KFBK Glitch Sends Political Spot To Stations Via EAS

Did CLEAR CHANNEL Talk KFBK-A/SACRAMENTO send out a political commercial as an EAS test? Noncommercial KDVS/DAVIS, CA is complaining that KFBK sent out its required monthly EAS test MONDAY at 10:02a PT but failed to stop the test at its normal conclusion and instead forced stations receiving the activation to air a commercial for Republican U.S. Senate candidate DICK MOUNTJOY. 

KFBK Station Manager JEFF HOLDEN told the SACRAMENTO BEE that the problem was "operator error" and said that the signal that ends the test "didn't fire properly." Stations in 17 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA counties aired the EAS test, although HOLDEN said that there's no way to know how many aired the spot as well, assuming that some stations have people monitoring the test and may have cut it off as soon as it was clear that a mistake was made. 

KDVS GM EDWARD MARTINET told the BEE that he is skeptical of KFBK's explanation, charging that "it would have to be some amazingly egregious negligence to not notice it for two minutes."

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