Today, MMTC, along with 50 CEOs of minority-owned AM licensees who collectively own 140 AM radio stations across the nation, filed a letter urging the Federal Communications Commission to open an FM translator filing window that is limited to AM licensees. The full text of the letter is below:
Hon. Tom Wheeler
Chairman
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street SW
Washington, DC 20554
Re: AM Radio Revitalization, MB Docket No. 13-249
Dear Chairman Wheeler:
For 65 years, AM radio has been the technological gateway for entrepreneurs of color in broadcasting. Two-thirds of minority-owned broadcast stations are AM radio stations. As minority AM broadcast owners, we want nothing more than to improve our service to listeners. Thus, we appreciate your commitment to advance the long-pending AM Revitalization proceeding.
Unfortunately, it has come to our attention that you are considering a reversal of course regarding the most important, effective proposal set forth in the AM Revitalization Notice: opening an application filing window for FM translators that would be limited to AM broadcast licensees. As the Commission recognized in the Notice, the best way to help the largest number of AM stations to quickly and efficiently improve their service is to open such an AM-only window. Any other approach will make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for AM stations, including many of our own, to obtain the translators they urgently need to remain competitive and provide our communities with the service they deserve.
If the Commission truly aims to advance minority broadcast ownership, and to fulfill its goal of revitalizing AM radio, it should promptly open an FM translator filing window that is limited to AM licensees.
Sincerely,
The CEOs of 50 Minority Owned AM Radio Licensees, collectively owning 140 AM stations
The signators and their AM stations are listed below.
The contact persons for this letter are James Winston, President and Executive Director, National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters (NABOB), David Honig, President Emeritus and Senior Advisor, Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC), and Francisco Montero, Director, MMTC.
SIGNATORS
Alka Agrawal
Owner and General Manager
EVC Music Inc.
WWTR AM 1170, Bridgewater, NJ
Ann Alston
President and CEO
A and D Broadcasting Ltd.
WYRN AM 1480, Louisburg, NC
Joe Armstrong
CEO
Arm & Rage, LLC
WJBE AM 1040, Knoxville, TN
Carolyn Becker
Managing Member
Riverfront Broadcasting, LLC
President
Riverfront Broadcasting of Iowa, LLC
KCCR AM 1240, Pierre, SD
KORN AM 1490, Mitchell, SD
KYNT AM 1450, Yankton, SD
Gerald Benavides
President
Claro Communication LTD
KROB AM 1510, Robstown, TX
KOPY AM 1070, Alice, TX
KBRN AM 1500, Boerne, TX
KEDA AM 1540, San Antonio, TX
KKLF AM 1700, Richardson, TX
Trila Bumstead
Owner
Ohana Media Group, LLC
KAST AM 1370, Astoria, OR
KBYR AM 700, Anchorage, AK
KVAS AM 1230, Astoria, OR
Amador S. Bustos
President & CEO
Bustos Media Holdings, LLC
KZSJ AM 1120, San Martin, CA
KREH AM 900, Pecan Grove, TX
KTXV AM 890, Mabank, TX
KTXW AM 1120, Manor, TX
KGDD AM 1150, Portland OR
KOOR AM 1010, Milwaukie, OR
KRYN AM 1230, Gresham, OR
KQRR AM 1520, Oregon City, OR
KXEX AM 1130, Mt. Angel, OR
KMIA AM 1210, Auburn, WA
KXDY AM 1020, Union Gap, WA
KULE AM 730, Ephrata, WA
Dr. Glenn Cherry
CEO
Redemption Strategies Broadcasting, LLC
WCSZ AM 1070, Greenville SC
PSI Communications, LLC
WPUL AM 1590, South Daytona, FL
Lee Armstrong Clear
President and General Manager
Clear Media, LLC
WNOO AM 1260, Chattanooga, TN
Lilipiana Darensburg
President
Logan Darensburg
Vice President
Darensburg Broadcasting
WARR AM 1520 Warrenton, NC
Edward Distell
Owner
Distell Radio Group
KWBY AM 940, Woodburn, OR
KCKX AM 1460, Stayton, OR
KZZD AM 1390, Salem, OR
Adib Eden
President and CEO
Actualidad Media Group, LLC
WURN Radio 1020, Kendall, FL
WLVJ Radio 1040, Boynton Beach, FL
WMYM Radio 990, Miami, FL
Jose Roberto Ekonomo
President and CEO
EKO Media Group Inc.
