A construction permit application for a new LPFM station on 90.7 FM in Baton Rouge, La., was dismissed for failing to meet the FCC’s localism requirement based on its listed headquarters address.
Breakthrough Community Services applied for the station during the 2023 LPFM window. It sought to transmit from a location just south of the state’s capital city. The nonprofit, established in 1999, listed a Hattiesburg, Miss., location as its local address. It is affiliated with Mt. Olive Baptist Church there.
The only problem? Hattiesburg is some 148 miles from Baton Rouge.
For locations outside a top 50 Nielsen market, FCC rules require either an LPFM’s headquarters to be within 20 miles of the proposed transmitting antenna site or seventy-five percent of its board members to reside within the same proximity. The nonprofit acknowledged on its application that its board members do not meet this requirement, either, listing the same Hattiesburg address as their locations.
Perhaps confusing matters further, the nonprofit said in its educational programming statement it desired to be a voice for the African American and Latino community as an LPFM station for New Orleans. New Orleans is about 70 miles from Baton Rouge.
The applicant did list a W. Garfield St. address in Baton Rouge as its desired broadcast studio location, which appears to be where it desired to place its transmitting antenna. But it responded “yes” to the question on the LPFM application concerning whether the station is physically headquartered or has a campus within 20 miles of its transmitter site. The FCC determined the Hattiesburg address did not meet said criteria.
As a result, the commission found Breakthrough Community Services ineligible to hold an LPFM license and its application was dismissed. The nonprofit has 30 days to file a “minor” amendment to its application and petition for the commission’s reconsideration.
(Read the commission’s decision.)
[Related: “FCC Grants Mich. LPFM a Construction Permit, Withstanding Opposition“]
