MAD Pushes for Fox Documents, in Meeting With Saurer
The FCC should require Fox to produce documents about ad sales at WTXF-TV Philadelphia and evidence connected with lawsuits against Fox, said the Media and Democracy Project in an ex parte meeting with Media Bureau Chief Holly Saurer and other…
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Media Bureau staff. Former FCC Chair Alfred Sikes, former Weekly Standard editor William Kristol and I Street Advocates attorney David Goodfriend attended the meeting in support of MAD, according to the filing posted Friday in docket 23-293. Goodfriend told us he was there as a volunteer and doesn’t legally represent MAD or any of the parties in the matter. The “public interest imperative” of WTXF’s license renewal requires review of “all the evidence from the Dominion and Smartmatic litigations, all documents reviewed in the four stockholder derivative lawsuits, and all documents and written communications from political advertisers requesting to purchase advertising” on WTXF, said the ex parte filing. “Granting the motion for production of documents is necessary to allow the FCC to make an informed decision on whether to set the WTXF renewal application for hearing,” the filing said. MAD's request for documents from lawsuits and proceedings that don't involve WTXF don't have "any support in the law or rules," said Fox in a filing Monday. "MAD seeks a wide-ranging public fishing expedition untethered from criteria relevant to a license renewal proceeding," Fox said. "Unfortunately for MAD, its preferred law is not that of the Commission’s, and a grant of MAD’s 'Motion' would prejudice not only Fox 29 Philadelphia, but also destabilize the integrity of the Commission’s broadcast license renewal process more broadly." The FCC should follow its own long-standing procedures, Fox said. The FCC is considered unlikely to grant the MAD petition.