Last July, media reform activists petitioned the FCC to revoke Fox News’ local broadcast license in Philadelphia, accusing the news outlet of spreading election fraud propaganda and, thereby, potentially violating the “character clause” of the Communications Act. The act determines whether an organization should hold a broadcast license. Techdirt reported on this development at the time.
It should be noted that a single Fox broadcast affiliate losing its license in Philadelphia wouldn’t significantly impact Fox’s ongoing national distribution of content. However, if this attempt is successful, it could potentially be replicated in other markets and serve as a tool for activism and showcasing the need for regulatory reform.
Despite the doubts regarding the political will of the current Rosenworcel FCC to execute such a request, last week the FCC took a somewhat uncommon step of opening up the petition to be subject to broader public comment. This was a move reported by Arstechnica and opposed by Fox lawyers.
The Media and Democracy Project (MAD), an all-volunteer-run initiative, has been working to rally support from various quarters. The alliance includes traditional conservatives, numerous FCC staffers, and even former Fox employees such as Preston Padden who have expressed shared concerns over the negative impact of Fox’s alleged propaganda. NPR recently covered Padden’s commentary.
However, there are concerns that this precedent could be exploited in the future by political parties to target local broadcast news outlets critical of them. Nonetheless, it’s uncertain whether this endeavor will reach that stage given FCC boss Jessica Rosenworcel’s demonstrated hesitation to confront telecom monopolies, as Techdirt remarked.
In sum, as we grapple with the question of how to tackle perceived propaganda from news outlets like Fox, and a perceived lack of feasible solutions that still respect the First Amendment, this development may serve to broaden the discussion and promote new, bipartisan coalitions.