2-11-14
This fine is for violating the FCC rule on identifying a sponsorship. Back in 2009 the station ran ads from Workers Independent News without disclosing that the ads were sponsored by the organization. The ad discussed federal economic stimulus money. The Commission rule is in place so listeners are never confused whether the ad is actually programming. "The rules are grounded in the principle that listeners and viewers are entitled to know who seeks to persuade them.? WLS admitted 11 ads ran without proper tags and asked the fine be reduced to $4K claiming it was really only one incident and it was quickly caught and corrected. The commission didn't go for that and hit WLS with $4K per ad for a total of $44K. Read for full forfeiture order HERE
