WAMC Legal ID

[Garrett Wollman]

<<On Sat, 1 Oct 2011 14:13:08 -0400, "Mark Casey" <map@mapinternet.com> said:

> WAMC (COL Albany-tx from Mt. Greylock, Adams, MA) and it's network of many 
> stations that are all on the hourly ID, are ID'ing today as WAMC HD, WAMQ 
> HD, WAMK HD etc., (not WAMC *and* HD) I herad not one "FM" in the whole 
> mess, only the WAMC AM ID was different format. The way the ID's were 
> presented it's as if they are only an ID for the HD station and not for the 
> analog FM station.

There is no "HD station and ... analog FM station"; it's one and the
same station.  However, if they were not anouncing WAMC-FM with the
correct (six-letter) callsign, then they clearly were not following
the rules.

Most of their stations have only four-letter callsigns, so they are
not obliged to say "FM" for those stations.  They are obliged, for
each station, to say *something* to indicate that it transmits in
"digital", but they don't have to say "HD" and there's no requirement
to put it between the callsign and the community of license.  (Indeed,
it may actually be prohibited -- see what I mean about the rule being
poorly drafted?)

WBZ's current ID is simply wrong, although again, the Commission is
not likely to call them on it.  By the rules as they are written, you
are not permitted to "factor out" a common city of license.

-GAWollman