Not these kind of records

Update, May 29th, 3:57 pm: According to WKCR’s Publicity Director, Thuto Somo, the trustees will not pay the fine. Rather, “WKCR will pay for the fine out of the money it earns through fundraising. Recent FCC fines against WCKR have been dealt with by the station, and with listener support.” In addition, we’d like to clarify that the fines in question penalize the station for gaps in its records from 1998 to 2005; in recent years WKCR has been more responsible.

Bad news, Phil Schaap enthusiasts: According to Media Decoder, the FCC fined our own WKCR $10,000 “for failing to maintain a public inspection file, a collection of public correspondence and other records that all stations are required by federal law to keep current and make available to the public.” The FCC’s order judges the station’s lax record-keeping “a pattern of abuse.”

The FCC isn’t taking any chances—their order further stipulates that the “Trustees of Columbia University in New York SHALL PAY the full amount of the proposed forfeiture,” rather than the donation-driven radio station.

Easy photo opp via Wikimedia Commons