WBUR's L-O-N-G Station ID

[Dan.Strassberg]

More than a decade or so ago, the AM 930 in Rochester NH would ID as KOST
(not in legal IDs, of course). The legal ID, which you could hear if you
listened closely at the right time each hour, was WKOS Rochester. The NH
station, which is owned by CCU, no longer has the WKOS calls. I don't know
what the current calls are (maybe part of the WGIx series that CCU uses on
several NH AMs), but I don't think CCU is any longer playing such games with
its NH AM calls. However, back when the NH 930 was non-IDing as KOST, there
was also a legitimate KOST (FM)--I believe in Los Angeles. I don't know
whether or not the LA station was or is owned by CCU, but, IIRC, it still
has the KOST calls. If the LA station is not owned by CCU, the fact that a
non co-owned station could use its calls in a fake "non-ID" demonstrates
that, as long as the fake ID is not the legal ID, just about anything goes.
I suppose that means the NH station, which, AFAIK, never--even in fake
IDs--IDed as KOST Rochester, was not supposed to say KOST Rochester during
the period near the TOH when it broadcast legal IDs. (The times I heard
it, the KOST non-ID was never followed by a CoL.) Is there an FCC rule that
covers when it is NOT OK to use a fake ID?

-----
Dan Strassberg (dan.strassberg@att.net)
eFax 1-707-215-6367

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "A Joseph Ross" <joe@attorneyross.com>
To: <boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org>
Sent: Tuesday, February 26, 2013 1:05 AM
Subject: Re: WBUR's L-O-N-G Station ID


> On 2/25/2013 4:23 PM, Don wrote:
>
>> Wasn't there a citation for the station in Ohio that would identify as:
>> "WGTZ Eaton (eatin') Dayton Alive!"
>>
>> Or was that an old wives tale?  ;-)
>
> I doubt it was so, if "WGTZ EATON" was itself a legal ID.  I've always
> heard that whatever came before or after the legal ID didn't matter.
>
> There's also a story (true, I think) of a station in San Francisco that
> wanted to call itself WKRP, after the TV show.  Since they couldn't get a
> W- callsign, they got the call letters KRPN and IDed as "This is W -- 
> KRPN San Francisco."  According to the story as I heard it, they got away
> with it.
>
> -- 
> A. Joseph Ross, J.D.| 92 State Street| Suite 700| Boston, MA 02109-2004
> 617.367.0468|Fx:617.507.7856| http://www.attorneyross.com
>