The Federal Communications Commission proposed fining WLEX-TV Lexington, Ky., $10,000 for not keeping up with its paperwork.
In applying for a license renewal, the station conceded that it had not put copies of its program/issues list in its public file for an almost four-year stretch between 2001 and 2004. Stations are required to file a list of the programs on issues of public importance they have aired.
The station told the FCC it reconstructed the lists, filed them and took steps to make sure it doesn't happen again. But taking into account the number of missing files and the length of the violation, the agency concluded that it was willful and repeated and levied the fine.
The commission has been cracking down on public filing violations and will have a lot more to keep track of in the wake of recent FCC decisions to boost stations’ reporting requirements.
