Skipped Legal IDs or Giving them Wrong/ FCC?

I'm wondering if the FCC has gone soft on enforcing legal ID rules in radio.

I frequently listen to WGN-AM (720) in Chicago -- instead of having a prerecorded voiceover recite the legal ID each hour, the hosts typically recite it themselves before going to the top of the hour news. In recent months, it seems some of the hosts have gotten sloppy with the IDs.

When done right, the WGN hosts say:
The Cubs and the Blackhawks play here on the Voice of Chicago, 720 WGN Chicago.

There a lot of times, where a host will recite that line, but neglect to specifically say Chicago after the call letters. In another case, new morning host Jonathon Brandmeier (who is rambunctious and all "over the place") will say "WGN Radio Chicago" before going to news.

I don't work in radio. I am simply a fan. And yet, I understand the rules, and I see when hosts get it wrong (I realize I have an unhealthy obsession with radio). I don't understand how such a heritage station such as WGN (or think of KGO/San Francisco or WABC/New York) can be no negligent in their legal IDs. I'm sure the station general manager, program director or even engineers listen to the station. I don't understand how these hosts have never been corrected - or if so, still continue to screw up something so simple.

How do a bunch of radio professionals not get it right? Has the FCC lightened up on such rules, and that is why the WGN hosts get away with it? I am simply curious and would appreciate any insight from anyone who might know. Thanks!

All they legally have to say is "WGN Chicago" to be compliant.

That's the point though... they're not saying the city.

Whatever the variation... one hosts says "WGN Radio Chicago", while another one will just say "720 WGN."

There are a lot of times, throughout various times, when the sequence of "WGN Chicago" is not said properly.

My question... why would such a huge station be so lazy and allow that to keep happening? Is the FCC not enforcing such rules as harshly anymore?

If memory serves me correctly, KRTH (K-Earth 101) in Los Angeles ID's like "KRTH - And KRTH HD1 - Los Angeles". I have also heard several stations with AM-FM simulcasts that insert "AM and FM" in between the calls and the city of license. Certainly goes against what I learned back in my broadcast technologists class 10 years ago, but sounds like the FCC these days is bound to fine stations more for listener complaints on things like interference and indecency, rather than 3 seconds of air time to properly identify itself.

FCC simply says it has to be the legal callsign followed by the city. So, as an example, WMAL-FM in DC can't be "WMAL NewsRadio Woodbridge/Washington". It must be "WMAL-AM Washington, WMAL-FM Woodbridge, and WRQX HD-2 Washington" "WMAL-AM, WRQX HD-1 Washington, WMAL-FM Woodbridge".

However, as you know, rapid-fire TOH ID's have been buried in stopsets of stations for a couple decades now, and I'd much rather hear a "WGN Radio Chicago" where I can properly identify the station rather than the more jumbled-up but legal "...Void in Alaska, Colorado and where prohibited. WGNChicago Come to the United Center this Sunday for $1.99 lasik procedures!"

The king of clandestine but understandable TOH ID's goes to 101.5 Lite FM/Miami. They have had the jocks do the TOH ID for quite a few years now, and quite often during a live jock's first break at the TOH they would drop it in like a 70's Top 40 station: "Sunny today, high in the upper 80's. Right now, West Palm is 82, Ft. Lauderdale is 79, and your WLYF Miami temperature is 81 degrees at 1 o'clock."

Honestly, the Feds are working with the same sized enforcement division they were 30 years ago. Some things that honestly are not important will slip by the inspector and the inspected. They'd rather nab you for that public file you just can't happen to locate!

Radio-X

radiodxrichmond said:

The king of clandestine but understandable TOH ID's goes to 101.5 Lite FM/Miami. They have had the jocks do the TOH ID for quite a few years now, and quite often during a live jock's first break at the TOH they would drop it in like a 70's Top 40 station: "Sunny today, high in the upper 80's. Right now, West Palm is 82, Ft. Lauderdale is 79, and your WLYF Miami temperature is 81 degrees at 1 o'clock."

