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 Federal  Communications  Commission  DA  01-  309 
 Before  the  Federal  Communications  Commission 
 Washington,  D.  C.  20554 
 In  the  Matter  of 
 BLACK  MEDIA  WORKS,  INC. 
 Licensee  of  Station  WJFP(  FM) 
 Fort  Pierce,  Florida 


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 File  No.  9706039-  KMS 
 Facility  #5488 


 MEMORANDUM  OPINION  AND  ORDER 
 Adopted:  February  6,  2001  Released:  February  7,  2001 
 By  the  Chief,  Enforcement  Bureau: 
 1.  In  this  Order,  we  deny  the  petition  for  reconsideration  filed  July  3,  2000,  by  Midway  Broadcasting  Company  (“  Midway”).  Midway  seeks  reconsideration  of  the  June  2,  2000,  action 
 of  the  Chief,  Investigations  and  Hearings  Division,  admonishing  Black  Media  Works,  Inc. 
 (“  Black  Media”)  for  violating  Section  399B  of  the  Communications  Act  (“  Act”),  47  U.  S.  C.  § 
 399B,  and  Section  73.503(  d)  of  the  Commission’s  rules,  47  C.  F.  R.  §  73.503(  d),  by  broadcasting 
 prohibited  advertisements  over  noncommercial  educational  station  WJFP(  FM),  Fort  Pierce, 
 Florida.  Midway,  the  original  complainant  in  this  matter,  argues  that  admonishment  is  an 
 inadequate  sanction  to  redress  the  statutory  and  rule  violations  involved. 


 2.  We  reject  Midway’s  arguments.  The  challenged  June  2,  2000,  decision  letter  admonished  Black  Media  to  comply  with  the  statute  and  pertinent  Commission  rules  or  face  more 
 serious  sanctions  in  the  event  of  recurring  violations.  Notwithstanding  its  speculation  on  this 
 point,  Midway  does  not  provide  adequate  reasons  why  the  imposition  of  a  more  severe  form  of 
 initial  punishment  would  be  required  to  ensure  WJFP(  FM)  ’s  prospective  rule  compliance. 
 Moreover,  while  complaining  parties  may  question  a  licensee’s  conduct  and  so  invite 
 Commission  scrutiny  and  investigative  efforts,  the  agency  itself  has  broad  discretion  in 
 determining  the  ultimate  choice  of  remedies  and  sanctions  appropriate  in  given  cases.  See  Lorain 
 Journal  Co.  v.  FCC,  351  F.  2d  824,  830-  31  (D.  C.  Cir.  1965),  cert.  denied  sub  nom.  WWIZ,  Inc.  v. 
 FCC,  383  U.  S.  967  (1966),  citing  FCC  v.  WOKO,  Inc.,  329  U.  S.  223  (1946).  In  this  connection, 
 after  reviewing  Midway’s  petition,  the  responsive  pleadings,  and  the  underlying  record,  we  find 
 no  reason  to  overturn  our  prior  decision  and  conclude  that  the  decision  to  issue  an  admonishment 
 was  correct.  1 


 3.  Accordingly,  IT  IS  ORDERED,  pursuant  to  Section  405  of  the  Communications  Act  of  1934,  as  amended,  47  U.  S.  C.  §  405,  and  Section  1.106  of  the  Commission’s  rules,  47  C.  F.  R.  § 
 1.106,  that  the  petition  for  reconsideration  filed  July  3,  2000,  by  Midway  Broadcasting  Company 
 IS  DENIED,  and  that  our  June  2,  2000,  decision  imposing  an  admonishment  against  Black  Media 
 Works,  Inc.,  licensee  of  noncommercial  educational  station  WJFP(  FM),  Fort  Pierce,  Florida,  for 


 1  We  note  that,  in  its  responsive  pleadings,  Black  Media  does  not  challenge  our  admonishment. 
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 Federal  Communications  Commission  DA  01-  309 
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 violating  Section  399B  of  the  Act  and  Section  73.503(  d)  of  the  Commission’s  rules,  IS 
 AFFIRMED. 


 FEDERAL  COMMUNICATIONS  COMMISSION 


 David  H.  Solomon 
 Chief,  Enforcement  Bureau 
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