**Before the**

**Federal Communications Commission**

**Washington, D.C. 20554**

+----------------------------------+----+------------------------------+
| In the Matter of                 | *  | Facility I.D. No. 10324      |
|                                  | *) |                              |
| Channel Eleven, Inc.             | ** | NAL/Acct. No. 0841420052     |
|                                  |    |                              |
| Licensee of Station WETV-LP      | *  | FRN: 0007632904              |
|                                  | *) |                              |
| Murfreesboro, Tennessee          | ** |                              |
|                                  |    |                              |
|                                  | *  |                              |
|                                  | *) |                              |
|                                  | ** |                              |
|                                  |    |                              |
|                                  | *  |                              |
|                                  | *) |                              |
|                                  | ** |                              |
|                                  |    |                              |
|                                  | *  |                              |
|                                  | *) |                              |
|                                  | ** |                              |
+----------------------------------+----+------------------------------+

**NOTICE OF APPARENT**

**LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE**

**Adopted: June 30, 2008 Released: July 2, 2008**

By the Chief, Video Division, Media Bureau:

**I. INTRODUCTION**

1.  In this *Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture ("NAL")* issued
    pursuant to Section 503(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as
    amended (the "Act"), and Section 1.80 of the Commission's Rules (the
    "Rules"),[^1] by the Chief, Video Division, Media Bureau pursuant to
    authority delegated under Section 0.283 of the Rules,[^2] we find
    that Channel Eleven, Inc. (the "Licensee"), licensee of Station
    WETV-LP, Murfreesboro, Tennessee (the "Station"), apparently
    willfully and repeatedly violated Section 73.671 of the Rules, by
    failing to air programming specifically designed to serve the
    educational and informational needs of children.[^3] Based upon our
    review of the facts and circumstances before us, we conclude that
    the Licensee is apparently liable for a monetary forfeiture in the
    amount of twenty thousand dollars (\$20,000).

**II. BACKGROUND**

2.  Under the Commission's rules implementing the Children's Television
    Act of 1990 (CTA),[^4] each television broadcast station licensee
    has an obligation, during its license term, to serve the educational
    and informational needs of children through "programming
    specifically designed to serve such needs"("core programming").[^5]
    In the *1996 Children's Television Order* revising the Commission's
    rules and policies governing children's programming, the Commission
    established a processing guideline of three hours of core
    programming a week.[^6] It also established Commission rules setting
    forth six criteria for evaluating whether a program qualifies as
    "core programming:" (1) the program has serving the educational and
    informational needs of children ages 16 and under as a significant
    purpose; (2) the program is aired between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and
    10:00 p.m.; (3) the program is a regularly-scheduled weekly
    program; (4) the program is a least 30 minutes in length; (5) the
    educational objective and the target child audience are specified in
    writing in the licensee's Children's Television Programming Report;
    and (6) instructions for listing the program as
    educational/informational, including an indication of the age group
    for which the program is intended, are provided by the licensee to
    publishers of program guides.[^7]

3.  On March 31, 2005, the Licensee filed its license renewal
    application (FCC Form 303-S) for Station WETV-LP (the "Application")
    (File No. BRTVA-20050331AQR). In response to Section IV, Question 7
    of the Application, the Licensee stated that, the Station failed to
    broadcast three hours or more of core programming per week.[^8] In
    Exhibit 21, the Licensee indicated that after it was licensed to
    operate as a Class A television station, it sought to find "good
    children's programming." The Licensee reported that as a result of
    its efforts, the Station began airing children's programming during
    the second quarter of 2004.

**III. DISCUSSION**

4.  The Licensee's failure to broadcast three hours per week of core
    programming constitutes an apparent willful and repeated violation
    of Section 73.671. This *NAL* is issued pursuant to Section
    503(b)(1)(B) of the Act. Under that provision, any person who is
    determined by the Commission to have willfully or repeatedly failed
    to comply with any provision of the Act or any rule, regulation, or
    order issued by the Commission shall be liable to the United States
    for a forfeiture penalty.[^9] Section 312(f)(1) of the Act defines
    willful as "the conscious and deliberate commission or omission of
    \[any\] act, irrespective of any intent to violate" the law.[^10]
    The legislative history to Section 312(f)(1) of the Act clarifies
    that this definition of willful applies to both Sections 312 and
    503(b) of the Act,[^11] and the Commission has so interpreted the
    term in the Section 503(b) context.[^12] Section 312(f)(2) of the
    Act provides that "\[t\]he term 'repeated,' when used with reference
    to the commission or omission of any act, means the commission or
    omission of such act more than once or, if such commission or
    omission is continuous, for more than one day."[^13]

5.  The Commission's *Forfeiture Policy Statement* and Section
    1.80(b)(4) of the Rules establish a base forfeiture amount of
    \$8,000 for violation of children's programming requirements.[^14]
    In determining the appropriate forfeiture amount, we may adjust the
    base amount upward or downward by considering the factors enumerated
    in Section 503(b)(2)(D) of the Act, including "the nature,
    circumstances, extent and gravity of the violation, and, with
    respect to the violator, the degree of culpability, any history of
    prior offenses, ability to pay, and such other matters as justice
    may require."[^15]

6.  In this case, the Licensee acknowledged that it failed to air core
    programming during a portion of its license term. Accordingly, we
    find that the Licensee is apparently liable for a forfeiture in the
    amount of \$20,000 for its apparent willful and repeated violation
    of Section 73.671.

