Federal Communications Commission DA 11-653 Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of ) Reclassification of License ) Of Station WQUE-FM ) RM-11627 New Orleans, Louisiana ) ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE Adopted: April 6, 2011 Released: April 8, 2011 Comment Date: May 23, 2011 By the Assistant Chief, Audio Division; Media Bureau: 1. Before the Audio Division is a Petition for Rule Making filed by Bowen Broadcasting (“Petitioner”), requesting the allotment of FM Channel 228A at Summit, Mississippi, as that community’s first local broadcast transmission service. To accommodate that allotment, Petitioner requests the reclassification of Station WQUE-FM, Channel 227C, New Orleans, Louisiana, to specify operation on Channel 227C0. Station WQUE-FM currently operates on Channel 227C with an ERP of 100 kilowatts at 300 meters HAAT. The station is below the minimum Class C antenna height requirements of 451 meters HAAT. Because Station WQUE-FM is operating below minimum Class C standards, it is subject to reclassification as a Class C0 facility. 1 Petitioner requests that we issue to Clear Channel Broadcasting Licenses, Inc., licensee of Station WQUE-FM, an Order to Show Cause why that station should not be reclassified as a C0 facility. 2. Section 316(a) of the Communications Act, as amended, permits the Commission to modify an authorization if such action is in the public interest. Further, pursuant to Section 316(a), we are required to notify the affected station of the proposed action, as well as the public interest reasons for the action, and to afford the licensee at least 30 days to respond. This procedure is set forth in Section 1.87 of the Commission’s Rules.2 3. The reclassification of a Class C FM station to a Class C0 station may be initiated through the filing of a petition for rule making to amend the FM Table of Allotments.3 In instances where an initiating petition proposes both to amend the FM Table of Allotments and to reclassify a Class C FM station, the Commission must issue an order to show cause, as set forth in Section 73.3573, note 4, of the Commission’s 1 See 1998 Biennial Regulatory Review—Streamlining of Radio Technical Rules in Parts 73 and 74 of the Commission’s Rules, Second Report and Order, 15 FCC Rcd 21,649 (2000) (“Second Report and Order”), and Section 1.420(g), n.2, and Section 73.3573, n.4, of the Commission’s Rules. 2 See Modification of FM and Television Licenses Pursuant to Section 316 of the Communications Act, Order, 2 FCC Rcd 3327 (1987). 3 Second Report and Order, supra, and 47 C.F.R. § 1.420, n.2. Federal Communications Commission DA 11-653 2 rules. In such circumstances, a notice of proposed rule making will be issued only after the reclassification issue has been resolved. 4. A petitioner proposing both amendment of the FM Table of Allotments and reclassification of a Class C FM station must certify that no alternative channel is available for the proposed service.4 Petitioner has provided the requisite certification. 5. A Class C0 reclassification of Station WQUE-FM at New Orleans, Louisiana, would accommodate Petitioner’s request to allot Channel 228A to Summit, Mississippi, as that community’s first local service. Petitioner’s request for reclassification therefore has sufficient public interest benefit to warrant the issuance of an order to show cause. Accordingly, we shall issue this Order to Show Cause directed to Clear Channel Broadcasting Licenses, Inc. (“Clear Channel”), licensee of Station WQUE-FM, New Orleans, Louisiana. Clear Channel is required to show cause why its authorization should not be modified to specify operation on Channel 227C0 in lieu of Channel 227C at New Orleans, Louisiana. 6. The license for Station WQUE-FM at New Orleans, Louisiana, can be modified to Channel 227C0 at its current authorized transmitter site, located at coordinates 29-55-11 NL and 90-01-29 WL. Pursuant to Section 1.87 of the Commission’s Rules, Clear Channel may not later than May 23, 2011, file a written statement showing with particularity why its license should not be modified as proposed in this Order to Show Cause. The Commission may call on Clear Channel to furnish additional information. If Clear Channel raises a substantial and material question of fact, a hearing may be required to resolve such a question pursuant to Section 1.87. Upon review of the statements and/or additional information furnished, the Commission may grant the modifications, deny the modifications, or set the matter of modifications for hearing. If no written statement is filed by the date referenced above, Clear Channel will be deemed to have consented to the modification as proposed in this Order to Show Cause and a final Order will be issued by the Commission, if the channel modification is found to be in the public interest. 