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Oh, I think the king has to be WGTZ which at least at one time ran a top-of-hour announcement "WGTZ, Eatin' Dayton Alive". Their COL was Eaton, Ohio...

But I think your point is well taken. As long as the call letters and city are given in the same announcement they probably aren't going to get bent out of shape about insertion of something else.

I have no way of knowing this for sure but I strongly suspect the specific rules stemmed from some 1930s attempts by stations to mislead advertisers into thinking they could reach Chicago customers over a Peoria station or something like that...

I heard there's no definite formula concerning the TOH identification of HD channels, which is probably why you hear many variations across the country, but for stations that aren't in HD, TOH IDs are so incredibly simple. Call sign, city of license. I've heard a lot of creative ones over the years, but the required TOH ID is there.

What annoys me is when broadcasters are fine with risking potential fines by allowing their stations to legally identify incorrectly. Over the years, I've found more and more stations doing it. For example, we've had a station in the Lafayette, IN area that has identified incorrectly for years. WBPE is licensed to Brookston, IN, but they've identified forever as "WBPE Lafayette-Brookston." It's mindblowing the lack of attention for detail that some broadcasters have, even for the simplest FCC requirements.

blowtorch50k said:

I'm wondering if the FCC has gone soft on enforcing legal ID rules in radio.

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This falls in the category of a tree falling in a forest. I really don't know how much time and effort the FCC can put in enforcing such rules, and for what purpose.

Most of their fines come from their complaints division. Someone sends them a letter saying they heard an obscene word or a station caused interference. Who's going to write a letter about a TOH ID? As someone said earlier, there are too few FCC agents to monitor 14,000 radio stations every day for such a small detail. Those agents appear to have their hands full with pirates.

Having said that, another problem has to do with the number of people who are actually familiar with the rules. Back in the days when the FCC required 3rd class licenses, you had lots of people on staff who knew the rules for a legal ID. Today, it's less likely that the people involved in the IDs actually know the rules. That's no excuse, but when fewer people know the rules, there's less chance of someone internally saying something about it. Imagine if drivers licenses were handled this way.

radiodxrichmond said:

FCC simply says it has to be the legal callsign followed by the city. So, as an example, WMAL-FM in DC can't be "WMAL NewsRadio Woodbridge/Washington". It must be "WMAL-AM Washington, WMAL-FM Woodbridge, and WRQX HD-2 Washington" "WMAL-AM, WRQX HD-1 Washington, WMAL-FM Woodbridge".

However, as you know, rapid-fire TOH ID's have been buried in stopsets of stations for a couple decades now, and I'd much rather hear a "WGN Radio Chicago" where I can properly identify the station rather than the more jumbled-up but legal "...Void in Alaska, Colorado and where prohibited. WGNChicago Come to the United Center this Sunday for $1.99 lasik procedures!"

The king of clandestine but understandable TOH ID's goes to 101.5 Lite FM/Miami. They have had the jocks do the TOH ID for quite a few years now, and quite often during a live jock's first break at the TOH they would drop it in like a 70's Top 40 station: "Sunny today, high in the upper 80's. Right now, West Palm is 82, Ft. Lauderdale is 79, and your WLYF Miami temperature is 81 degrees at 1 o'clock."

Honestly, the Feds are working with the same sized enforcement division they were 30 years ago. Some things that honestly are not important will slip by the inspector and the inspected. They'd rather nab you for that public file you just can't happen to locate!

Radio-X

Click to expand...

You mean "WMAL Washington, WMAL-FM Woodbridge, and WRQX HD-2 Washington" "WMAL-, WRQX HD-1 Washington, WMAL-FM Woodbridge".

WGTZ's ID had to be the coolest! (I never heard it, but ya gotta like it....)

