Mt. Rushmore Broadcasting, Inc – Denied the Petition for Reconsideration concerning forfeiture assessed against Stations KRAL(AM) and KIQZ(FM) for various violations of the Commission’s rules [Enforcement Bureau Feed]
It has started. I tried to warn the owner…dozens of times over a 5 year period. This is just the beginning of a very long and very bumpy road for this company.
I cannot get into specifics as the FCC is still doing its investigations..but I can say that when ownership neglects 13 stations by not properly supporting them, this kind of thing happens.
And there are 5 of those 13 stations right here in Casper. Yes they were visited a few weeks ago.
Expect to see more entries in the FCC Enforcement Bureau Feed.
RFB
Will Tomorrow Be Better?
Findings of poor management against group station owners, we might hope, may lead to a better tomorrow when these licenses go to serious broadcasters who are in it for the right reasons.
However, to group owners who demonstrate competence, may your tomorrow be bright.
A New Hope
Well I for one hope to see a better tomorrow, not only for myself, but for those stations. The really bad part is the communities in which these stations serve. The people do not have their stations as most of them except for the 5 (well 4 since KVOC is dark) are off the air.
And your right Carl…when a “REAL” broadcaster comes in and purchases these stations, then the stations will benefit from a REAL owner who IS a broadcaster, not just some play time person who has no problem taking 60 day European tours every year or dumps 40 grand in hair pins on top of the head.
RFB
Hair Pins
40 grand on hair pins.
I knew her once. Sad thing is she got cancer and went away.
KDX only uses bottom rate hotels and motels. No hair pins on the budget.
Oh, and there was the early FM station that spent the wad on penthouse studios. It was downhill all the way.
Live from the tool shed, KDX will survive because the lawn equipment serves as furniture.
I still like rich women. Just so they like Denny’s.
What Is Public Knowledge
Well this particular NAL and “MOO” is regarding the EAS system, which after weeks of practically begging this owner to supply the needed funding to correct the issues, was “blown off” for other things…and those things had nothing to do with any of his stations in the group.
It also covers the violation of not re-applying for the STL license and its relocation to the current coordinates. The owner’s response to me was “It’s been operating like that for years”. :/
So at that point…I said to myself why continue trying to make the point when the guy is obviously not going to listen or do anything..except make his next reservations to another lavish 1,500.00 a night fancy resort vacations and 300 dollar wine and dine outings every day of the week.
And I am not kidding.
Rest assured..there IS A LOT more to come with this one.
RFB
License For STL!?!
i didnt know you needed a license for microwave frequency STL, me personally prefer to use wifi wireless bridge with directional antennas as an STL
2nd Helping
Mt Rushmore Broadcasting Inc.
More to come!!! Cliff hanger!!
RFB
Juggling the Expenses
It’s probably cheaper to pay the forfeitures than it would be to do all the engineering and staffing needed to comply.
When will they lose their licenses?
Outstanding
Well there are 2 other outstanding NAL’s from 2005 and 2008 that have not been tended to. Oh, not to mention the continuation of repeated violations currently ongoing there in Hot Springs, Custer, and here in Casper.
The Hot Springs stations did not resume operations. They were fired up for 24 hours and shut down, then a statement filed by the president of Mt. Rushmore Broadcasting that the stations had resumed normal operations…they clearly have not.
It does not take from 2005 to 2012 to replace a 4 bay antenna system. Regardless of that, there is never anyone at the main studio, just like here in Casper and Custer.
Lots more to come I can assure everyone.
RFB
The Reality….
Charles Gray (President of Mt. Rushmore) is a retired corporate attorney who thinks he is smarter than anyone else. His brother Kevin, seems to be a belligerent, sarcastic individual who hides behind his brother and gives the impression he’s an expert in broadcasting. Neither of these guys has a clue. With license renewal not too far off in the future and the new renewal rules requiring the listing of all violations in the last renewal period on the renewal app, these guys are in serious trouble. I’ll bet their public file is in shambles as well.
