[BC] LMAs - How Far Can They Go?

[Larry Fuss]

>You really do need a communications lawyer to draw the LMA, and you
>must have one. If the station is LMA'd you must have a copy of the
>agreement in the public file (commercial terms redacted).

As one who has been involved in several small-market LMAs, both as the
licensee LMAing the station to someone else, and as the LMA operator of
another licensee's station, my best advice is to steer clear of LMAs.  I can
tell you several horror stories...  I LMAed a station from a rather
unscrupulous operator who essentially walked away from the station and
abdicated control to me, even though the LMA contract required him to do
certain things as the licensee.  He just didn't care.  Later, when we got
into a dispute over something, he ordered me to take the station off the
air.  Because I had money invested in new staff and new equipment, I
refused.  I got fined for premature transfer of control, even though he was
the guilty party.  In another case, I LMAed a station to a guy who allowed
the tower fence to fall-in and never told me.  He also didn't hook up the
EAS equipment after moving the station to a new location.  Again, I was the
one who got fined.

In LMAs involving big companies, perhaps everything is done correctly, but
it doesn't happen that way in small markets.

LF