******************************************************** NOTICE ******************************************************** This document was converted from WordPerfect to ASCII Text format. Content from the original version of the document such as headers, footers, footnotes, endnotes, graphics, and page numbers will not show up in this text version. All text attributes such as bold, italic, underlining, etc. from the original document will not show up in this text version. Features of the original document layout such as columns, tables, line and letter spacing, pagination, and margins will not be preserved in the text version. If you need the complete document, download the WordPerfect version or Adobe Acrobat version, if available. ***************************************************************** Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 In reply refer to: 1800C1-JEE 97030321 June 19, 1997 Released: June 24, 1997 CERTIFIED MAIL, RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED Jacor Broadcasting Corporation Licensee, WEBN(FM), Cincinnati, OH C/O Hogan & Hartson, LLP 555 14th Street, NW Washington, DC 20004 Dear Licensee: This letter constitutes a NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR A FORFEITURE pursuant to Section 503(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, under authority delegated to the Chief of the Mass Media Bureau by Section 0.283 of the Commission's Rules. The Commission has received information indicating that Radio Station WEBN(FM), Cincinnati, OH, may have violated 18 U.S.C.  1464 by broadcasting allegedly indecent material during broadcasts of "Bubba, the Love Sponge" on February 25 and 26, 1997, between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. A transcript of the allegedly indecent broadcasts, taken from tapes submitted by the complainant, is attached. Pursuant to 47 U.S.C.  312(a)(6) and 503(b)(1)(D), the Commission has statutory authority to take appropriate administrative action when licensees broadcast material in violation of 18 U.S.C.  1464, which provides criminal penalties for anyone who "utters any obscene, indecent or profane language by means of radio communication." The Commission has defined indecency as language or material that, in context, depicts or describes, in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium, sexual or excretory activities or organs. Infinity Broadcasting Corporation of Pennsylvania, 2 FCC Rcd 2705, 2705 (1987) (citing Pacifica Foundation, 56 FCC 2d 94, 98 (1975), aff'd sub nom. FCC v. Pacifica Foundation, 438 U.S. 726 (1978)). The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has upheld the Commission's authority to restrict the broadcast of indecent material at times when there is a reasonable risk that children may be in the audience. Action for Children's Television v. FCC, 852 F.2d 1332 (D.C. Cir. 1988). The court subsequently concluded that a 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. "safe harbor" was justified as a properly tailored means of vindicating the government's compelling interest in the welfare of children. Action for Children's Television v. FCC, 58 F.3d 654 (D.C. Cir. 1995), cert. denied, 116 S. Ct. 701 (1996). We believe the subject excerpts are indecent in that they contain language that describes sexual and excretory activities or organs in patently offensive terms. Because the material aired at times when there was a reasonable risk that children may have been in the audience, it is legally actionable. Thus, it appears that on February 25 and 26, 1997, Station WEBN(FM) violated 18 U.S.C.  1464 by airing indecent programming. Accordingly, pursuant to Section 503(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, Jacor Broadcasting Corporation is hereby advised of its apparent liability for a forfeiture of Four Thousand Dollars ($4,000), for its apparent willful and repeated violations of 18 U.S.C.  1464 on Februaury 25 and 26, 1997. The amount specified was determined after consideration of the factors set forth in Section 503(b)(2) of the Act, including "the nature, circumstances, extent, and gravity of the violation." In regard to this forfeiture proceeding, you are afforded a period of thirty (30) days from the date of this letter "to show, in writing, why a forfeiture penalty should not be imposed or should be reduced, or to pay the forfeiture. Any showing as to why the forfeiture should not be imposed or should be reduced shall include a detailed factual statement and such documentation and affidavits as may be pertinent." 47 C.F.R.  1.80(f)(3). Other relevant provisions of Section 1.80 of the Commission's Rules are summarized in the attachment to this letter. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Roy J. Stewart Chief, Mass Media Bureau Attachments