. I'm not sure. I'll write this evening and see if anybody has

suggestions...

[ClassWarrior]

14. Dig this.

Going to read it now.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=1034846&mesg_id=1036185&page=

24.

[In Truth We Trust]

9. I understand the public comment period ends Nov 1st

I went to fcc site but had trouble loading pdf. Does anyone have any time to get the procedural documents from there so we know how to attack this.

[ClassWarrior]

13. Cool. While Ben's checking with AAR, I'll try to look into this tonight.

Anyone else care to help?

24.

[KoKo]

15. Here's what you can do.....and do it before November 1 Action.....

Just snipped this from a link from TPM...about what we can do about WRAL Raleigh:
---------SNIP..............


But what can be done on this in the time between now and the election?

The usual way to lean on broadcasters is to arrange boycotts of them or pressure their advertisers, as Chris indicated in his piece on MyDD, and this is already being worked on. There are groups out there with experience in holding the media accountable, such as the Center for Digital Democracy, and the Alliance for Better Campaigns. They could be brought in to coordinate a national letter writing campaign to the FCC that may make a dent before the election, as would any protests and boycotts locally at each station to get media coverage in the week before the election to show that the station is nothing more than a partisan front for the Bush campaign.

But what isn't done a lot which requires the broadcaster to rack up expensive legal fees, is to challenge every one of their affiliates' FCC license renewals as they come up this year and next.

The FCC rules state that anyone who has an interest, presumably a local interest, in the renewal of a TV license may file either an informal objection or a more formal petition that must meet specific requirements. Note that Petitions to Deny are required to be filed with the FCC one month in advance of the station’s license expiration date. According to the FCC’s schedule of station expiration dates by state, any move to file Petitions to Deny or objections in advance of the station’s license expiration date are already too late to be accepted for Sinclair stations in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, or the District of Columbia, as the expiration date has passed and the file has closed. However, note that there still is time to organize and file Petitions or objections by November 1, 2004 for Sinclair stations in North Carolina and South Carolina, and for Florida by January 1, 2005.

Bloggers could link up with local media law attorneys of like mind in each of these Sinclair affiliate towns to gather informal objections and formal petitions challenging the renewal of these Sinclair licenses, which would then be forwarded to the FCC for inclusion in the station's renewal file at least one month prior to the license expiration date for consideration at the time of the upcoming license renewals this year and in 2005-2007. For example, here are the North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida stations with upcoming license expirations, for which objections and petitions must be filed by November 1, 2004 for the Carolina stations, and by January 1, 2005 for the Florida stations.

North Carolina:
Asheville
Greensboro
Raleigh

South Carolina:
Charleston

Florida:
Pensacola
Tallahassee
Tampa

I have no illusions that the FCC and Michael Powell may actually reject some Sinclair licenses over this, but the commission would have a hard time ignoring a station's application for renewal if each file had hundreds or thousands of letters of complaint or petitions on file. Plus, Sinclair would have to defend each one and incur the legal costs of doing so.

MORE ON THIS:

http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/002985.html

[ClassWarrior]

16. NC / SC / Fla. DUers??

Any thoughts on sympathetic local attorneys?

24.

[ClassWarrior]

17. kicking for attorneys

:kick: 24.