7. If Clear Channel chooses to seek authority to modify its license to increase antenna height to at least 451 meters HAAT, it must express its intention to file the necessary application by the comment date specified in this Order. It also must file an acceptable application for a construction permit for Station WQUE-FM with the Commission within 180 days subsequent to the show cause comment due date (May 23, 2011). Upon the filing of an acceptable construction permit application, the proposal to allot Channel 228A at Summit, Mississippi, will be dismissed. The present three-year construction period will be applicable if a construction permit is obtained by Clear Channel for Channel 227C as specified herein, under this procedure. If the construction is not completed as authorized, Station WQUE-FM is subject to automatic reclassification as a Class C0 station, and, in that event, a new petition for rule making to allot Channel 228A at Summit, Mississippi, may be filed. 8. IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED, That, on or before May 23, 2011, Clear Channel Broadcasting show cause why its authorization for Station WQUE-FM, File No. BMLH-20050808ACX, should not be modified to specify operation on Channel 227C0 in lieu of Channel 227C at New Orleans, Louisiana. 4 See 47 C.F.R. §§ 73.3573, n. 4 and 1.420(g), n.2. See also Second Report and Order, 15 FCC Rcd at 21,662, ¶ 26. Federal Communications Commission DA 11-653 3 9. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, That the Commission’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, Reference Information Center, SHALL Send a copy of this Order to Show Cause by Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested, to Clear Channel Broadcasting, licensee of WQUE-FM, New Orleans, Louisiana, and to counsel for Clear Channel Broadcasting, as indicated below: Clear Channel Broadcasting Licenses, Inc. Station WQUE-FM 2625 S. Memorial Drive – Suite A Tulsa, Oklahoma 74129-2623 Marissa G. Repp, Esq. Repp Law Firm 1629 K Street, N.W., Suite 300. Washington, D.C. 20006-1631 (Counsel for Clear Channel Broadcasting) 10. Any protest to this proposed reclassification may be sent by hand or messenger delivery, by commercial overnight courier, or by first-class or overnight U.S. Postal Service mail. Protests should be filed with the Federal Communications Commission, Office of the Secretary, 445 Twelfth Street, SW, TW-A325, Washington, D.C. 20554. Additionally, a copy of any filing should be served on: Cliff J. Bowen, Jr., Officer Bowen Broadcasting 1125 Petrified Forest Road Flora, Mississippi 39071 11. The Commission’s contractor, Natek, Inc., will receive hand-delivered or messenger- delivered paper filings for the Commission’s Secretary at 236 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.E., Suite 110, Washington, D.C. 20002. The filing hours at this location are 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. All hand deliveries must be held together with rubber bands or fasteners. Any envelopes must be disposed of before entering the building. Commercial overnight mail (other than U.S. Postal Service Express Mail or Priority Mail) must be sent to 9300 East Hampton Drive, Capitol Heights, MD 20743. U.S. Postal Service first-class mail, Express Mail, and Priority Mail should be addressed to 445 12th Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 20554. All filings must be addressed to the Office of the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission. Any filing that is not addressed to the Office of the Secretary will be treated as filed on the day it is received in the Office of the Secretary. See 47 C.F.R. § 1.7. Accordingly, failure to follow the specified requirements may result in the treatment of a filing as untimely. Federal Communications Commission DA 11-653 4 12. For further information concerning this proceeding, contact Deborah A. Dupont, Media Bureau, at (202) 418-7072. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Nazifa Sawez Assistant Chief Audio Division Media Bureau