FCC Reaffirms Cultural Programming Can Fill Educational Bill

The Federal Communications Commission under Chairman Ajit Pai has struck a blow for cultural programming. The FCC has denied a complaint by Beasley Broadcast Group against a Tampa (FL) noncommercial low-power FM station for airing an all-music lineup when it promised a range of educational and cultural programming when it applied for the license. But the FCC did find it had aired one ad and the station's owner, Hispanic Arts, agreed in a consent decree to pay a $2,000 fine.

Beasley, which owns seven stations in Tampa, most of them all-music formats, alleged the licensee had violated the terms of its license and the FCC should review its status. In its construction permit for the station, WVVF-LP, filed in November 2013, Hispanic Arts had contended that its mission was "promoting the rich history and culture of Hispanics in the Tampa Bay area" through a variety of broadcast programs, including poetry, cultural programs, news and weather, live broadcasts of local events, community calendar, history, interviews politics, discussion, and music programming."