ABC Affiliate Pulls Gubernatorial Ad in WV

WOAY, an ABC affiliate in West Virginia, yanked an ad paid for by the Democratic Governors Association in support of candidate Bill Maloney, claiming it was misleading.

The Charleston Daily Mail reports that the spot suggests, among other things, that Maloney has ducked taxes by incorporating his drilling business in Delaware, and was not a native of the state.

“WOAY, the ABC-affiliate in southern West Virginia, took the negative ad down after it was demonstrated that the ad contained multiple lies attacking Bill Maloney,” the Maloney campaign said in a statement Thursday evening. 

Stations are responsible for vetting Super PAC-bought ads for truthfulness.

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.