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Where do I complain?

J

johnbasalla

I am not happy with the FCC cramming stations into the non-commercial part of the band, making it harder to hear what I want to hear. Most recently in the Northeastern Ohio area, they licensed a rather large station at 91.9 FM, thus causing nothing but interference hash with the very small EMF station licensed in Downtown Cleveland on the same frequency. They licensed the EMF "Air One" station a few years ago. I have to be almost half-way downtown to hear "Air One" when before I could pick it up immediately in my car. Now all I get is two battling signals.

I went to the FCC website, but could not find a place there to complain about such matters although they make it easy to share concerns on other matters. Maybe they don't want to hear about these issues, but one way or another, they are going to hear from me on this. :mad:
 
The EMF station is a translator (licensed to Parma, but with a cardioid pattern aimed directly at downtown Cleveland from a tower just south of downtown). The new station is a B-1 licensed to Brunswick, tower site north of Wooster.

Full power stations have priority over translators. Translators receive no protection from new stations or stations that change their facilities.
 
Where do I complain? That is a question more and more of ask about more and more topics.

There is a certain amount of therapy involved in sending a letter to a government agency or your legislator, or a letter to the editor in the newspaper. But are any of these effective? I have watched this whole process now for more years than I like to admit, and EFFECTIVE complaining is usually expensive. It involves membership in some organization that we would call a lobbyist. Or, it involves hiring a lawyer who knows how to put your complaint into the FCC hopper in a legalese way. You could easily spend $5,000 to $10,000 doing that.

In the real-life-example that you gave, remember, your loss was some one else's gain. They put in a new station and you feel you lost something in the transaction. Over in another neighborhood some people who used to struggle to get what they wanted on the dial may now be getting the signal strength and programming they have dreamed of for years.

The same day your John Q Citizen letter arrives at the FCC complaining, there may be one or more letters arriving saying "Thank You". You think the new station was a mistake, the other letter writes says it was her salvation.

As long as they follow the rules, a complaint about a new station, or an existing station with a changed signal is not going to be stopped by your letter along with 150 or 823 similar letters by your neighbors who share your complaint.

What works is when the right group puts on enough pressure with a nationwide standard that needs changing. EXAMPLE: many of us have watched in disbelief as the current rules and economic conditions have resulted in towns of 10,000, 20,000, 50,000 people or maybe even 100,000 people losing their station as it either becomes a rimshot to the nearby major metro, or actually gets relocated from your geography into the big city. There are tons of these markets around the country that have been stripped naked of radio service. But who is going to lobby the cause and get the rules changed? It needs to be cities and counties and chambers of commerce... and frankly, they have other issues that are so much bigger than this, they don't bother.

The owners in these markets have never fought the problem. With a gleam in their eye they simply wait for the day the conglomerate shows up with check-book in hand and says: We are here to buy your station. How many zeroes do we need to put in the price?

The FCC could care less that one neighborhood in Cleveland or Denver or Orlando feels they got the shaft. When a nationwide group with big political clout shows up going from one congressional office to the next and then the next... working on a rule that can be implemented nationwide, then things happen.
 
TomT gave a good, but for me, disappointing response. The new higher power station is just another in a long-line of religious broadcasters, of which there are a good number as it is. Anyway, I still have another thing to complain about... and I'd still like to know where to send the letter. I figure like this, maybe it won't do any good, but it can't hurt. Who knows what the future holds? It could fall into the right hands.
 
Here is a link to the on-line document provided by the FCC, and that should be available from any station as part of their Public File:

http://transition.fcc.gov/mb/audio/decdoc/public_and_broadcasting.html#_Toc202587599

The very last screen in the online document says:

Comments/Complaints to the FCC. We give full consideration to the broadcast complaints, comments, and other inquiries that we receive. As stated above, we encourage you to first contact the station or network directly about programming and operating issues. If your concerns are not resolved in this manner, with the exception of complaints about obscene, indecent, or profane programming, which should be submitted in the manner described at page 15 of this Manual, and complaints about blanketing interference discussed at page 24, the best way to provide all the information the FCC needs to process your complaint about other broadcast matters is to complete fully the on-line complaint Form 2000E, which can be found at http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/complaints.html. You can also call in, e-mail or file your complaint in hard copy with the FCC’s Consumer Center in the following manner:

Federal Communications Commission
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau
Consumer Inquiries and Complaints Division
445 12th St., S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20554

Fax number: (202) 418-0232
Telephone number: (888) 225-5322 (voice); (888)835-5322 (TTY)
E-mail address:[email protected]
Click to expand...

I agree with you. It does not take great effort or great cost to send a letter or e-mail.
It might accomplish something.
It can't hurt.
 
In New York City, a new 106.3 translator was ordered to shut down due to interference complaints from the listeners of WKMK, a co-channel rimshot.
 
Get yourself a iPhone or Droid with a decent data plan. EMF has some nice apps for your phone. It will cost you less to get EMF wherever you want it on your cell phone than it will be to cut through the FCC BS. Irronically, it's usually EMF that's pulling the interference thing on others by putting up translators all over the country, many times running over others like public radio stations and college stations. Ironic indeed...
 
Contact EMF about the loss of their AIR1 signal in your area. There MIGHT be a possibility they could change frequency, or even put a new x-lator on the air somewhere near you. You are probably 100x more likely to get a response from them, than from the FCC.

I'd like to see them put an x-lator in my area, for K-Love! I can only hear their brand new NYC rimshot, when I go some distance from my house.
 
johnbasalla said:
I am not happy with the FCC cramming stations into the non-commercial part of the band, making it harder to hear what I want to hear. Most recently in the Northeastern Ohio area, they licensed a rather large station at 91.9 FM, thus causing nothing but interference hash with the very small EMF station licensed in Downtown Cleveland on the same frequency. They licensed the EMF "Air One" station a few years ago. I have to be almost half-way downtown to hear "Air One" when before I could pick it up immediately in my car. Now all I get is two battling signals.

I went to the FCC website, but could not find a place there to complain about such matters although they make it easy to share concerns on other matters. Maybe they don't want to hear about these issues, but one way or another, they are going to hear from me on this. :mad:
Click to expand...

Find out who represents you, and the next time they hold a town hall meeting gather your friends buy some poster board and a big sharpie, right on it "I WANT MY ____, STOP THE INTERFERENCE" or something along those lines. Then will the elected official comes outside, or before he goes in ask him or her to intervene just like with the Obamacare and Lloyd Doggett. Just a thought, plus you might just get media attention. Make sure you do this on the Public Right of Way and research your town's trespassing laws!

Oh and the FCC has (2) filings Formal and Informal. Formal means you have to put down a filing fee and your filing the complaint with the courts, that is on the FCC's website. A lawyer experienced in this field can do this for you and represent you on your behalf but it will cost you like the other posters were stating. Informal is a lower priority and is free of charge to file.
 
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