**IV. ORDERING CLAUSES**

7.  Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED, pursuant to Section 503(b) of the
    Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and Section 1.80 of the
    Commission's Rules, that Channel Eleven, Inc. is hereby NOTIFIED of
    its APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE in the amount of twenty
    thousand dollars (\$20,000) for its apparent willful and repeated
    violation of Section 73.671 of the Commission's Rules.

8.  IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, pursuant to Section 1.80 of the Commission's
    Rules, that, within thirty (30) days of the release date of this
    *NAL,* Channel Eleven, Inc. SHALL PAY the full amount of the
    proposed forfeiture or SHALL FILE a written statement seeking
    reduction or cancellation of the proposed forfeiture.

9.  Payment of the proposed forfeiture must be made by check or similar
    instrument, payable to the order of the Federal Communications
    Commission.  The payment must include the NAL/Acct. No. and FRN No.
    referenced in the caption above.  Payment by check or money order
    may be mailed to Federal Communications Commission, at P.O. Box
    979088, St. Louis, MO  63197-9000.  Payment by overnight mail may be
    sent to U.S. Bank-Government Lockbox #979088, SL-MO-C2-GL, 1005
    Convention Plaza, St. Louis, MO  63101.  Payment by wire transfer
    may be made to ABA Number 021030004, receiving bank: TREAS NYC, BNF:
    FCC/ACV\--27000001 and account number as expressed on the remittance
    instrument.  If completing the FCC Form 159, enter the NAL/Account
    number in block number 23A (call sign/other ID), and enter the
    letters "FORF" in block number 24A (payment type code).

10. The response, if any, must be mailed to Office of the Secretary,
    Federal Communications Commission, 445 12^th^ Street, S.W.,
    Washington, D.C. 20554, ATTN: Barbara A. Kreisman, Chief, Video
    Division, Media Bureau, and MUST INCLUDE the NAL/Acct. No.
    referenced above.

11. The Commission will not consider reducing or canceling a forfeiture
    in response to a claim of inability to pay unless the respondent
    submits: (1) federal tax returns for the most recent three-year
    period; (2) financial statements prepared according to generally
    accepted accounting practices ("GAAP"); or (3) some other reliable
    and objective documentation that accurately reflects the
    respondent's current financial status. Any claim of inability to pay
    must specifically identify the basis for the claim by reference to
    the financial documentation submitted.

12. Requests for full payment of the forfeiture proposed in this *NAL*
    under the installment plan should be sent to: Associate Managing
    Director- Financial Operations, 445 12th Street, S.W., Room 1-A625,
    Washington, D.C. 20554.[^16]

13. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that copies of this *NAL* shall be sent, by
    First Class and Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested, to Channel
    Eleven, Inc., 1617 Lebanon Road, Nashville, Tennessee 37210, and to
    its counsel, Richard F. Swift, Esquire, Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth,
    P.L.C., 1300 N. 17^th^ Street, 11^th^ Floor, Arlington, Virginia
    22209.

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

Barbara A. Kreisman

Chief, Video Division

Media Bureau

[^1]: 47 U.S.C. § 503(b); 47 C.F.R. § 1.80.

[^2]: See 47 C.F.R. § 0.283.

[^3]: *See* 47 C.F.R. § 73.671.

[^4]: Pub. L. No. 101-437, 104 Stat. 996-1000, *codified at* 47 U.S.C.
    Sections 303a, 303b and 394.

[^5]: 47 C.F.R. § 73.671.

[^6]: *Re Policies and Rules Concerning Children's Television
    Programming: Revision of Programming Policies for Television
    Broadcast Stations,* 11 FCC Rcd 10660, 10718 (1996) ("*1996
    Children's Television Order*").

[^7]: *Id.* at 10696. *See, also,* 47 C.F.R. § 73.671(c) (2005).

[^8]: The Licensee notes that its application to convert its LPTV
    facilities to Class A facilities was granted on September 10, 2001.
    (BLTVA-20010710ABZ)

[^9]: 47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(1)(B); s*ee also* 47 C.F.R. § 1.80(a)(1).

[^10]: 47 U.S.C. § 312(f)(1).

[^11]: *See* H.R. Rep. No. 97-765, 97^th^ Cong. 2d Sess. 51 (1982).

[^12]: *See Southern California Broadcasting Co.*, Memorandum Opinion
    and Order, 6 FCC Rcd 4387, 4388 (1991).

[^13]: 47 U.S.C. § 312(f)(2).

[^14]: *See Forfeiture Policy Statement and Amendment of Section 1.80(b)
    of the Rules to Incorporate the Forfeiture Guidelines*, Report and
    Order, 12 FCC Rcd 17087, 17113-15 (1997) *("Forfeiture Policy
    Statement"),* *recon. denied*, 15 FCC Rcd 303 (1999); 47 C.F.R. §
    1.80(b)(4), note to paragraph (b)(4), Section I.

[^15]: 47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(2)(D); *see also Forfeiture Policy Statement,*
    12 FCC Rcd at 17100-01; 47 C.F.R. § 1.80(b)(4); 47 C.F.R. §
    1.80(b)(4), note to paragraph (b)(4), Section II.

[^16]: *See* 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.