Despite Objections, FCC Approves KCOH License Transfer
February 7, 2013
By David Barron
The Federal Communications Commission has approved the license transfer of KCOH (1430 AM) to the Midland-based La Promesa Foundation, clearing the way for the new owners to launch their Catholic-oriented Guadalupe Radio Network on the frequency.KCOH
The license transfer was approved Wednesday despite informal objections filed with the FCC's audio division by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, and the Rev. Jesse Jackson. Both expressed concerns about the "potential disappearance of KCOH's existing format" and about media ownership diversity, said the audio division's chief, Peter Doyle, in a letter to attorneys concerning the license transfer.
Doyle noted that the FCC does not take programming choices or formats into account when it rules on license transfers. He also wrote that since the concerns about minority ownership mentioned by Lee and Jackson were beyond the scope of the license transfer request, their objections were denied and the license transfer would be approved.
The longtime African-American-oriented station was sold late last year by the family of its owner, the late Michael Petrizzo, and his partners to La Promesa for $2.1 million.
Most of KCOH's longtime hosts, including Michael Harris, Don Samuel and Ralph Cooper, will move next month to KQUE (1230 AM) and continue the station's format there with the addition of some new programs.
That station, which will be rebranded as KCOH, will be operated under a lease-purchase agreement between its owners, Lieberman Broadcasting, and Houston businessman Jesse Dunn, whose Paraclete Church Ministries made an unsuccessful bid to buy KCOH in 2009.
Len Oswald, president of the Guadalupe Radio Network, did not return a phone call seeking details on the foundation's plans for 1430 AM.
Guadalupe Radio Network broadcasts in English and Spanish, with most of its affiliated or owned stations airing English-language programming.
February 7, 2013
By David Barron
The Federal Communications Commission has approved the license transfer of KCOH (1430 AM) to the Midland-based La Promesa Foundation, clearing the way for the new owners to launch their Catholic-oriented Guadalupe Radio Network on the frequency.KCOH
The license transfer was approved Wednesday despite informal objections filed with the FCC's audio division by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, and the Rev. Jesse Jackson. Both expressed concerns about the "potential disappearance of KCOH's existing format" and about media ownership diversity, said the audio division's chief, Peter Doyle, in a letter to attorneys concerning the license transfer.
Doyle noted that the FCC does not take programming choices or formats into account when it rules on license transfers. He also wrote that since the concerns about minority ownership mentioned by Lee and Jackson were beyond the scope of the license transfer request, their objections were denied and the license transfer would be approved.
The longtime African-American-oriented station was sold late last year by the family of its owner, the late Michael Petrizzo, and his partners to La Promesa for $2.1 million.
Most of KCOH's longtime hosts, including Michael Harris, Don Samuel and Ralph Cooper, will move next month to KQUE (1230 AM) and continue the station's format there with the addition of some new programs.
That station, which will be rebranded as KCOH, will be operated under a lease-purchase agreement between its owners, Lieberman Broadcasting, and Houston businessman Jesse Dunn, whose Paraclete Church Ministries made an unsuccessful bid to buy KCOH in 2009.
Len Oswald, president of the Guadalupe Radio Network, did not return a phone call seeking details on the foundation's plans for 1430 AM.
Guadalupe Radio Network broadcasts in English and Spanish, with most of its affiliated or owned stations airing English-language programming.
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