The reality is, there are more of these kind of small town operators than you could possibly imagine. And the FCC is waiting patiently to drop the axe.
Small Town Radio
Presented a workshop on radio production in Little Rock, one of my students was owner of several radio stations, and he needed a manager for one particular small town station (I forget the name of the town).
Thinking I might like small town life, I was given a tour of the town and the station and got very spooked. If you walked out the front door of the station and went one-block, you were out of town. It was the same size as my present day part 15 neighborhood.
From then on the big city life has seemed like the safe way to avoid being in the middle of nowhere.
Inside Info
“Charles Gray (President of Mt. Rushmore) is a retired corporate attorney who thinks he is smarter than anyone else.”
A graduate of Harvard, he was a lawyer for Kroger and got his bundle load from winning some union workers case against Kroger.
From what I have discovered and found, and told by his own brother, Jan receives death threats every holiday season via holiday cheer cards.
There is a wall at the President’s Resort in Custer South Dakota that could be called a wall of shame. It features hanging pictures of Mr. Gray shaking hands with every shady and shankster president of the US starting with LBJ.
The man claims financial hardship for all the whoes and wrongs with the stations, yet goes on European tours for 3 months and safari tours while using the station’s accounts to pay for it!
“His brother Kevin, seems to be a belligerent, sarcastic individual who hides behind his brother and gives the impression he’s an expert in broadcasting.”
Actually Kevin is not belligerent or sarcastic. If you knew of the things his brother put him through for mere pennies, you would understand.
Kevin went to help his brother with his stations and was able to pull in over 70K worth of national advertising after his first year working for his brother. Slowly over time, Jan plucked and picked away at the stations by laying off workers, laxing on station maintenance, and floating the monthly bills, all while taking less than a total of 72 hours per year to even be at the stations, he was too busy enjoying tours and safaris.
Kevin is more of a broadcaster than his brother Jan by 100 fold. At least Kevin knows that nothing runs forever and requires maintenance and replacing if necessary, unlike his brother who has this virtual world (farmville) going on in his head that it just needs to be turned on and it will run forever.
Trust me..there is even MORE to come besides the newly posted NAL’s over the STL’s.
It’s not over yet!
Not to mention the Department of Labor also going after him, and the IRS, and stock exchange commission…..tons more.
Mt. Rushmore Broadcasting is about to go Mt. Mushroom POOF.
RFB
Just Curious
RFB,
Since you wrote “It has started. I tried to warn the owner…dozens of times over a 5 year period.” I wonder if you received a similar negative reaction as often happens when the rules for Part 15 are cited here?
Neil
Reactions
“I wonder if you received a similar negative reaction as often happens when the rules for Part 15 are cited here?”
It isn’t negative reaction to Part 15 rules, its negative reaction to the nth decimal pointless point of pointing them out over and over and believe you me, being on the front row seat of this Mt. Mushroom fiasco and knowing what I know, your reaction would be negative too at all the hard nose harpooning of Part 15 operators when here is a perfect example of my very point in “licensed to violate” and get away with it spanning years.
Huge difference between petty Part 15 violations and something like a 16 year repeatedly, willfully and knowingly violation. And you want to know what will really make me have a negative reaction..is if this guy gets away with it and all they do is tap the hand and they let him cut a check. Heck of a deal when you can just buy your way out of responsibility.
Then again government is hard up for cash these days.
Let me ask everyone something…would you let a repeat DUI offender renew their driver’s license?
Would you let a serial rapist or killer loose to repeat their violation again?
Isn’t 16 years a bit too long to blow off something as important as complying with the rules, especially for a licensed broadcasting company?
And there are those in a wad over a few extra milliwatts or a coverage footprint beyond 200 feet?
Gimme a break!
Oh..btw..this cat’s stations, all of them, have no CAP equipment installed or in operation. Owner has known since Nov 2011 of the deadline and requirement, was not concerned due to being out of the country on an African Safari tour. How’s them apples..err bananas!
