7 FCC Red No. 2 Federal Communications Commission Record FCC 92-5 
In re 
Before the 
Federal Communications Commission 
Washington, D.C. 20554 
Applications of 
File Nos. TOLEDO 
BROADCASTING, 
INC. 
BR-890530WF 
BRH-890530VF 
For Renewal of Licenses of 
Stations WSPD/WLQR(FM) 
Toledo, Ohio 
MEMORANDUM OPINION & ORDER 
Adopted: January 2, 1992; Released: January 23, 1992 
By the Commission: 
I. INTRODUCTION 
I. Before the Commission is (i) a Petition to Deny filed 
by the Ohio State Conference of Branches of the NAACP 
and the National Black Media Coalition (NAACP/NBMC) 
against the above-noted renewal applications of stations 
WSPD/WLQR(FM), Toledo, Ohio; (ii) an opposition filed 
by the licensee; and (iii) the licensee's responses to C?m­
mission inquiries. NAACP/NBMC allege that the stations 
have violated the Commission's EEO Rule. They request 
that we investigate the stations' EEO program and then 
designate the renewal applications for a hearing. 
II. PROCEDURAL MATTERS 
2. In challenging an application pursuant to Section 
309(d) of the Communications Act, a p~t.itioner mu~t 
demonstrate party in interest status. In addttton, the peti­
tioner must, as a threshold matter, submit, "specific al­
legations of fact sufficient to show ... that a grant of the 
application would be prima facie inconsistent with (the 
public interest, convenience and necessity)." 47 U.S.C. 
Section 309(d)(l); Astroline Communications Co. v. FCC, 
857 F.2d 1556 (D.C. Cir. 1988) (Astroline); Dubuque 
Limited Partnership, 4 F.C.C. Red. 1999 ( 1989). The al­
legations, except for those of which official notice may _be 
taken must be supported by the affidavit of a person with 
personal knowledge of the facts alleged. 47 U.S.C. Section 
309(d)(l). 
3. The licensee of WSPD/WLQR(FM) asserts that, be­
cause NAACP/NBMC failed to file supporting affidavits, 
they have not established standing. NAACP provided a 
timely declaration from James Daniel, President of the 
Ohio State Conference of Branches of the NAACP. Mr. 
Daniel. however. does not indicate that he is a listener of 
the stations or a resident within the service areas of the 
stations. Accordingly, pursuant to Section 73.3584(b) of 
669 
the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R. Section 73.3584(b), 
NAACP's pieading will be considered as an informal ob­
jection. 
4. With respect to NBMC, NBMC timely submitted a 
statement from Pluria Marshall, Chairman of NBMC and 
a resident of the Washington, D.C. area. The Commission, 
however, has previously held that the statement ?f a 
person who does not claim to be a listener of the stations 
nor a resident of the service area of the challenged sta­
tions does not satisfy the requirements of the Act. See 
Michigan I Ohio Broadcast Renewals. 3 FCC Red 6944 
(1988): see also KDEN Broadcasting Co., 55 Rad. Reg. 2d 
(P&F) 1311, 1311-1312 (1984). Accordingly, we will con­
sider NBMC's pleading as an informal objection. 
III. DISCUSSION 
5. Section 73.2080 of the Commission's Rules, 47 
C.F.R. Section 73.2080, requires that a broadcast licensee 
refrain from employment discrimination and establish 
and maintain an affirmative action program reflecting 
positive and continuing efforts t_o r~c.ruit, employ, and 
promote qualified women and mmont1es. When evaluat­
ing EEO performance, the Commission focuses on. ~he 
licensee's efforts to recruit, employ and promote qualified 
women and minorities and the licensee's ongoing assess­
ment of its EEO efforts. Such an assessment enables the 
licensee to take corrective action if qualified women and 
minorities are not present in the applicant pool. The 
Commission also focuses on any evidence of discrimina­
tion by the licensee. See Section 73.2080 (b) and (c) of the 
Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R. Sections 73.2080(b), 
73.2080( c ). 
