The FCC has fined a Texas AM daytimer $21,000 for tower and lighting violations.
The commission said Siga Broadcasting, licensee of KTMR in Edna, Texas, didn’t have proper red obstruction lights from sunset to sunrise, operated after local sunset and failed to enclose an antenna tower properly.
Siga argued that it had contracted with two people and hired an employee to inspect the station on a daily basis and that these people failed to fulfill their duties. It said it was unaware of the violations prior to the inspection, so its violations were not willful; it also said that when it cancelled a time brokerage agreement, the other entity cut the phone lines to the transmitter, which precluded the transmitter from automatically turning off, among other arguments.
The FCC rejected the station’s pitch that the fines be reduced.
