The FCC fined WSEA(FM), Atlantic Beach, S.C. $4,000 for airing a telephone caller without first letting the caller know she was being recorded and on the air.
The case stems from March of 2003 when Cumulus-owned WSEA jock Dan Hockert called at competing station WWXM(FM) and asked the receptionist if his friend “Emily” was in. The receptionist, Anne Crutchman, said she was, and asked him to hold. Hockert then asked Emily to state several times from where she had won her concert tickets, asking her to loudly ID the station in the lobby of its competitor.
Crutchman notified her PD, who taped the call as it aired. Crutchman filed a complaint with the FCC and included the tape.
Cumulus said WSEA now has a copy of the commission rules, and the owner now requires its Myrtle Beach on-air employees state in writing that they understand and will abide by the FCC rule that says parties must notify callers before their broadcast a call that the call may be recorded for air use.
Inter-Station Squabble Leaves WSEA Fined $4,000
Inter-Station Squabble Leaves WSEA Fined $4,000
