FCC Sets Agenda for Hearing on WWOR-TV License Renewal

Hearing Requested by Sen. Lautenberg; Issue Pushed by United Church of Christ, Rainbow/PUSH Coalition

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 11/26/2007 1:13:00 PM

The Federal Communications Commission released the agenda for its Nov. 28 hearing on WWOR-TV New York's license renewal, with Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) leading off the proceedings. The hearing came in response to a request from the senator.

Also on the agenda are WWOR vice president and general manager Lew Leone; Donna Sandorse of Voice for New Jersey; Angela Campbell of the Institute for Public Representation; Ingrid Reed of the Eagleton Institute New Jersey Project; and Parul Desai, assistant director of Media Access Project.

The FCC's Media Bureau earlier this month said it would let the public weigh in and added that it had not yet decided whether the station, owned by News Corp., had "failed to provide a program service and adequately meet the needs of its northern New Jersey viewers."

That was the allegation made by a New Jersey Group, Voices for New Jersey. The United Church of Christ and the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition also challenged the continuing waiver News Corp. received to operate TV stations and newspapers in the same market. News Corp. eventually got an extension of its two-year waiver, which was required when it bought the Chris-Craft stations, including WWOR-TV.

The UCC and Rainbow/PUSH want the FCC to rescind the waiver, which would make the stations automatically in violation of the cross-ownership ban. The hearing comes as the FCC is considering modifying the ban and allowing cross-ownerships in the top 20 markets (New York is No. 1), although with some caveats.