Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Senator Seeks FCC Review of WWOR-TV’s License

WWOR, the New Jersey-based television station, faced a new challenge to its license on Tuesday from United States Senator Robert Menendez, according to The NYTimes.

Mr. Menendez, a Democrat, wrote to the Federal Communications Commission to urge a “prompt and thorough review” of the license that permits WWOR to profit from the public airwaves. His letter came one day after the station replaced its traditional half-hour nightly newscast, the only daily news on its schedule, with a tabloid-style magazine program called “Chasing New Jersey.”

“In light of WWOR’s decision to drop their nightly news programming, a decision which affects millions of New Jerseyans, it is becoming increasingly critical that the F.C.C. make a determination about WWOR’s license and whether they are adequately serving New Jersey as the law and F.C.C. rules stipulate,” Mr. Menendez wrote to Mignon L. Clyburn, the acting chair of the commission.

WWOR, the only big commercial station in the state and otherwise served by the New York and Philadelphia media markets, has been controversial for some time because its license specifically asserts that the station must pay special attention to the people of northern New Jersey. Since 2001, the station has been owned by the News Corporation, which last month split into two companies, the News Corporation and 21st Century Fox. WWOR is now part of 21st Century Fox.

No comments:

Post a Comment