Media Watchdog Files Appeal After FCC Fails To Reinstate Dismissed Fox Challenge
Source: MEDIAite
Feb 19th, 2025, 6:11 am
Media and Democracy Project (MAD) filed an appeal to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) after Trump-appointed commissioner Brendan Carr revived Biden-era petitions against liberal networks but not its effort to deny Fox Corporation a broadcast license for one of its local TV stations.
The move comes after former FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel used her final weeks in office to dismiss four high-profile petitions she said attempted to “weaponize” the agency’s authority for political purposes. Only for the FCC’s leadership under President Donald Trump to revive three of those petitions – against ABC, CBS, and NBC – but not the case against Fox. On Tuesday, the watchdog group appealed the decision.
MAD’s challenge hinged on the Murdochs’ role in pushing false claims about the 2020 election, which culminated in Fox paying a staggering $787 million to settle a defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems. The group argues that the FCC, which is responsible for assessing whether broadcasters meet the agency’s “character” qualifications, ignored evidence of misconduct at Fox News when it rejected the petition.
“The decision by previous FCC leadership to ignore Rupert [Murdoch] and Lachlan Murdoch’s serious character flaws, highlighted in multiple court rulings, was as misguided as the current Chair’s decision not to resurrect MAD’s petition,” MAD co-founder Brian Hansbury said in a statement cited by journalist Oliver Darcy.
Read more: https://www.mediaite.com/news/media-watchdog-files-appeal-after-fcc-fails-to-reinstate-dismissed-fox-challenge/