WRJE AM 1600, Dover, DE
WSPG AM1400, Spartanburg, SC
Zee Ferrufino
Owner and President
Latino Communications, LLC
KBNO AM 1280, Denver, CO
KXRE AM 1490, Manitou Springs, CO
KAVA AM 1480, Pueblo, CO
Maurice Gaines
President
Praise and Glory Ministries
WITM AM 1330, Marion, VA
Annette Garcia
President and General Manager
Son Broadcasting Network
KCHF AM 730, Santa Fe, NM
Art Gilliam
President
Gilliam Communications
WLOK 1340 Memphis, TN
Ronald Gordon
President and CEO
ZGS Communications
WAMA AM 1550, Tampa, FL
WGES AM 680, Tampa, FL
WILC AM 900, Greenbelt, MD
Roger Harris
General Manager
The Chickasaw Nation
KADA AM 1230, Ada, OK
Ira Hatchett
President and CEO
Hancock Broadcasting
WMEJ AM 1190, Bay St. Louis, MS
Robert Hill
President
Media One Communications, Inc.
WRNE AM 980, Gulf Breeze, FL
Jim Johnson
President and General Manager
Johnson Communications, Inc.
WDAO AM 1210, Dayton, OH
Jimmy Johnson
President and CEO
Johnson Broadcast Ventures, Ltd.
WCPS AM 760, Tarboro, NC
WCBT AM 1230, Roanoke Rapids, NC
Jim Lawson
President
Lawson of Tuscaloosa, Inc.
WMXB AM 1280, Eutaw, AL
Charles Kim
Owner and CEO
Pacific Star Media Co.
WPBS AM 1040, Conyers, GA
Edward Lander
President
BLS Entertainment, Inc.
WEOA AM 1400, Evansville, IN
Larry Lee, Jr.
President and CEO
Team One Media
WIRA AM 1400, Ft. Pierce, FL
Warren Lee
Owner and General Manager
Lataurus Productions LLC
WHLJ AM 1400, Moultrie, GA
Arthur Liu, President and CEO
Multicultural Radio Broadcasting, Inc.
WAZN AM 1470, Watertown, MA
WLYN AM 1360, Lynn, MA
WWRU AM 1660, Jersey City, NJ
WJDM AM 1530, Elizabeth, NJ
WKDM AM 1380, New York, NY
WZRC AM 1480, New York, NY
WPAT AM 930, Patterson, NJ
WHWH AM 1350, Princeton, NJ
WTTM AM 1680, Lindenwold, NJ
WFBR AM 1590, Glen Burnie, MD
WLXE AM 1600, Rockville, MD
WZHF AM 1390, Capital Heights, MD
WATB AM 1420, Decatur, GA
WGFS AM 1430, Covington, GA
WEXY AM 1520, Wilton Manors, FL
WNMA AM 1210, Miami Springs, FL
WJCC AM 1700 Miami Springs, FL
KCHN AM 1050, Brookshire, TX
KXYZ AM 1320, Houston, TX
KMNY AM 1360, Hurst, TX
KDFT AM 540, Ferris, TX
KAZN AM 1300, Pasadena, CA
KMRB AM 1430, San Gabriel, CA
KAHZ AM 1600, Pomona, CA
KBLA AM 1580, Santa Monica, CA
KYPA AM 1230, Los Angeles, CA
KSJX AM 1500, San Jose, CA
KEST AM 1400, San Francisco, CA
KIQI AM 1010, San Francisco, CA
KATD AM 990, Pittsburg, CA
KLIB AM 1110, Roseville, CA
KFSG AM 1690, Roseville, CA
KWRU AM 1300, Fresno, CA
KXPA AM 1540, Bellevue, WA
KARI AM 550, Blaine, WA
KVRI AM 1600, Blaine, WA
Sara Lomax-Reese
Owner, President and General Manager
WURD AM 900, Philadelphia, PA
Deborah L. Maiden
President and CEO
JBD Communications, Inc.
