Fox Corp.’s license to operate WTXF Philadelphia is being challenged by The Media and Democracy Project, a group whose members include Preston Padden, a former high-profile Fox executive.
The group charges that Fox’s broadcast license should not be renewed because the company’s leadership manipulated its audience by knowingly broadcasting false news about the 2020 election that contributed to the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan 6, 2021.
Among the issues the FCC would consider in any review of character qualifications related to news distortion include the seriousness of the misconduct, the nature of any participation by company managers and owners in the misconduct, any efforts to remedy the wrong, and the company's past record regarding compliance with FCC rules and policies.
Fox agreed to pay $787 million to settle a lawsuit that alleged that false reporting by Fox News Channel defamed Dominion Voting Systems.
The Media and Democracy Project’s petition includes a declaration from Padden, a senior VP at Fox Broadcasting Co. from 1990 to 1997, which describes personal communications he had with Fox chairman Rupert Murdoch that indicate he knew what Fox News was reporting was not true.
MAD is calling on the FCC to initiate an evidentiary hearing into Fox’s conduct. It claims the FCC “has the duty to hold Fox accountable and send a strong message that intentional, knowing news distortion will not be tolerated on America’s airwaves.”
Nearly all petitions to deny TV station license renewals fail and the Media and Democracy Project does not cite ways in which Fox violated the law or FCC regulations.
“The Media and Democracy Project petition to deny the license renewal of WTXF-TV is frivolous, completely without merit and asks the FCC to upend the First Amendment and longstanding FCC precedent,” Fox said in a statement. “WTXF-TV / FOX 29 News Philadelphia is one of the finest local news stations in the country, broadcasting over 60 hours of local news and locally produced programming every week.”
In his declaration, Padden said WTXF and other Fox stations air Fox News Sunday, produced by Fox News Channel, and the show repeated some of Fox News’s false narratives about the election.
“In my opinion, as a result of Fox’s knowingly false narrative, large numbers of that radicalized population ransacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, causing injury, property damage and attacking the very foundation of our democracy. In my opinion, Fox contributed to that tragedy,” Padden said.
Padden stated that Rupert Murdoch is responsible for what airs on Fox News and Fox stations.
“During my 7 years at Fox, ultimate decision-making authority for the operation of every part of the company — every division, every business unit, every subsidiary — rested with Rupert Murdoch,“ Padden said. “It was his ‘candy store.’ I get the impression that more recently he has begun to share power with his son, Lachlan Murdoch. But I can state without fear of contradiction that Rupert and Lachlan retain ultimate decision-making authority for every part of the company, including Fox News Channel and Fox Television Stations.”
Padden said that in 2020 and 2021 he emailed with Murdoch, expressing concerns over the content on Fox. He said that without his knowledge some or all of those emails were produced by Fox as part of discovery in the Dominion case.
The emails show Murdoch knew Fox’s reporting was false but he allowed it, Padden said.
“For example on November 6, 2020, Mr. Murdoch wrote me: “Seems Trump listening to terrible advice from Guiliani versus Trump family wanting to wave white flag? Not sure of this but sounds likely,’ ” Padden said.
“Beyond doubt, Mr. Murdoch knew that Trump had lost the election, nonetheless, Fox continued to promote news stories and guests who claimed, without any basis, that the election was rigged,“ he said. “In my opinion, these actions on the part of Mr. Murdoch, his son and top Fox management significantly contributed to the upheaval that occurred at the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, 2021.”
