Fox Challenged For FCC Licenses

Citing News Corp's ongoing involvement in a hacking scandal, a public policy watchdog group has filed an FCC challenge against the renewing of broadcasting licenses for three Fox stations in the Washington DC area.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a petition to deny Fox's applications to renew licenses for three of its TV stations - WTTG-TV and WDCA-TV in Washington, D.C., and WUTB-TV in Baltimore. "It is well-established that News Corp. has been involved in one of the biggest media scandals of all time," said CREW executive director Melanie Sloan. "Its reporters hacked voice mails and bribed public officials while top executives - including (News Corp. CEO) Rupert Murdoch - either approved the conduct or turned a blind eye."

News Corp. and Murdoch have apologized about the ethics scandal, which led to the closing of its tabloid News of the World and the departure of several senior executives. The company has been investigated by lawmakers there and blasted for the lack of ethics at some of its newspapers. Murdoch's son, James Murdoch, has been singled out for criticism because he had oversight of the British newspapers for several years.