Pai Defends FCC Renewing WWOR, Writing New Jersey's Senators

The FCC was correct to renew the license of Fox Television Stations' WWOR-TV Secaucus, New Jersey, in July, said Chairman Ajit Pai in a November letter responding to New Jersey Sens. Cory Booker and Robert Menendez, both Democrats, posted online Friday. “Even the evidence presented by those seeking denial of the license renewal ultimately supported the finding that WWOR-TV significantly covered New-Jersey-centric issues, including New Jersey politics." The vote to renew WWOR was unanimous. “I know you agree with me that the Federal Communications Commission should not put itself in the newsroom to second-guess the editorial decisions of journalists,” Pai wrote. Renewal “raises a serious question” about what a local citizen “would have to demonstrate for the FCC to deny a license renewal based upon the inability of WWOR (or any other station) to serve its local community,” wrote Booker and Menendez.