Fox Slams MAD Petition Against WTXF Renewal
A recent Media and Democracy Project (MAD) submission of a petition with 25,000 signatures against the renewal of Fox-owned WTXF-TV Philadelphia (see 2407250056) is an attempt at “distort[ing] the Commission’s processes” and less than 2.3% of the signatories reside in…
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WTXF’s viewing area, the network said in an ex parte filing Friday. “Taking at face value MAD’s claim as to the accuracy of the names and locations in its filing,” only 571 of them “possibly reside in Fox 29 Philadelphia’s viewing area,” Fox said. “In contrast, over 3.1 million households, and many more people, live in the Philadelphia” designated market area. The FCC “does not, and should not, make decisions on whether to grant a license renewal application based on the number of persons allegedly willing to fill out a webform.” The petition “cannot outweigh the testimony of numerous viewers of Fox 29 Philadelphia who have urged the Commission to swiftly renew the station’s broadcast license.” The FCC “should adhere to its own precedent, weigh the evidence in the record fairly, and grant Fox 29 Philadelphia’s license renewal without further delay.” The "issues raised in the petition go well beyond the Philadelphia station and raise serious questions about the decisions made by its owner to knowingly spread dangerous lies to protect profit,” MAD Executive Director Milo Vassallo said in an email. “It is time to remind Fox that we the people own the airwaves, not any single individual or corporation."