6. When a renewal application indicates a record of 
adequate EEO efforts, the application is granted, if other­
wise appropriate. If the application indicates a record of 
inadequate EEO efforts, the Commission will impose a 
variety of sanctions or remedies, such as repo_rting con­
ditions. renewal for less than a full term, forfeiture, or a 
combination thereof. Further, the Commission will des­
ignate the renewal application for a hearing if the facts so 
warrant. Amendment of Part 73 of the Commission's Rules 
Concerning Equal Employment Opportunity in the Broad­
cast Radio and Television Services, 2 FCC Red 3967 ( 1987) 
(Broadcast EEO Report), petition for reconsideration pend­
ing; see also 4 FCC Red 1715 (1989)(request for clarifica­
tion by National Association of Broadcasters). See e.g., 
Beaumont Branch of the NAACP and the National Black 
Media Coalition v. FCC, 854 F.2d 501 (D.C. Cir. 1988) 
(Beaumont); Bilingual-Bicultural Coalition v. FCC, 595 
F.2d 621 (D.C. Cir. 1978). 
7. Review of the licensee's EEO record leads us to 
conclude that NAACP/NB MC presented a prima facie case 
demonstrating that unconditional grant of the applicatio~s 
for renewal would have been inconsistent with the public 
interest. Astroline, supra. 1 Further inquiry was. therefore, 
necessary. See Beaumont Branch of the NAACP v. FCC, 
supra; Bilingual-Bicultural Coalition, supra. 
8. Upon analysis of the licensee's opposition and ~e­
sponses to our inquiries, we conclu~e that no substantial 
and material questions of fact remam as to whether the 
licensee discriminated. Astroline, supra. Accordingly, des­
ignation for hearing is not warranted. Our review, ho_w­
ever, indicates a record of inadequate efforts. We will, 
therefore, grant the renewal applications subject to report­
ing conditions as detailed herein. 
FCC 92-S Federal Communications Commission Record 7 FCC Red No. 2 
9. Review of the licensee's 1989 EEO program, its 
opposition and its inquiry responses indicates that during 
the period December 11, 19862 to May 30, 1989, the 
licensee had 15 overall full-time hiring opportunities in­
cluding 13 upper-level hiring opportunities.34 The licens­
ee contacted the following sources for referrals: eight 
community organizations;5 12 educational institutions;6 
two broadcasters' associations;7 two newspapers;8 two trade 
publications;9 and eight employment agencies. 10 In addi­
tion, the licensee relied on employee referrals, walk-ins, 
"word of mouth" applicants, and former applicants or 
employees.11 The licensee interviewed 162 applicants, in­
cluding 13 minorities (six Blacks) for upper-level posi­
tions. Blacks agpeared in four of the 13 upper-level 
interview pools. 2 The licensee hired no minorities for its 
15 hiring opportunities. 13 The licensee failed to make 
modifications to its program until less than one week 
before the license term expired, when it added additional 
sources to its recruitment list. 14 
10. NAACP/NBMC state that the licensee's "EEO pro­
gram, on paper, is not unreasonable." However, they 
criticize the licensee's failure to hire any Blacks, the 
dominant minority group, for any upper-level position. In 
addition, they assert that the licensee appears to have 
attended to its EEO obligations only at the end of the 
license term. 
11. The licensee counterargues that it has always made 
strong efforts to seek out qualified minority applicants. It 
states that it has contacted numerous minority and female 
recruiting sources for virtually every full-time job open­
ing. 15 The licensee also asserts that it encouraged present 
employees to refer minority and female job applicants and 
informed employees and applicants of its equal employ­
ment opportunity policy. With regard to its employment 
profile, the licensee asserts that it has improved minority 
representation at the stations since it took control in 
1986. 16 The licensee explains that the drop in minority 
representation in 1989 was due to the departure of two 
minority employees in 1988. 
12. Review of the licensee's EEO record reveals that the 
licensee failed to direct sufficient efforts towards the 
recruitment of qualified Blacks, the dominant minority 
group, for upper-level vacancies.17 The licensee inter­
viewed only six Blacks among 162 applicants for its 13 
upper-level positions. In addition, the licensee did not 
include any Blacks in the interview pool for nine of its 13 
upper-level job vacancies. Further, we note that the li­
censee did not hire Blacks or other minorities for any of 
its 15 full-time vacancies and did not employ Blacks in 
any full-time upper-level position from the time it ac­
quired the stations until May 1989, when it promoted two 
Blacks to upper-level positions. Despite the small number 
of Blacks in the upper-level interview pool and the ab­
sence of Blacks from the licensee's upper-level hires and 
work force, the licensee failed to make any modifications 
to its EEO program until the very end of the license 
term, i.e., September 25, 1989, six days before the license 
expiration date and 25 days after the petition to deny was 
filed. 
