The FCC has granted a construction permit for a new LPFM station on 107.3 FM in Union City, Pa. to Community Media of Union City.
The commission ruled in the group’s favor following an informal objection from a crosstown LPFM operator.
Community Media’s application was part of the 2023 LPFM filing window. Union City Family Support Center (UCFSC), which owns 96.7 WWUC(LP), filed an objection in January, believing the application should be denied due to the involvement of technical consultant Brian Silvis.
Silvis is also the manager for Canadohta Community Radio Group’s 105.7 WUUK(LP) and a consultant for Corry Area Radio Service’s 98.9 WHYP(LP). In its objection, UCFSC charged that Silvis was creating a “radio network” across northwest Pennsylvania and that his affiliation with the three stations was “outside the original intentions of the FCC” regarding LPFM operation.
Following the objection, Community Media removed Silvis from its application in February. It also said he had no attributable interests in the non-profit.
The FCC now has denied the objection. It said the presence of a consultant like Silvis across multiple applications does not result in “common control or attributable interests” among the stations. It said that UCFSC presented no concrete evidence that Silvis’ involvement was beyond that of a technical consultant.
UCFSC’s concern originally had been filed as a petition to deny but was dismissed by the Media Bureau as procedurally flawed and was instead treated as an objection.
So Community Media has been awarded a CP for the new LPFM that will broadcast from a tower a few miles south of Union City.
The organization was incorporated in Pennsylvania in November and aims to use its signal to broadcast community-oriented features, such as programming with Union City High School students, interviews with local government officials and music programs by local artists.