WCSL AM 1360, Jacksonville, FL
Pluria Marshall Jr.
President
WLTH Radio, Inc.
WLTH AM 1370, Gary, IN
Tony Mendez
President
Videomundo Broadcasting Co.
WPMZ AM 1110 North Providence, RI
Rev. Dr. Moses Mercedes
President
Radio Amor Inc.
WADS AM 690, Ansonia, CT
Jhonson Napoleon
President and CEO
Azure Media, Inc.
WBJW AM 1000 Jupiter, FL
WFHT AM 1390, Avon Park, FL
Frank Neely
President
Wisdom LLC
WGCD AM 1490, Chester SC
WGIV AM 1370, Pineville NC
Albert R. Perez
President
Compass Broadcasting, Inc.
KGED AM 1680 Stockton, CA
KXEX AM 1550 Fresno, CA
Alfredo Plascencia
President and CEO
Lazer Broadcasting Corporation
KOXR AM 910, Oxnard, CA
KCAL AM 1410, Redlands, CA
KZER AM 1250, Santa Barbara, CA
KSBQ AM 1480, Santa Maria, CA
Gary Richardson
President and CEO
Richardson Broadcasting Corporation
WJLD AM 1400, Fairfield, AL
WIXI AM 1360, Jasper, AL
Maria Isabel Rivera and Dulce Victoria Rivera
Owners
Rivera Communications
WQCR AM 1500, Alabaster, AL
WAYE AM 1220, Birmingham, AL
Juan O. Rodriguez
President and CEO
Latin World Broadcasting Inc.
KDLF AM 1260, Boone, IA
Ernesto Schweikert
President and CEO
Crocodile Broadcasting Corp.
KGLA AM 1540, Gretna, LA
Alvin Simmons
President and CEO
Habibi’s Broadcasting, Inc.
KVDW AM 1530, England, AR
Alex Snipe
President and CEO
Glory Communications, Inc.
WEAF AM 1130, St. Stephens, SC
WALD AM 1080, Johnsonville, SC
WTQS AM 1490, Camron, SC
Michael Thurmond
CEO
Mecca Communications, Inc.
WXAG AM 1470, Athens, GA
John Torres
Owner
El Sol Broadcasting
WJTI AM 1460, West Allis, WI
Ambrosio Vigil
Managing Partner
California Broadcasting Co. LLC
KRRS AM 1460 Santa Rosa, CA
KZNB AM 1490 Petaluma, CA
Arturo Villareal
Executive Director
En Familia Inc.
KIDR AM 740, Phoenix, AZ
Roberto R. Villareal
President and CEO
Daij Media
KMIC AM 1590, Houston, TX
KQUE AM 980, Rosenburg-Richmond, TX
KBRZ AM 1460, Missouri City, TX
KJOZ AM 880, Conroe, TX
KCRM AM 1380, Shenandoah, TX
Dr. Richard S. Yoon
President and CEO
WIN Radio Broadcasting Corp.
WNYH AM 740, Huntington, NY
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About MMTC:
The Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC) is a non-partisan, national nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and preserving equal opportunity and civil rights in the mass media, telecommunications and broadband industries, and closing the digital divide. MMTC is generally recognized as the nation’s leading advocate for minority advancement in communications.