WLYF may be kinda clandestine, but legal, I'd think....they only have the "parallel" HD1 so I assume they don't have to announce that, correct?

cd

I don't know when, if ever, the FCC was really strict on legal IDs (there actually is no "-AM" suffix, so WLS-AM Chicago would technically not be legal. A simulcast would legally be WLS, WLS-FM, Chicago. A couple of other things can be included between the calls and COL, such as ownership (WLS, Cumulus Media Chicago). I don't know chapter and verse how and how HD1 simulcasts are supposed to be identified.

WGTZ's was creative; with the new Fly 92-9 identity they've gotten close a time or two. In the early days of WBYR, "The Bear" Ft. Wayne, the ID was buried in the temperatures in the weather. It's 61 at Ft. Wayne's "The Bear" Field with WBYR Van Wert 62 and Angola 59. Now here's another Bear Music Marathon....." (Ft. Wayne's airport was called Baer Field at the time).

cd637299 said:

WLYF may be kinda clandestine, but legal, I'd think....they only have the "parallel" HD1 so I assume they don't have to announce that, correct?

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Actually they do. From the FCC rules, 73.1201 (b), dealing with Content):

"A radio station operating in DAB hybrid mode or extended hybrid mode
shall identify its digital signal, including any free multicast audio
programming streams, in a manner that appropriately alerts its audience
to the fact that it is listening to a digital audio broadcast."

I've noticed many stations with HD that don't acknowledge the HD1 in the legal ID.

Can stations give a legal ID in morse code?

The FCC could care less about a missing or incorrect legal ID. DXers care more about a legal ID than the FCC (since the best time to check for e-skip is the top of the hour for some easy IDs)

Nick said:

I've noticed many stations with HD that don't acknowledge the HD1 in the legal ID.

Can stations give a legal ID in morse code?

The FCC could care less about a missing or incorrect legal ID. DXers care more about a legal ID than the FCC (since the best time to check for e-skip is the top of the hour for some easy IDs)

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Nick, as a DXer, the best part about the hobby now, is that one doesn't necessarily have to wait until the top of the hour, if RDS lights up, or a song matches yes.com, etc. (I myself don't really count yes.com matches----heck the songs could be off of satellite or something----but it does help, I suppose.) One can also Google a phrase off a commercial and get quick results!

For DTV DX, all you need is the PSIP display. For foreign analog TV DX, know your logos; if you see a familiar one, you can mark it down!

Also, so many websites like DX Sherlock sure make things easier than in the old days. You can also be in a DX club where you can send your unID via mp3 and get near immediate response!

As one who complains (a lot) about the way things were, the DX hobby is helped along (a lot) more than before. (As a kid who was a casual DXer in the 60s, I do recall watching TV and only hoping for top-or-bottom-of-the-hour ID's---and I did my share of tweaking that horizontal & vertical hold! And there were definitely no logo bugs!) I'd much rather DX *today*!!

cd

^ Boy my grammar was bad....I meant as one who complains (a lot) that things *should* be like they used to be, etc.....

cd

How about daytimers that fail to do a legal ID at sign-on and sign-off? (cough...KAZG Scottsdale...cough)

A lot of great responses... my thanks to everyone.

From everything gathered hear, missing a legal ID or delivering in the wrong format is not that big of a deal to the FCC. That is what I was unsure of.

Thanks again for all the responses.

-Blowtorch

oldiesfan6479 said:

How about daytimers that fail to do a legal ID at sign-on and sign-off? (cough...KAZG Scottsdale...cough)

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And the TV stations that reversed the COL and their studio location, and did it for 50 years until the analog transmitter was turned off? (cough...KTAR-TV/KPNX Phoenix/Mesa - er, I mean Mesa/Phoenix)

Almost no one does a legal ID after returning to the air after a power failure, etc. which I believe is required.

borderblaster said:

Almost no one does a legal ID after returning to the air after a power failure, etc. which I believe is required.

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But mebbe in some cases, the station *didn't know* it was off? I couldn't blame them....

cd