There are certain regulatory "perks" to being a
non-commercial educational (NCE) broadcaster, such as not paying
regulatory fees. There are also certain regulatory drawbacks
(looking at you, underwriting rules). One thing in which NCE and
commercial broadcasters share equally, however, is the obligation
to compile and file quarterly issues/programs reports describing
station programming that addresses community issues. Failure to
comply, even when there is no allegation that the station did not
actually air issue-responsive programming, can be costly.
On November 6, 2023, the Media Bureau's Video Division
issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for $9,000 against
Puget Sound Educational TV, Inc., licensee of NCE television
station KWDK in Tacoma, Washington. The Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) found that Puget Sound willfully and repeatedly
violated the Commission's rules by failing to timely file 12
issues/programs reports. Specifically, the Video Division
