Why WQZS FM 93.3 went off the air

MEYERSDALE — One year after the Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau revoked WQZS FM 93 radio station owner Roger Wahl’s license and then immediately stayed that decision while an appeal was ongoing, the FCC finished what it started.

The 33-year-old local radio station transmitter on Mount Davis was powered down April 5. For a short time, listeners could still see the call letters at FM 93.3 on their radio dial without sound and within hours those call letters disappeared.

WQZS FM 93 no longer exists.

The initial revocation came nearly eight months after a hearing at the FCC was terminated. The agency's action was because of a lack of participation by Wahl in the process, according to the order. He blamed health problems.

How:FCC losing patience: Clock ticking for WQZS and its 'commander'

Wahl hired Virginia attorney, Dan Alpert, a communications law expert. Wahl fought the revocation with Alpert often from a hospital bed over most of the past year. He said he never wanted to see WQZS, a station he literally built with his own hands and one he considered a community entity, go off the air. He tried to keep it going by selling it to his daughter. That didn't work. He ran out of financial reserves, he said. Wahl decided not to continue the fight to stay on the air.

The result: The FCC denied his appeal of its 2023 termination order. The decision was unanimous. Dozens of residents in the community WQZS served have gone to social media to air their support for Wahl and his station. Many comments can be found at WQZS Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100046481510988

What does FCC have to do with it?

The FCC regulates United States interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable. The agency grants licenses to local broadcast and radio stations. If the agency revokes the station's owner's license, due to policy violations that individual must adhere to that decision or face hefty fines or even jail time.

Why:Meyersdale radio station WQZS slated to go off the air in 40 days

The agency has revoked few licenses for violations over its 83 years, and when it does it chiefly acts on such grounds as broadcasting obscene or indecent speech or “character qualifications” of owners, according to the American Bar Association.

Wahl's license to operate "QZ-93," 93.3 FM on the dial, was revoked for violation of its "character qualifications" policy, according to the FCC.

There are 316 radio stations operating in Pennsylvania. Of those, few stations have a format like WQZS, which was oldies, classic rock and traditional country.

The back story

The FCC began an investigation and conducted hearings into revoking Wahl's license based on a sexual assault crime he admitted he performed in 2019 and one where he was sentenced the following year.

Why:Radio personality receives restricted probation in sex case

When the case went to Somerset County Court, Wahl pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment, unlawful dissemination of an intimate image and tampering with evidence in July 2020. He was sentenced in November of that year to a three-year restricted probation that included four months on an electronic monitor. Ironically, although not permitted to be the voice of his station while wearing an electronic monitor, he was living in the radio station at the time of his sentencing. He adhered to the restriction.

When the electronic monitor came off, he was once again behind the microphone at WQZS 93.3 FM radio located in Summit Township. Since then, Wahl has continued to be "The Commander," his call name, on the air until recent months because of hospitalization. His family jumped in to help during those times when he could not work.

FCC policies include certain crimes as reasons not to issue or to revote a license to operate a radio station. Wahl's crimes fall under that auspices.

Wahl's defense

Wahl defended keeping his license by listing that for 33 years he has complied with FCC rules, has an active and positive role with the community his radio station served and he has "–sincerely apologized" to everyone, including the victim in a chance meeting, for his actions. His apologies have been accepted, Wahl said.

FCC's finding

Wahl’s criminal convictions merit revocation of his license, FCC determined in a nine-page decision.

Moreover, there is no evidence that he made additional efforts "to remedy his wrongs," the order said.

According to the decision, FCC wrote: “His misconduct was recent and willful and involved multiple criminal acts. Additionally, he inflicted emotional harm and the risk of bodily harm – including sexual assault – to the victim and also committed fraud in tampering with evidence. Because Mr. Wahl is the owner and operator of the station, his character determines whether the license should be revoked. While Mr. Wahl’s overall record of compliance with our rules and policies mitigates his misconduct to some extent, that factor is far outweighed by the aggravating factors."

In sum, the FCC found, "Mr. Wahl’s offenses to be egregious and render him unqualified to be a commission licensee."

Additionally, the license revocation ended an effort by Wahl to sell his station to his daughter, Wendy Sippel. She has helped him run the station, especially while he struggled with health problems. The Media Bureau granted the application, but the transfer never closed. The Enforcement Bureau dismissed the application in 2023 after it learned of Wahl's time in court ending in sentencing for sexual assault-related crimes.

Read the entire FCC decision here.

Wahl said standing in court for his sentencing for a "big mistake" that evolved out of "jealousy" was difficult, but going before the FCC to try to save WQZS was "worst."

Read what Roger Wahl has to say about WQZS FM 93 from an exclusive interview in Tuesday's Daily American.