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                           Before the
                Federal Communications Commission
                     Washington, D.C. 20554

In the Matter of                )
                                )
Media Broadcasting Corporation  )    File No. EB-02-NF-019
                                )
Owner of Antenna Structure      )    NAL/Acct. No. 200232640005
Registration # 1011741          )
Winston-Salem, North Carolina   )    FRN 0006-7563-73       

                  MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER 

Adopted:  January 20, 2004              Released:   January   22, 
2004

By the Chief, Enforcement Bureau:

                        I.  INTRODUCTION

     1.   In this Memorandum  Opinion and  Order (``Order''),  we 
        dismiss  the  petition   for  reconsideration  filed   on 
        January  13,  2003,  by  Media  Broadcasting  Corporation 
        (``Media'').   Media   seeks   reconsideration   of   the 
        Forfeiture  Order,1  in  which  the  Chief,   Enforcement 
        Bureau  (``Bureau''), found  it  liable  for  a  monetary 
        forfeiture  in  the  amount   of  six  thousand   dollars 
        ($6,000) for willful and repeated violations of  Sections 
        17.4(g)  and   17.51(a)   of   the   Commission's   Rules 
        (``Rules'').2   The  noted  violations  involve   Media's 
        failure  to  post  its  antenna  structure   registration 
        (``ASR'') number  (1011741) and  its failure  to  exhibit 
        red  obstruction  lighting   on  its  antenna   structure 
        between sunset and sunrise.

                         II.  BACKGROUND

     2.   Media is the licensee of broadcast station WAAA (AM) in 
        Winston-Salem, North  Carolina, and  owns that  station's 
        antenna structure (ASR  number 1011741).   An agent  from 
        the  Commission's  Norfolk,   Virginia,  Resident   Agent 
        Office  (``Norfolk  Office'')   observed  violations   of 
        Sections 17.4(g) and 17.51(a) of the Rules on January  22 
        and 23, 2002.   On February 1,  2002, the Norfolk  Office 
        issued a  Notice  of Violation  which notified  Media  of 
        those violations.  On June  13, 2002, the Norfolk  Office 
        issued  a  $12,000  Notice  of  Apparent  Liability   for 
        Forfeiture3 to Media for willful and repeated  violations 
        of Sections 17.4(g) and  17.51(a).  On December 5,  2002, 
        the Bureau issued  a $  6,000 Forfeiture  Order to  Media 
        for the same violations.

     3.   The Forfeiture  Order  noted  that Media  had  not  yet 
        corrected the violations and required Media to submit  an 
        affidavit  within  30  days  stating  whether  Media  had 
        dismantled its antenna structure or taken other steps  to 
        correct the  violations.   Media submitted  an  affidavit 
        received on  January  13, 2003,  indicating that  it  was 
        planning to dismantle antenna  structure 1011741 but  had 
        been unable  to  do  so because  of  weather  conditions.  
        Media submitted a second  affidavit received February  6, 
        2003,  indicating   that   it  had   dismantled   antenna 
        structure  1011741.   In  both  affidavits,  Media  seeks 
        reconsideration of  the Forfeiture  Order.  Media  argues 
        that   financial   hardship    and   the    ``expeditious 
        dismantling''   of   its   antenna   structure    warrant 
        reconsideration.

                      III.      DISCUSSION

     4.   Section 405  of  the  Communications Act  of  1934,  as 
        amended  (``Act'')4  and  Section  1.106  of  the  Rules5 
        required Media to file  its petition for  reconsideration 
        no  later  than  30   days  the  after  release  of   the 
        ForfeitureOrder.  Pursuant  to these  provisions  Media's 
        petition for  reconsideration was  due no  later than  on 
        January 6, 2003, but Media did not file it until  January 
        13, 2003.   Accordingly, we  find that  Media's  petition 
        for reconsideration must be dismissed as untimely.

     5.   Even had  Media's  petition  for  reconsideration  been 
        timely filed, we would have denied it on the merits.   In 
        the Forfeiture Order we reduced the forfeiture amount  to 
        $6,000 on  the basis  of financial  hardship.  Media  has 
        provided no information that would support an  additional 
        reduction  on  the  basis  of  financial  hardship.   We, 
        therefore,  believe that  no  further  reduction  of  the 
        forfeiture  amount would  have  been  warranted  on  that 
        basis.   Media's  ``expeditious   dismantling''  of   its 
        antenna structure also would  not warrant any  additional 
        reduction.  Media did not  in fact dismantle its  antenna 
        structure   expeditiously.     It   dismantled    antenna 
        structure 1011741  approximately  one  year  after  being 
        notified of the violations - an unacceptably long  delay.  
        Furthermore, even if  Media had  acted expeditiously,  no 
        mitigation of the  forfeiture would be  warranted on  the 
        basis of correcting  the violations.   As the  Commission 
        stated in Seawest  Yacht Brokers,  9 FCC  Rcd 6099,  6099 
        (1994),  ``corrective   action   taken   to   come   into 
        compliance with Commission rules  or policy is  expected, 
        and does not  nullify or mitigate  any prior  forfeitures 
        or violations.''6 

                      IV.  ORDERING CLAUSES

     6.   Accordingly, IT IS  ORDERED that,  pursuant to  Section 
        405 of  Act  and  Section 1.106  of  the  Rules,  Media's 
        January 13,  2003, petition  for reconsideration  of  the 
        Bureau's Forfeiture Order issued on December 5, 2002,  IS 
        DISMISSED as  untimely  and the  issuance of  the  $6,000 
        forfeiture IS AFFIRMED.

     7.   Payment of the forfeiture shall  be made in the  manner 
        provided for in Section 1.80 of the Rules within 30  days 
        of the release of this  Order.  If the forfeiture is  not 
        paid  within  the  period  specified,  the  case  may  be 
        referred to  the  Department of  Justice  for  collection 
        pursuant to Section 504(a)  of the Act.7  Payment may  be 
        made by mailing  a check or  similar instrument,  payable 
        to the order  of the  Federal Communications  Commission, 
        to  the  Federal  Communications  Commission,  P.O.   Box 
        73482, Chicago, Illinois 60673-7482.  The payment  should 
        reference NAL/Acct. No.  200232640005 and FRN  0006-7563-
        73.  Requests for full payment under an installment  plan 
        should be sent to: Chief, Revenue and Receivables  Group, 
        445 12th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20554.8

     8.   IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that  a copy of this Order  shall 
        be sent by  First Class  Mail and  Certified Mail  Return 
        Receipt  Requested  to  Media  Broadcasting  Corporation, 
        P.O. Box  11197,  Winston-Salem,  North  Carolina  27116-
        1197.

                         FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
                         


                         David H. Solomon
                         Chief, Enforcement Bureau
_________________________

  1 17 FCC Rcd 24523 (Enf. Bur. 2002)

  2 47 C.F.R. §§ 17.4(g) and 17.51(a).  

  3 Notice  of Apparent Liability  for Forfeiture, NAL/Acct.  No. 
200232640005 (Enf. Bur., Norfolk Office, released June 13, 2002).

  4 47 U.S.C. § 405.

  5 47 C.F.R. § 1.106.

  6 See  also AT&T  Wireless Services,  17 FCC  Rcd 21866,  21871 
(2002); Radio Station KGVL, Inc., 42 FCC 2d 258, 259 (1973);  and 
Executive Broadcasting Corp., 3 FCC 2d 699, 700 (1966).

  7 47 U.S.C. § 504(a).

  8 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.