Noncom Fined by FCC Over Raffle

Station managers, you’ve heard the advice before: Be careful if you are running a raffle online.
The FCC now plans to fine a North Carolina noncom station $4,000 for violating those rules. The fine is against Isothermal Community College, licensee of WNCW(FM) in Spindale. The commission said it received complaints that the station had broadcast a raffle but failed to make clear that consideration was not required to participate and refrained from airing the contest’s rules.
The FCC said the college’s disclosure of contest rules on its Web site two months after the contest did not comply with the rules. It found that listeners might reasonably conclude that they would have to make membership pledges in order to be entered into the contest.
The school has 30 days to appeal or pay. In the same case, the commission rejected a complaint that an employee had sent harassing e-mail traffic in reprisal for the complaint to the FCC.