Q. Which sources are used to determine each of the PACE metrics?
A. All of the metrics are based on information that is collected directly from FCC resources. There are no additional "opinions" or "judgment calls" in reaching the determination on whether the station does or does not qualify for passing the criteria. It is strictly metrics. The data we use for each criteria is as follows:
- Participation: Information provided by the FCC to REC through a Freedom of Information Act request that identifies the facility IDs of the radio stations (both low-power and full-power) that participated in the 2019, 2021 and 2023 National Periodic Tests. We took the data as provided by the FCC as is without any modification.
- Availability: A review of the FCC's LMS and CDBS filing systems (through REC's eLMS application list aggregator). We are looking for silent STAs and silent notifications to establish the start of silence and to establish the end of silence, any subsequently filed Resumption of Operations notification or License to Cover application.
- Compliance: Data that was manually gathered by REC that tracks all electronic documents that are related to enforcement actions and entered into the REC's DINGERS Database.
- Experience: A review of the FCC's LMS and CDBS filing systems (through REC's eLMS application list aggegator). We are looking at license to cover applications associated with original construction permits as well as consummation notices associated with previously granted assignment of license applications.
Q. What exactly is "four years of licensed on-air operation by the same organization"?
A. We look at operations by day. There are 365 days in a year. Four years is 1,460 days. We do add in the leap year to make the total 1,461 days. For stations that have not had any silent periods, we look back 1,461 days from today when reviewing the four criteria. For the participation, compliance and achievement metrics, if a station has any silent periods we then move the calendar back as long as there are 1,461 days being counted. For example, if an LPFM station goes silent for 30 days, we will look back from 1,491 days ago to today. For counting silent days, we always use 1,461 days ago until today. In all cases, if the station has been licensed to the current organization for less than 1,461 days, we will only look at the time that the new organization was the licensee. Stations with less than 1,461 days of licensed operation under the currently ownership will automatically disqualify for PACE at this time due to failure to meet the Experience criterion.
Q. How long after our station meets the PACE criteria will we see the green stars in the REC systems?
A. We plan to do PACE runs overnight each weeknight. Worst case scenario, once per week.
Q. When will our listing be updated in LPFM.us?
A. REC normally does proactive updates during our scheduled LFPM station inventory that will take place near the end of 2024. Stations can also achieve full listings right now by going to myLPFM.com and registering for an account and then filling out your station information. The ability to do this in myLPFM is also available to stations that currently do not meet PACE.
Q. The station logo on LPFM.us is outdated. Can you update to our new logo?
A. If the logo is available online, we should be able to pick it up during the end of year inventory. To get your logo changed sooner, register for myLPFM and you can upload your station's logo there.
Q. Are there any documents that I can provide that shows why the station should be recognized under PACE even though the all of the metrics are not met, or they are very close to being met?
A. PACE is strictly metrics driven. There is nothing outside of the metrics that can influence our system's decision on qualification.
Q. Does a station's political leanings (left vs. right), position on religion, race of the principals, language of the programming or the use of national networks like EWTN have any influence on a PACE designation or listing on myLPFM?
A. For the PACE designation (the green star), no. It is based strictly on the methods shown above. For LPFM.us, full listings vs. partial listings are based on support of REC Networks through purchasing services from us, by participation in myLPFM and starting now, PACE qualification, regardless of any past relationship with REC for professional services or systems utilization.
Listing position on LPFM.us (including "featured station" and random listing on the REC main home page) are curated by REC and are solely at our first amendment discretion. Top positioning is normally bssed on several factors such as the station's visibility, their involvement in the LPFM community as a whole, their uniqueness in programming and various other examples that we feel showcase to those outside of LPFM, examples of great LPFM stations. A station's PACE status does not necessarily influence inclusion in the discretionary positions. REC will not directly entertain requests for top positioning, but if we are able to find the station during an inventory (i.e. we can find the a website on Google) and we are impressed with what we see and hear, then we may seriously consider it as a featured station. There is no direct relation between LPFM.us featured station status and PACE status.
Q. The PACER Tool shows incorrect information for a National Periodic Test (such as a missing form that was actually submitted), can that be adjusted?
A. In the case of the EAS Test Reporting System (ETRS), you can provide us with screenshots from ETRS to show that the forms were filed and we can look at adjusting it in our system.
Q. Our station originally received a Notice of Apparent Liability (NAL), but the NAL was cancelled, Why is that counting against us?
A. Currently, the system cannot distinguish those situations and we can look at it in the future. In the case of cancelled NALs, in many cases, a violation did happen, but the NAL was cancelled for reasons such as inability to pay and/or past compliance based on past precedene and the FCC action is changed to an admonishment. Not all adverse items that would impact the Compliance metric results in a fine. This includes Notices of Violation. If the outcome of the proceeding was that the Commission or the Bureau did make an error and no actual violation occured, then we can look into it.
Q. Because sometimes, the FCC may issue more than one notice for an enforcement case (such as a NAL, followed up by a Forfeiture Order), which enforcement notices count for PACE?
A. For the Compliance criteria, we are only looking at Notices of Violation, Notices of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, Consent Decrees, Citation and Orders and Admonishments.
Q. We were assigned the station from another organization and that organization had compliance problems. Did we pick up those problems as part of the deal?
A. No. The new organization does not inherit the previous owner's record (negative or positive). However, the new organization needs to operate a compliant station for four years before they can achieve PACE.
Q. The station was assigned to a different organization even though most of the people who were from the original station are still there under the new ownership. Can we keep our experience credit and not have to start over?
A. Any consummated assignment will restart the four-year clock. It's a new organization, its a new record.
Q. How are days counted where it comes to a silent period?
A. Normally, the day that the station goes silent is counted as a day the station is not operating (even if the station waits until 11PM to shut down that day) and the date that the station resumes operation will be considered an "on-air" day (even if the station waits until 11PM to turn the transmitter back on).
Q. Isn't this just a way to shame stations?
A. Not at all. PACE is intended to recognize those stations that have been doing the right thing for the past four years. It offers an objective for those stations that are not meeting one or more prongs of the overall criteria. This is about education, outreach and awareness, and not shaming. LPFM has historically had a very low NPT turnout since the FCC and FEMA started to do these tests. This does not look good for LPFM as a service in general. With all of the negativity about LPFM that comes from outside of LPFM, we need to be able to highlight those who are folloing the rules through online recognition such as on FCCdata, FCC.today and LPFM.us. Again, this is about assuring that all LPFM stations know their responsibilities as licensed broadcasters and puts that knowledge into good practice. The green star is the reward for the effort.
