FCC Rejects Murdoch Plea

The Federal Communications Commission today dismissed publisher Rupert Murdoch’s request for an extension of the waivers that have allowed him to keep newspapers and television stations in New York and Boston.

The commission voted 3 to 0 to dismiss Murdoch’s petition, citing action by Congress late last year blocking the agency from changing its newspaper-TV cross-ownership rules or extending any outstanding waivers. Without an extension, Murdoch must sell either the New York Post or WNYW-TV in New York by March 6, and either the Boston Herald or WFXT-TV in Boston by June 30.