F EDERAL C OMMUN ICATIONS COMMISSION 
W AS HI NGTON 
OFFIC E OF 
T H E C H A IRM A N 
The Honorable Gene Green 
U.S. I louse of Representatives 
2470 Rayburn House Office Building 
Washington, D.C. 20515 
Dear Congressman Green: 
December 9, 2014 
Thank you for your letter regarding KMFR-AM in Frio County, Texas. I appreciate 
hearing your views and welcome the opportunity to provide you with a response. 
As you note in your letter, KMFR-AM filed its license renewal application last year. and 
that application remains pending in the Commission's Media Bureau. tations retain 
authorization to broadcast during the time a license renewal application is pending. According to 
our database, KMFR-AM returned to on-air broadcasting around the same time it filed its license 
renewal application. The Media Bureau staff is determining the next steps for this application 
given that during the preceding eight-year license term, KMFR-AM was silent for more than 50 
months, or over half of the term. 
Your letter correctly describes the standard of review for broadcast renewal applications 
under Section 309(k) of the Communications Act. We are required to grant the renewal if we 
find that the station, over the preceding license term, has served the public interest, convenience, 
and necessity without serious violations of the Communications Act or Commission rules. See 
47 .. C. § 309(k)(l). In 2001, the Commission clarified for all broadcast licensees that, with 
regard to situations where a station has remained silent for "most or all of the prior license term," 
the licensee would face a "very heavy burden in demonstrating that it has served the public 
interest." See Birach Broadcasting Corporation, 16 FCC Red 5015, 5020, ~ 13. The 
Commission also determined that ection 309(k) of the Communications Act focuses solely on 
the station's record in the past I icense term and does not give any weight to subsequent efforts to 
resume broadcasting. !d. 
The Commission seeks to ensure that scarce broadcast spectrum is being used efficiently. 
Stations that are silent foreclose other potential vo ices because the Commission cannot grant any 
new authorization that conflicts with the license of a silent station. It is important that the public 
can receive the benefit of broadcast programming such as news, public affairs, weather 
information, and emergency alerts, which are absent when stations are silent. ection 309(k). 
along with Section 312(g) of the Communications Act, directs us to apply our licensing powers 
to ensure operation of broadcast stations in the public interest. Fortunately for the listening 
public, the number of stations with prolonged periods of silence is a small number compared to 
the thousands of licensed and operating stations. 
Page 2-The l lonorable Gene Green 
I can understand your concerns regarding the length of time this matter has been pending, 
as well as the uncertainty it has posed for the station. ince becoming Chairman, I have made it 
a priority to reform Commission processes to increase efficiency and reduce backlogs. 
Consequently, I have asked the staff to make its final determinations as expeditiously as possible. 
I hope this information is helpful. I have asked my staff to keep your office informed of 
the status of this renewal application. 
Tom Wheeler