The FCC said no to KZEY(AM) in Tyler, Texas, so the station will have to pay its $11,000 fine. One reason for the fine: the station operated omnidirectionally from a single tower rather than in its authorized two-tower directional configuration.
Community Broadcast Group Inc. was found liable by the Enforcement Bureau for “willful and repeated” violation of rules regarding the station authorization and public inspection file.
In 2006 agents asked to inspect the file; it contained no Radio Issues/Program lists from any quarter. Also the agents found the station operating in an omnidirectional mode. “Station personnel stated that the station had been operating in an omnidirectional mode from a single tower for more than a year,” the FCC said.
The station’s subsequent appeal was filed late and did not provide a reason to change the ruling, the commission staff said.