The Desk appreciates the support of readers who purchase products or services through links on our website. Learn more...

Ex-Fox president reaffirms call for FCC to revoke WTXF license

Preston Padden says the Dominion defamation case settlement proves Fox Corporation is not of sound character to hold a broadcast license in Philadelphia.

Preston Padden says the Dominion defamation case settlement proves Fox Corporation is not of sound character to hold a broadcast license in Philadelphia.

Preston Padden, a former senior-level Fox executive who is now leading an effort to challenge the license of Philadelphia station WTXF. (Still image from video by U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce)
Preston Padden, a former senior-level Fox executive who is now leading an effort to challenge the license of Philadelphia station WTXF. (Still image from video by U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce)

The former president of the Fox Broadcasting Network has restated his position that a Philadelphia television station owned by the company should lose its broadcast license because of election-related misinformation aired on two co-owned cable news channels.

In a letter sent to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Tuesday, the former Fox executive, Preston Padden, said he disagreed with some recent comments made by an FCC official that characterized the legal challenge against Fox and its station, WTXF (Channel 29), as political in nature.



Last week, FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington urged the agency to close out its investigation of WTXF following a petition filed by the Media and Democracy (MAD) Project that challenged what is otherwise a routine application to renew the station’s license, calling the matter “unwarranted political delay.”

The statement was made shortly after FCC Chairperson Jessica Rosenworcel rejected a call from former President Donald Trump to scrutinize some broadcast licenses held by the Walt Disney Company because he felt maligned by ABC News commentators during a recent presidential debate. Disney owns the ABC broadcast network and eight ABC TV stations.



“I am pleased to commit to making license determinations objectively and fairly, in compliance with the Communications Act and in a manner that upholds the First Amendment,” Simington wrote shortly after Rosenworcel’s comments were published. “The Commission can demonstrate its commitment to these principles by bringing the intentional and unwarranted political delay in the renewal of WTXF-TV’s broadcast license to a close.”

On Tuesday, Padden rejected Simington’s assertion that the challenge to WTXF’s license was political in nature, saying the petition filed by the MAD Project — which he ardently supports — was based on the business decisions of WTXF’s parent company, Fox Corporation.



The studios of Fox station WTXF appears in an undated image. (Photo via Google Street View)
The studios of Fox station WTXF appears in an undated image. (Photo via Google Street View)

The main element of the challenge is rooted in a defamation case brought by Dominion Voting Systems, the manufacturer of voting equipment, against Fox Corporation and its cable news subsidiary several years ago. The lawsuit complained that certain statements made by Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network personalities and their guests inflamed conspiracy theories after the 2020 presidential election. Both sides settled out of court last year.

While WTXF and the two cable news channels are operated through separate business subsidiaries of Fox, Padden and other supporters of the MAD Project’s petition say the operational structure of the entertainment company is irrelevant, because Fox itself was sued.

To that end, Padden accuses Fox of deliberately airing election-related misinformation over the concerns of some executives because pandering to Fox News’ conservative viewership was better for business at that time.

In earlier filings, Padden and others with the MAD Project cited evidence that was made public through the Dominion defamation lawsuit that showed some Fox executives — including founder Rupert Murdoch — had reservations about some of the rhetoric airing on the news channel and knew certain statements about the outcome of the election were false.

Much of the rhetoric centered around whether former President Donald Trump had lost the election to former Vice President Joe Biden. Some conspiracy theories centered around whether Dominion’s electronic voting machines had switched votes from Trump to Biden in key states.

“It is absolutely clear that the owners of Fox News — the applicants for renewal of the WTXF license — knew that Trump had lost the election but continued to report the opposite,” Padden wrote in his letter on Tuesday. “In Rupert’s own words in his deposition, he said they decided to ‘promote Trump’s big lie that the election had been stolen.’ And it is equally clear that they did this for the basest of reasons, namely, to protect their profits.”

The issue is material because the FCC has long required its broadcast license holders to be of sound character. The agency’s character test has largely involved applicants disclosing whether they’ve ever been convicted of a felony or were the subject of an unfavorable outcome in court.

The FCC also prohibits broadcast license holders from airing news reports that distort the facts, though the agency’s “news distortion” rules typically only apply to broadcast radio and TV stations. The agency itself says cable news networks and “any other non-broadcast news platform are outside of the FCC’s jurisdiction with respect to news distortion.”

Fox was not convicted in the Dominion defamation case, and the settlement that ended the lawsuit did not require the company to admit wrongdoing. Padden and other challengers of WTXF’s broadcast license point to a Delaware judge’s order early in the case that opened the door for a jury trial; the order said Fox knowingly and repeatedly aired misinformation on its cable news channels, but did not say that information involved WTXF.

Attorneys representing Fox have urged the FCC to reject the MAD Project’s challenge and approve the license, saying WTXF and Fox News are separate businesses, and pointing to a lack of evidence that the TV station had anything to do with the political rhetoric aired on the cable channels.

Padden says the FCC should consider the matter, because Fox is the license holder, and the Dominion case proves that the company puts money above everything else, including its responsibility to govern its cable news channels in the best interest of the public

“The MAD petition is not about speech; It is about Fox’s conduct — its business decision — to knowingly and repeatedly choose to present false news, rather than the truth, in order to protect its profits,” Padden wrote. “While I totally respect Commissioner Simington’s concerns about the First Amendment, the preeminent defender of media First Amendment rights, Floyd Abrams, submitted his own filing to the FCC stating that based on Fox’s conduct, the FCC would be fully justified in not renewing the WTXF license.”

Get stories like these in your inbox, plus free email alerts on breaking tech and media news.

Photo of author

About the Author:

Matthew Keys

Matthew Keys is a nationally-recognized, award-winning journalist who has covered the business of media, technology, radio and television for more than 11 years. He is the publisher of The Desk and contributes to Know Techie, Digital Content Next and StreamTV Insider. He previously worked for Thomson Reuters, the Walt Disney Company, McNaughton Newspapers and Tribune Broadcasting. Connect with Matthew on LinkedIn by clicking or tapping here.
Home » News » Legal News » Ex-Fox president reaffirms call for FCC to revoke WTXF license