Fox Lied.
To Protect Profits.
Hold the Hearing.
Fox News, FOX Corp., and the Murdoch family lied to us about the 2020 election — all to protect profits.
Owning a news station is more than a business — it’s a public trust.
The Murdochs and senior management violated that trust, proving they lack the character the FCC expects of those broadcasting over the public airwaves.
Join the thousands of us who are demanding the FCC hold an immediate hearing into FOX’s broadcast license renewal.
Here’s How it Works
WTXF license renewal
The FCC is considering whether to renew the broadcast license for FOX-owned WTXF (Philadelphia).
Never in the history of the FCC has a broadcast license holder like FOX been proven guilty in a court of law to have willfully put our democracy at risk.
Demand a Hearing
FOX is hoping the FCC commissioners will rubber-stamp their renewal application for a broadcast license without anybody noticing.
Instead, we send the message — loud and clear — that we the people are paying attention.
Deliver 25K+ Signatures
We deliver 25,000+ petitions to the FCC commissioners.
We let them know we demand a hearing into FOX's conduct, the Murdochs’ character, and their ability to control our public airwaves.
Our Letter to the FCC
We are a group of individuals from varying backgrounds standing together to encourage the FCC to hold a hearing on the Media & Democracy Project's Petition to Deny the broadcast license renewal application for FOX 29 Philadelphia (WTXF-TV).
Being granted an FCC broadcast license is a privilege, not a right. FOX and the Murdochs have betrayed the public trust by spreading dangerous misinformation about the 2020 election for the sole purpose of improving ratings, as documented in the Dominion lawsuit.
This deliberate manipulation of news to boost ratings undermines the very foundation of acting in the public interest, a requirement for broadcast license owners. The behavior of Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch, Fox executives and FOX, is egregious and disqualifies them from being holders of a broadcast TV license.
We call upon the Federal Communications Commission to convene a public hearing on the broadcast renewal application of FOX 29 WTXF. The people have a right to know and understand the facts and considerations surrounding this crucial decision.
Here’s Why We’ll Win
The Communications Act and the Commission’s rules and policies provide three bases for holding FOX accountable.
Any one of these warrants a hearing into the application and the character of the licensee.
The Public Interest
The senior management of Fox Television Stations presented false news that violated the “public interest” standard of the Communications Act.
News Distortion
As public trustees, broadcast licensees may not intentionally distort the news. The FCC has stated that “rigging or slanting the news is a most heinous act against the public interest.”
Character Matters
A character issue is raised if the license’s conduct is so egregious as to "shock the conscience."
A recent FCC Media Bureau order reiterated the Commission’s standard: “In some instances, there may be ‘nonbroadcast misconduct so egregious as to shock the conscience and invoke almost universal disapprobation.’
The false news approved by the senior management of Fox Television Stations contributed to the ransacking of the U.S. Capitol and shocked the conscience.
The Media and Democracy Project is a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization — your donation is highly appreciated but is not tax-deductible.
What We’ve Been Up To
On July 3, 2023, the Media and Democracy Project (MAD) filed with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) a Petition to Deny the broadcast license renewal application for Fox Television Stations, LLC (FTS) owned television station FOX 29 Philadelphia (WTXF-TV). The ultimate parent entity of FTS is Fox Corporation.
As FCC broadcast licensees, FTS, Fox Corporation (FOX) and Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch are required to operate their broadcast stations in the public interest. They must also conform to the FCC's established character qualifications for broadcast licensees.
August 9, 2023
A former Fox executive now argues Murdoch is unfit to own TV stations
Read
In our petition, we argue that as revealed in the Dominion settlement documents, the same ownership (FOX Television Stations and the Murdochs) knowingly permitted the broadcast of election lies on Fox News and that this “shocks the conscience,” and fails to meet the “character qualification” to remain public interest broadcast licensees.
In total, FOX owns 29 local broadcast TV stations — including WTXF — in addition to the cable Fox News Channel.
Our petition has received vocal public support from a respected bipartisan group of FCC veterans and media experts who agree that the FCC must hold a hearing to determine whether FTS, Fox Corporation and the Murdochs can continue as licensees of the public airwaves.
As a result of our effort and broad support, the FCC has opened our petition to public comment—a rare step that demonstrates the Commission’s seriousness and desire for public feedback.
Read More:
August 31, 2023
Time to Take Away Fox's Broadcast Licenses
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August 28, 2023
Will Fox Lose Its Broadcast License?
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August 24, 2023
Fox TV license renewal may be in jeopardy as FCC invites public response
Read
July 31, 2023
Ex-Fox News Star Bill Kristol Joins Fight to Get FCC to Come Down on Fox
Read