| Complaint to the FCC re Emmis Honolulu Duopoly |
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-----Original Message----- Sent: Wednesday, September 07, 2005 4:21 PM As discussed, the Part 135 Regulated Operators Partnership (PROP) has been attempting for several weeks to purchase television advertising time from KHON-2 (FOX) and KGMB-9 (CBS) to broadcast a commercial for <http://www.airportscandal.com/>www.airportscandal.com; a web site dedicated to investigation and reporting related to fraud, abuse, waste and mismanagement involving federally financed airport programs. A copy of that commercial is attached. We have run virtually identical advertising on all of Hawaii's broadcast television affiliates (including KHON and KGMB) during the past year. An example of our past advertising can be seen at <http://www.airportscandal.com/rodney.wmf>www.airportscandal.com/rodney.wmf. For some reason, the two stations operating under your exemption now refuse to air our material on the grounds that it is "too controversial." In contrast, both of Hawaii's independently operated television stations (KHNL-8 and KITV-4) have agreed to run our ads. Rick Blangardi, who manages KGMB and KHON for Emmis Communications, has refused to provide any written response to our documented requests to buy advertising time. He has not acknowledged our letters. He has declined to explain, in writing, his repeated refusal to sell public spectrum to our public interest groups for the presentation of responsible opposing public views. Mr. Blangardi did, however, state that he "does not need this" at a time when Emmis is attempting to sell it's Hawaii television stations. We sent the attached letter to Mr. Blangardi for inclusion in the public files at KGMB and KHON via FedEx, and we have have confirmed proof of receipt. But when our representative visited KHON the following week to see if our letter had indeed been included in the station's public files, it was not there. Within moments of our arrival at the station, Mr. Blangardi appeared (despite the fact that we had not requested an appointment with him) and confronted our representative. Our record of the encounter indicates that Mr. Blangardi's demeanor was quite aggressive and intimidating, and that he warned our representative that he had better "be careful" a total of eight separate times. It also appears that at one point Mr. Blangardi's face was approximately two inches away from our representative while he stated that: 1) he had been in "the business" longer than our representative had been alive, so we had better be careful; 2) he would use all the resources at his disposal to fight us, so we had better be careful; and, 3) he is now unsure whether he should have ever broadcast any of our advertising in the first place, and we had better "be careful." What Mr. Blangardi did not say was which specific provision of the Telecommunications Act, his broadcast certificate or extended FCC exemption allow him to delay placement of letters in his public file. Instead, he asserted that he is allowed time to have his attorneys review these letters, and that ours contained "mistakes" which are apparently delaying its placement in the file. Have KGMB, KHON or Emmis been granted some dispensation by the FCC allowing them to hold public letters out of the file designated by your agency for that purpose? Does the exemption you have granted give Mr. Blangardi or his attorneys any right to edit or withhold letters that contain what they perceive to be errors? If so, how long can these letters be withheld from public view, and what type of "errors" would warrant such action? Does the FCC really allow broadcasters to arbitrarily decide (based on content) if and when they will place letters in their public file? We are under the impression that the spectrum is not owned, but merely licensed by Emmis. It is our further understanding that in order to continue to license spectrum, Emmis must use it in the public interest. In fact, it appears that their Certificates of Public Necessity and Convenience and broadcast licenses obligate KHON and KGMB to place the public interest above those of their sponsors, political affiliations and even shareholders. We have identified a sophisticated, coordinated and ongoing effort to divert more than $9M from state airport revenues to a Honolulu Lobbying firm and a Florida consulting company without the knowledge of federal regulators or state legislators. These actions may place the state officials implicated in conflict with various laws, jeopardizing millions more in federal discretionary airport grants. We are in possession of official documents signed by cognizant state officials which, when viewed objectively, would raise valid questions on the part of any reasonable taxpayer. Those state officials have refused to be accountable or explain these seemingly illegal acts. Our television commercial asks pertinent questions in a straightforward manner, and directs viewers to a web site where the public will be able to see the evidence firsthand and decide individually whether Hawaii state government is acting in their best interests. Hawaii is a remote and insular community where one broadcast conglomerate controls two of the three highest rated television stations. This gives them enormous control over the nature and substance of public debate, and underscores the importance of the broadcaster's public interest obligation. Our experience only serves to emphasize the concerns and objections expressed by public, media and civic groups about Emmis' dual ownership of KGMB and KHON. Their public files are full of correspondence challenging the depth, quality and diversity of news coverage when multiple local stations are operated by a single owner. Apparently, we can add refusal to air issue advertising in the public interest to the growing list of concerns about this controversial arrangement. We would like to request your assistance in better understanding the role and responsibilities of Emmis Communications as a licensee of public spectrum in our community. Pending receipt of a hardcopy via FedEx, we ask that you to accept this email as our request for review of the exemption granted to Emmis by the FCC. In addition, we would like to request an opportunity to present information and testimony at a formal hearing before the FCC when KGMB and KHON seek license renewal next year. I would appreciate any guidance you may be able to provide on any specific forms or authority that must be invoked in order to trigger the hearing process. Obviously, we are concerned about Mr. Blangardi's warnings. He is a very powerful broadcaster and I am now quite worried that his promise to use all of his resources to fight us will include the news cameras, reporters and airwaves he has at his disposal. It is our hope that by creating a high-level regulatory audit trail through correspondence like this, we will be able to establish a cause and effect relationship in the event retaliation for these disclosures to the FCC becomes an issue. We will also be providing KGMB and KHON with a hardcopy of this message for inclusion in their public files. We will visit the station again next week to verify whether or not this has been done, and will report the results back to you. Thank you again for your time and attention to our concerns. If you would like any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me at 808.283.5531 at any time. Mahalo, |