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Will the FCC fine itself for this?

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by DanOregon, Jul 27, 2007.

  1. DanOregon

    DanOregon Well-Known Member

    From Erika Engle of the Star Bulletin in Hawaii:

    K-WHAT? Unbuilt Maui TV station lands questionable call letters
    THE call letters KUNT have landed at a yet-unbuilt low-power digital television station in Wailuku, Maui.

    Alarmingly similar to a word the dictionary says is obscene, the call letters were among a 15-page list of new call letters issued by the Federal Communications Commission and released this week.

    The same station owner also received KWTF for a station in Arizona.

    From Skokie, Ill., comes a sincere apology "to anyone that was offended," said Kevin Bae, vice president of KM Communications Inc., who requested and received KUNT and KWTF. It is "extremely embarrassing for me and my company and we will file to change those call letters immediately."

    He thanked your columnist for bringing the matter to his attention and pledged to, "make sure I don't fall asleep on the job when selecting call signs again."

    One might understand how Bae's eyes could glaze over during selection, as KM has some 80 sets of call letters and alpha-numeric callsigns for TV and radio stations in several states.

    No KM station is yet on the air in Hawaii but its mainland TV stations carry programming from America One Network, My Network TV and the CW.

    The call letter snafu was a source of great mirth for Bae's attorney.

    "I can't tell you how long he laughed at me when he learned of my gaffe," Bae said.

    Broadcasters for generations have joked among themselves about call letters resembling off-color words or acronyms knowing the FCC would never approve their assignment -- but that was before computerization.

    KCUF-FM near Aspen, Colo. got its F-word-in-reverse call letters in August of 2005 and has been on the air since December, "Keeping Colorado Uniquely Free," its Web site says. Uh, yeah.

    Station officials could not be reached, but the automated pop-music slinger has been written about twice in the Aspen Daily News. The paper said radio regulators "blessed the call letters."

    However, assignment of call letters actually is an automated process, according to Mary Diamond of the FCC's Office of Media Relati
    ons. Broadcasters use the FCC Web site to request and receive call letters with no oversight from Beavis, his partner, or any FCC regulator.

    Dude, seriously. Even after years of concerns over broadcast indecency and the debate about fines for fleeting profanities that hit the air.

    The Code of Federal Regulations allows applicants to request call letters of their choice as long as the combination is available. Further, "objections to the assignment of requested call signs will not be entertained at the FCC," it states
     
  2. Colton

    Colton Active Member

    Outstanding.
     
  3. HejiraHenry

    HejiraHenry Well-Known Member

    We need a cover version of the old Harry Chapin song:

    "I am the morning deejay on K-U-N-T (tee-tee-tee-tee ...)
     
  4. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    The guys over at SUCK are gonna be jealous
     
  5. This could cost station manager Jablome his job.
     
  6. Well played, sir
     
  7. DanOregon

    DanOregon Well-Known Member

    Any good call letters our Canadian friends could share with us?
     
  8. leo1

    leo1 Active Member

    awesome. still, i have a tough time believing the guy randomly chose these letters.
     
  9. Diabeetus

    Diabeetus Active Member

    Yeah...I'm not buying the accident. I can see WTF being an accident, but not KUNT.
     
  10. ArnoldBabar

    ArnoldBabar Active Member

    I always heard that when North Texas State University changed its name to the University of North Texas, they filed with the FCC to change the campus radio station's letters from KNTS to KUNT and were declined.

    Seems odd to me that the FCC wouldn't have a list of unacceptable words like the DMV and NFL Team Shop do.
     
  11. Bob Cook

    Bob Cook Active Member

    Paul Silas would have been a dedicated listener.
     
  12. Football_Bat

    Football_Bat Well-Known Member

    KPussycat has a better ring to it.
     
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