A minority-owned TV station benefiting from a joint sales...
A minority-owned TV station benefiting from a joint sales agreement (JSA) -- highlighted as an example of the benefits of JSAs by FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai (CD March 6 p6) -- is actually an example of “exactly the type of…
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concentration of broadcast station control” that ownership rules were intended to prevent, said the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters in an FCC filing (http://tinyurl.com/n2yc5kt). As pointed out by Pai, Tougaloo college’s WLOO Vicksburg, Miss., is in a JSA with WDBD Jackson, but WDBD is itself in a sharing arrangement with a Raycom-owned NBC affiliate, WLBT Jackson, NABOB said. “Both WLOO and WDBD are operated out of the Raycom studio and listed by Raycom as ‘Raycom Television Stations,'” NABOB said. That “strongly suggests” Raycom has “significant” control over the stations, NABOB said. “We believe that the JSA under which WLOO is currently operated needs to be amended such that it provides a clear plan and timetable for Tougaloo College to operate the station without a JSA or [shared services agreement] operator,” NABOB said. “We do not believe that this current arrangement is one that should be used as the example for allowing continued operation of JSAs across the country.” Asked for comment on NABOB’s ex parte, a spokesman for Pai’s office said the commissioner “supports African American broadcasters and looks forward to visiting WLOO in the future to see all of the good work the station is doing.” Asked for comment on NABOB’s ex parte, a spokesman for Pai’s office said the commissioner “supports African American broadcasters and looks forward to visiting WLOO in the future to see all of the good work the station is doing.”