Rupert Murdoch, the renowned conservative media mogul hailing from Australia, has recently announced his retirement from News Corp., the parent company of various media properties including Fox and Fox News. Taking his place as chairman of the umbrella company will be his son, Lachlan Murdoch, the current executive chair and CEO of Fox Corporation.
At the age of 92, Murdoch’s decision comes at a crucial time for Fox News, his most prized media asset. The network is facing an uncertain future due to the legal consequences of promoting former President Donald Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election. The character of the network and its parent company may play a significant role in determining their fate.
Earlier this year, Fox News reached a settlement of $787 million with Dominion Voting Systems, a voting machine manufacturer. The news network had aired false information claiming that the company’s machines were tampered with. This settlement spared Murdoch from having to testify in court. Additionally, Fox News is currently facing another defamation lawsuit from Smartmatic, another voting machine company, seeking $2.7 billion in damages for similar false claims.
In addition to these financial losses, Fox News may also face the potential loss of their broadcasting licenses issued by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) for their local affiliates. A nonprofit media watchdog organization called the Media and Democracy Project has filed a petition with the FCC, urging an evidentiary hearing to determine whether News Corp. fails to meet the “character” requirements set by the FCC for broadcast television owners.
The petition alleges that Fox’s intentional distortion of news, condoned at the highest levels of the company, violates the FCC’s policy on the character required of broadcast licensees. Former Fox Senior Vice President Preston Padden, conservative-turned-Never Trumper Bill Kristol, former FCC commissioners Ervin Duggan and Alfred Sikes, among others, also support the denial of the broadcasting station’s license.
While it is unlikely that the license will be denied, the repercussions of the Murdochs’ decision to embrace Trump’s lies may extend beyond financial losses. It could potentially result in the need to sell their affiliate stations if their actions prevent license renewals.
Under the Communications Act, the FCC issues licenses to television networks for broadcasting over the public airwaves. These licenses are renewable every eight years and can be challenged if the station does not serve the public interest. “News distortion” is considered a violation of the public interest provision, although this does not apply to cable television stations.
Although the FCC usually refrains from regulating bias in media due to First Amendment considerations, it does emphasize that “broadcast licensees may not intentionally distort the news.”
Denial of a television station’s license based on its broadcasting content is uncommon. License denials typically occur when owners are convicted of crimes or fail to renew their licenses. The petition to deny the Philadelphia Fox affiliate’s license focuses on its broadcast of Fox News Sunday, which promoted Trump’s election lies, constituting impermissible news distortion. To prove the intentional distortion, the petition relies on court records from the Dominion case.
These records demonstrate that both Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch played a significant role in Fox News’ editorial decisions to embrace Trump’s lies, despite knowing they were false. Internal communications among the Murdochs, top Fox News executives, and on-air talent reveal private doubts about conspiracy theories surrounding the election. Yet, the network continued to promote them until the January 6, 2021, insurrection.
After the insurrection, Fox News began promoting the conspiracy that it was committed by Antifa or Black Lives Matter, despite evidence to the contrary.
The petition to the FCC argues that the extent of intentional news distortion by Fox executives and hosts should heavily influence the commission’s decision on license renewal.
The Philadelphia Fox affiliate opposes the denial of its license renewal, asserting that the claims do not pertain to its own reporting, the FCC does not consider defamation allegations when renewing licenses, and that the First Amendment protects freedom of speech.
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