13. This case is less egregious than WROV Broadcasters, 
Inc., (WROV), 4 FCC Red 6157 (1989), affd. on recon., 6 
FCC Red 1421 (1991), in which we granted renewal 
subject to reporting conditions and imposed a $5,000 
forfeiture. Both stations were located in areas with similar 
Black labor forces with Roanoke having 9.9% and Toledo 
having 8.8%. Generally, both licensees failed to employ 
670 
Blacks in upper-level positions. In WROV, however, the 
licensee contacted recruitment sources for only two of its 
42 upper-level job vacancies, whereas here WSPD con­
tacted recruitment sources for 10 of its 15 positions. In 
addition, the licensee of WROV, which had 42 hiring 
opportunities, had a significantly greater number of hiring 
opportunities for which to recruit. Further, we note that 
the record for WROV showed an absence of Blacks in 
upper-level positions throughout the seven year license 
term. The licensee of WSPD/WLQR, however, acquired 
the stations less than three years before the license term 
expired and promoted two Blacks to upper-level positions, 
albeit late in the license term. Accordingly, WSPD's 
record is considerably better than WROV and a forfeiture 
would be inappropriate in this case. 
14. Based on the foregoing, we will grant renewal of the 
licenses and impose reporting conditions to ensure that 
the licensee makes sufficient efforts to attract black ap­
plicants and engages in meaningful self-assessment on a 
continuous basis, particularly with regard to its upper­
level positions. 18 
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES 
15. Accordingly. IT IS ORDERED that the informal 
objection filed by NAACP and the National Black Media 
Coalition against stations WSPD/WLQR(FM) IS DENIED. 
16. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the applications 
for renewal of license filed by Toledo Broadcasting, Inc. 
for stations WSPD/WLQR(FM) ARE GRANTED subject 
to the reporting conditions described herein. 
17. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, that Toledo Broadcast­
ing, Inc. submit to the Commission an original and one 
copy of the following information on June 1, 1992, June 
1, 1993, and June 1, 1994: 
(a) For each report, a list of all job vacancies during 
the 12 months preceding the respective reporting 
dates, indicating the job title and full or part-time 
status of the position, date of hire, the race or 
national origin, sex and the referral source of each 
applicant for each job and the race or national 
origin and sex of the person hired. This list should 
also note which recruitment sources were contact­
ed; 19 
(b) A list of employees as of the May 1, 1992 
payroll period for the first report and as of the May 
1, 1993 and May 1, 1994 payroll periods for the 
second and third reports by job title, indicating 
full-time or part-time status (ranked from highest 
paid classification), date of hire, sex, and race or 
national origin; and 
(c) Details concerning the station's efforts to recruit 
minorities for each position filled during the 
12-month periods specified, including identification 
of sources used and indicating whether any of the 
applicants declined actual offers of employment. In 
addition, the licensee may submit any information it 
believes relevant regarding the station's EEO perfor­
mance and its efforts thereunder. 
18. The reports are to be filed with the Secretary of the 
Commission for the attention of the Mass Media Bureau's 
EEO Branch. Should the licensee have any questions 
7 FCC Red No. 2 Federal Communications Commission Record FCC 92-5 
regarding this action or require further information con­
cerning the employment reports, it may telephone the 
Mass Media Bureau's EEO Branch. ((202) 632-7069). 
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 
Donna R. Searcy 
Secretary 
FOOTNOTES 
1 The stations were not challenged regarding their recruitment 
of women. Nonetheless, as is our practice in all cases, we 
reviewed the stations' EEO efforts toward both women and 
minorities and found their record of efforts with regard to 
women to be sufficient. 
2 The licensee acquired the stations on December 11, 1986. 
3 The licensee promoted one part-time Black employee to a 
full-time position as Public Affairs Director on May 29, 1989. In 
addition, the licensee promoted a Black female from FM "Traf­
fic Clerk" to "Continuity Director" in May 1989. The license 
term ended October 1, 1989. 
4 Our primary focus here is the licensee's efforts in the 
upper-four category because virtually all ( 13 of 15) of the hiring 
positions were in the upper-four category. 
5 The licensee contacted the following community organiza­
tions: NAACP; NOW; A WRT; Women in Communications; 
University of Toledo, Center for Women; East Toledo Commu­
nity Organizations; Catholic Diocese; and Ohio Hispanic In­
stitute. The licensee contacted these organizations for ten of the 
15 full-time positions. However, not all of the above organiza­
tions were contacted for each of the referenced ten full-time 
positions. For eight of the ten positions, the licensee contacted 
all of the sources on its list. For the two remaining positions. 
the licensee contacted the Toledo Branch of the NAACP and the 
Toledo Branch of Women in Communications. 
