ARCHIVED -  Decision CRTC 96-715

Decision

Ottawa, 25 October 1996

Decision CRTC 96-715

Seacoast Communications Group Inc.

Kelowna, British Columbia - 951809300

Short-term licence renewal for CKLZ-FM Kelowna

Following a Public Hearing in Calgary beginning on 15 July 1996, the Commission renews the broadcasting licence for the radio programming undertaking CKLZ-FM Kelowna from 1 December 1996 to 31 August 1998, subject to the conditions in effect under the current licence, as well as to those conditions specified in this decision and in the licence to be issued.

This term will enable the Commission to assess at an early date the licensee's compliance with the Radio Regulations, 1986 (the regulations).

It is a condition of licence that this station not be operated within the Specialty format as defined in Public Notice CRTC 1995-60, or as amended from time to time by the Commission.

The licensee's non-compliance

In Notice of Public Hearing CRTC 1996-7 dated 17 May 1996, the Commission called the licensee to appear at the July hearing to discuss its apparent non-compliance with section 8 of the regulations, which requires each licensee to retain, for a period of at least four weeks from the date of broadcast, and to furnish to the Commission on request, "a clear and intelligible tape recording or other exact copy of all matter broadcast". The Commission advised the licensee that it would be expected to show cause at the hearing why the Commission should not issue a mandatory order requiring CKLZ-FM to comply with section 8 of the regulations.

This is the second time that CKLZ-FM has been issued a short-term licence renewal due to concerns relating to the licensee's non-compliance with the logger tape provisions of the regulations. In Decision CRTC 94-573 dated 11 August 1994, the Commission gave CKLZ-FM a two-year licence renewal because of the licensee's failure to provide complete logger tapes for the week of 3 to 9 May 1992.

During the current licence term, the Commission asked the licensee to submit CKLZ-FM's logger tapes and other material for the programming broadcast during the week of 10 to 16 September 1995. In a letter submitted to the Commission on 13 October 1995, the licensee advised that its review of the logger tapes for the week in question revealed that a tape recording of the material broadcast during the period from 12:25 p.m. to midnight on 13 September was not available.

According to the licensee, the station's logger tape system uses sensors that trigger an alarm if there is an audio failure in the recording process. Boxes in which tapes are stored are labelled by date; staff responsible for changing tapes are required to re-label each box to identify its contents and sign affidavits stating that these duties have been performed. The licensee uses two, 12-hour tapes per day to record the station's programming; the tapes for any particular day are retained for one month, and are then re-used. The licensee stated that, "as best we can determine, a tape was used twice within a couple of days, out of order, thereby inadvertently erasing the twelve hours in question."

In a second letter to the Commission dated 18 January 1996, the licensee stated that it had reviewed its logger tape procedures, and advised of further safeguards it has put in place to ensure future compliance. As described by the licensee, these measures have included a station-wide campaign to impress upon staff the importance of following the tape change-over procedures carefully and accurately, the introduction of a clearer labelling system, the posting of full instructions near the logger tape machines, and the institution of regular checks by program directors.

At the hearing, the licensee acknowledged its non-compliance with the radio regulations in September 1995, but emphasized that its regular monitoring of logger tapes undertaken since then have revealed no further problems. When questioned as to whether the procedures it now follows would indeed rule out any possible recurrence of the type of human error responsible for that instance of non-compliance, the licensee agreed that "the possibility exists remotely". It noted, however, that it has now made it the responsibility of teams of two staff members to perform the twice-daily task of changing the logger tape and to verify that this is done correctly. The licensee added that it is in the process of purchasing digital logger equipment capable of recording and storing more than a week's programming, and that it will run this equipment in tandem with its existing system as a further safeguard against future non-compliance.

Having considered all the evidence available to it, the Commission is satisfied that the licensee has taken steps to correct the problem identified in 1995, and has put in place procedures to ensure that CKLZ-FM operates in compliance with the regulations. Nevertheless, given the repeated incidence of non-compliance involving this licensee, the Commission considers that a short-term licence renewal of less than two years is necessary to enable it to assess, at an early date, the licensee's compliance with the regulations during the new licence term.

Although the Commission has decided not to issue a mandatory order at this time, it will monitor closely the licensee's performance during the new licence term, and directs the licensee to take all necessary measures to ensure that the regulations are adhered to at all times.

Canadian talent development

The  licensee is required, by condition of licence, to make payments to third parties involved in Canadian talent development at the level identified for it in the Canadian Association of Broadcasters' (CAB) "Distribution Guidelines For Canadian Talent Development", as set out in Public Notice CRTC 1995-196 or as amended from time to time and approved by the Commission, and to report the names of the third parties associated with Canadian talent development, together with the amounts paid to each, on its annual return. The payments required under this condition of licence are over and above any outstanding commitments to Canadian talent development offered as benefits in an application to acquire ownership or control of the undertaking.

Employment equity

In Public Notice CRTC 1992-59 dated 1 September 1992 and entitled "Imple-mentation of an Employment Equity Policy", the Commission announced that the employment equity practices of broadcasters would be subject to examination by the Commission. In this regard, the Commission encourages the licensee to consider employment equity issues in its hiring practices and in all other aspects of its management of human resources.

This decision is to be appended to the licence.

 Allan J. Darling
 Secretary General