Renewal reneg

Arkansas Business, Nov 26, 2007 by Nate Hinkel

Broadcasting & Cable, a television industry online publication, pointed us to some news that KRLT-TV, Channel 16's license renewal with the Federal Communications Commission was in question.

Stations have to renew their licenses with the FCC every seven years, and when KLRT sought renewal in 2004, it met some opposition.

The Parents Television Council, it turns out, was the group holding up the renewal over broadcasts that date back to 2003. According to its Web site, "the PTC's primary mission is to promote and restore responsibility and decency to the entertainment industry in answer to America's demand for positive, family-oriented television programming."

The PTC's complaint against KLRT was three-fold:

* The airing of alleged indecencies and profanities in the Billboard Awards;

* The airing of alleged indecencies and profanities in "That 70s Show;" and

* KLRT's alleged failure to properly document the complaints.

Stations must keep a public file on site that, among other things, is a running compendium of any complaints made to the station. In this case, the PTC complained that there was no public correspondence on the complaints in the "complaints file" portion of KLRT's public-inspection file, according to Broadcasting & Cable.

But the FCC on Nov. 15 denied the petition that opposed KLRT's license renewal, pointing out that, after initially finding the profanities indecent, it later changed its ruling so that though the indecency finding stood, it wasn't going to hold them against licensees come renewal time.

The FCC also dismissed the complaint about alleged reporting lapses concerning KLRT's public file.