RFB
Trophy Man
What kind of protected game does this vacationing violator bag on his safaris?
Impacts
There are those who are shaking their heads and saying to themselves how could any of these violations be comparable to a DUI offender or serial killer/rapist.
Well let’s look outside the frigging box for a few minutes and link right up here and now the fact that this is RADIO we are talking about.
This may be a long blog post..so as Tom Lambert says on the Independent Music Show…”sit back, relax and enjoy”.
Mt. Rushmore had 13 stations total. 2 of them were sold 3 years ago, leaving 11 stations in 4 cities in 2 states, Wyoming and South Dakota.
Currently only 2 of these 11 stations are on the air, and on the air being fed by illegally operating STL’s.
Over a period of 10 + years the owner has systematically and slowly plucked these stations (and various other businesses not radio related) to death by letting excellent staffing go in every department across every station in the company, at the same time not putting the maintenance into them to keep them properly operating and in compliance. During these years the ownership has also let the station’s utility expense accounts float and often to the brink of even power being shut off, even if it was at a transmitter site. Now while time passes and the stations are operating not just technically out of compliance but also administrative compliance with proper staffing during business hours, one to two people have had to handle it all, even as much as being the ownership’s punching bag and shield when these utility companies and other contract vendors like plumbers, HVAC companies, the city water department would be calling about overdue bills owed.
Oh..all the while the ownership is wining and dining on 800 dollar dinners and 300 dollar bottles of wine.
Now also during all this time, various past employees, including myself, have brought to ownership’s attention about the MANY things that needed both immediate attention and attention to things that needed done within certain time frames. The sad part…everyone’s efforts to resolve things, including mine, were ignored and blown off.
Here is the Casper Star Tribune article.
Over the last 4 years, the ownership has literally ruined this market share rating with having 5 stations in Casper being the cause by either not being on air, or no one answering the phones or answering the front frigging door between 8a and 5p, and the ownership’s lovely “I’m a Harvard graddy lawyer” attitude toward everything and everyone, both in the business community and public.
As anyone can see, this cat’s “character”, as noted in the linked newspaper article above, and I can tell you by first hand knowledge and knowing this person, he actually believes he is above the law and rules do not apply to him or any of his businesses.
He actually believes that the Department of Labor has no jurisdiction in Casper Wyoming.
A graduate of Harvard…keep that in mind as this entire virtual bubble world of his begins to pop and explode into the spotlight.
The last 5 years have been the real kicker. I came along in April 2008 and began the actual process, both in labor and paperwork, to clean up this broadcasting company’s, or ownership I should say, huge huge mess. Unfortunately the owner decided to lay off some more people, which included me and a sales person. That was in Sept 2008.
Since that time, the entire group of stations has been operating with no staff, except for one person who’s name will not be mentioned here. That’s right, just ONE..thats O.N.E, 1 person barely being paid just enough to not even have enough for much of a life except worry about the next behind bill.
Typing is tiresome so I will end this entry with a “nutshell” note.
A quote out of history.
“ALL ROADS LEAD TO JAN CHARLES GRAY”.
RFB
Wondering
I wonder what 300 dollar wine is like. I shop for 4 dollar wine, but I once got a 7 dollar bottle.
Is there no other company coming in for the kill, trying to grab those stations?
Went to Harvard? Didn’t the Radio Announcer of the United States of America go to Harvard? I get the big universities mixed up. So many of the people who attended them are crooks.
Mount Rushmore.
If the last 4 presidents were carved into a mountain you could name it “Mount Rush-to-War”.
Over Priced
“Is there no other company coming in for the kill, trying to grab those stations?”
Sure, but you see the problem is that the only thing that would have any real value would be the licenses themselves as the hardware is so outdated and so over-worked and barely operating as it is, about the only worth that stuff would be is to help top off a landfill.
RFB