REC has built a new database that will be used for tracking FCC enforcement decisions. Those who listen to FCC.today, the podcast know that we refer to these as "dingers".
The system will track the amounts of forfeitures and subsequent adjustments through forfeiture notices as well as consent decrees. The system will also track enforcement actions that do not propose a forfeiture such as notices of violation and citations.
REC will be working on projects to add historical data to this database starting from more current and going more to the past. As of the post of this Changelog, the database supports enforcement documents that were released as of January 1, 2022. Work is already on the way to extend this database down into 2021. This is an entirely manual process on our part.
Users will be able to access the database information by going to https://recnet.com/dingers.
This page will show, by default, the latest enforcement actions and users can page through to view past activity. The page will also allow you to do power searches for enforcement data. The page will also have a link to the "MegaDinger Top 40", a list of the 40 highest forfeitures proposed by the FCC through enforcement actions during the time period supported by our database.
FCCdata has also been updated in this change. When viewing a US broadcast listing in FCCdata, if there is past enforcement history on the station's facility ID or FRN (the owner), the header will show a new link for "Enforcement History". Clicking on that link will take you to the Dingers system where it will show all enforcement notices for that FRN and facility ID that are supported by our database. The FCCdata functionality is currently not available in the mobile version.