6 The licensee contacted the following educational institutions: 
Ferris State College; Ohio State University: University of Michi­
gan; Michigan State University; Central Michigan University; 
Ohio University; Kent State University; University of Toledo; 
Bowling Green State University; Eastern Michigan University; 
Monroe County Community College and Specs Howard Place­
ment. The licensee contacted educational institutions for 14 of 
the 15 positions. It is unclear. however, which specific sources 
the licensee contacted for each of the 14 positions. 
7 The licensee contacted NAB Employment Clearinghouse and 
Ohio Association of Broadcasters. 
8 The licensee contacted Toledo Blade Want Ads and the 
Columbus Dispatch. 
9 The licensee contacted Broadcasting and Radio & Records. 
10 The licensee contacted the following employment agencies: 
Ohio Bureau of Employment Services; Job Exchange; Private 
Industry Council; Action; Renhill; Norrell; Guadalupe Center 
Employment Service; and Veterans Employment Services. 
These sources were used for eight positions; however, it is 
unclear which specific sources were used for each position. 
11 The renewal application reflected a total of 16 minority 
referrals, 14 of which were referrals of blacks. 
12 Overall, minorities appeared in eight interview pools for 
upper-level positions. 
671 
13 The Toledo MSA, in which the stations are located, has a 
11.7% minority labor force (8.8% Black, 2.2% Hispanic, 0.5% 
Asian, 0.2% American Indian). The 1989 Annual Employment 
Report lists one (2.5%) Black, one Hispanic and one Asian 
among 40 full-time employees overall and one (2.9%) Asian 
among 35 upper-level employees. The 1988 and 1987 reports list 
three (7.1%) Blacks, one (2.4%) Hispanic and one Asian among 
42 full-time employees overall and one (2.7%) Asian among 37 
upper-level job employees. No Blacks are reflected in the li­
censee's 1987-1989 reports for upper-level positions. 
14 The licensee submitted a list of the following sources which 
it added to its recruitment list on September 25, 1989: Imperial 
Talent Agency; Westwood Talent Agency; National Broadcast 
Talent Agency; Owens Technical College; Ashland College; Da­
vis Junior College; Stautzenberger College; Primera Iglesia 
Bautista; St. Steven's African American Methodist Episcopal 
Church; Greater St. Mary's Missionary Baptist Church; Galilee 
Missionary Baptist Church; Calvary Baptist Tabernacle; and 
Family Baptist Church. Although most of these sources were 
not listed in the licensee's EEO Program Report, the licensee 
states that many of these sources have previously referred job 
applicants. We note that three of these sources (Owens Tech­
nical College, Davis Junior Businesss College and 
Stautzenberger College) were listed on the licensee's EEO pro­
gram Report as sources it contacted during the renewal period. 
15 The licensee notes that one of the sources it contacts is the 
Toledo Branch of the NAACP, a branch of one of the challeng­
ing parties. The licensee states that the NAACP has failed to 
refer any applicants for a full-time position during the time of 
the licensee's tenure as operator of the stations. 
16 The licensee relies on the stations' 1986 employment profile 
as support for its assertion that it has improved minority repre­
sentation. The 1986 Annual Employment Report lists two 
(5.0%) minorities among 40 full-time employees overall and no 
minorities among 35 upper-level employees. The 1987 and 1988 
reports list three minorities overall (11.9%) and one minority. 
an Asian, in the upper-four category (2.7% ). 
17 Although we consider a station's overall minority employ­
ment in determining EEO compliance, we evaluate principally 
a station's efforts regarding the dominant minority labor force 
and non-dominant minorities that are present in the work force 
in significant numbers. See Bilingual Bicultural Coalition. supra.; 
Applications for Renewal of Licenses of WBBE(AM):WMGB-F1W, 
Georgetown, Kentucky, 4 FCC Red 8255, 8256 (1989). 
18 In this regard, we are mindful of pending assignment ap­
plications for stations WSPD/WLQR(FM) from Toledo Broad­
casting, Inc. to Stratford Broadcasting Inc. The reporting 
conditions pass to the assignee as a matter of law upon the grant 
and consummation of the assignment. 
l9 Such a list might start: 
(1) News Director; Officials and Managers; Full-time 
3 Applicants: 1 white female A.W.R.T. 
1 Black male Urban League 
1 Black female NAACP 
Sources Contacted: Local Newspaper, A.W.R.T., Urban 
League, and NAACP 
Selected: Black male (03/15/91)