Fox's U.S. TV station licenses challenged

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has asked the Federal Communications Commission to strip News Corp.'s Fox Broadcasting of licenses it has to operate television stations.

Citing the phone-hacking scandal that has engulfed News Corp.-owned newspapers in Britain, CREW filed a petition to deny Fox's applications to renew licenses for three of its TV stations -- WTTG-TV and WDCA-TV in Washington (DC) and WUTB-TV Baltimore (MD). “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.” Noting that being of good character is a requirement for holding a broadcast license, CREW's Sloan said, "If the Murdochs don’t meet British standards of character, they can’t meet American standards. The Atlantic Ocean has no character-cleansing properties.”