{"id":439,"date":"2021-12-14T18:18:53","date_gmt":"2021-12-14T18:18:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/princetonillinois.com\/?p=439"},"modified":"2021-12-14T18:18:53","modified_gmt":"2021-12-14T18:18:53","slug":"pascrell-menendez-booker-urge-new-owners-of-new-jersey-tv-outlet-and-fcc-to-continue-local-coverage-insidernj","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/princetonillinois.com\/?p=439","title":{"rendered":"Pascrell, Menendez, Booker Urge New Owners of New Jersey TV Outlet and FCC to Continue Local Coverage – InsiderNJ"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pascrell, Menendez, Booker Urge New Owners of New Jersey TV Outlet and FCC to Continue Local Coverage <\/strong>
Using public airwaves, WJLP must not follow WWOR\u2019s example to worsen the Garden State news desert <\/em>
 
WASHINGTON, DC \u2013 U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) and U.S. Sens. Bob Menendez and Cory Booker (both D-NJ) today wrote to the pending new owner of New Jersey TV station WJLP urging the company to maintain the channel\u2019s local news coverage.\u00a0 The Members also sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding Weigel Broadcasting\u2019s ownership application.
 
\u201cA broadcast license is valuable public property. A station that possesses one holds a public trust. In return, the station must provide a public service in the form of news and public affairs programming to the communities within its coverage area. At time when the residents of New Jersey are starved for local news, and as more and more newspapers and other media outlets downsize or shutter outright, it is imperative that stations like WJLP continue to provide local coverage of the issues that matter to the Garden State,\u201d the members write Weigel Broadcasting President Norman Shapiro<\/strong>.
 
Weigel Broadcasting of Chicago recently purchased<\/a> WJLP, which has based in Middletown, New Jersey since 2014. WJLP holds an FCC broadcast license which requires it to air local New Jersey news coverage. The application to transfer WJLP\u2019s television broadcast license from PMCM TV, LLC to TV-49, Inc., a subsidiary of Weigel Broadcasting Company (Lead File Number: 0000163354), is being evaluated by the FCC.
 
\u201cWe hope and expect that the FCC\u2019s review and analysis of the WJLP application will include a focus on local news and public affairs programming. This issue is of the utmost importance to New Jerseyans. Our state\u2019s local news and public affairs programing has suffered because WWOR-TV has refused for decades to live up to the public interest standards articulated by the FCC,\u201d the members write Acting FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel<\/strong>.
 
Perhaps no other state\u2019s residents suffer from a lack of local news coverage more than New Jerseyans. Sandwiched between the New York and Philadelphia media market, New Jersey lacks its own designated market area.
 
For years, Pascrell and Menendez have highlighted New Jersey\u2019s media desert, focusing on WWOR-TV\u2019s long refusal to fulfill its legal obligations to provide local news. This summer, Pascrell and Menendez published an op-ed<\/a> in the New York Daily News discussing WWOR\u2019s decades of dereliction.
 
On June 24, the three members introduced the Section 331 Obligation Clarification Act<\/a>, which would require Section 331 FCC license holders like WWOR to broadcast local news programming, consult with local leaders, and make it easier for the public to participate in the license renewal process.\u00a0The measure was the subject of an House Energy and Commerce Communications and Technology Subcommittee hearing<\/a> last month.
 
The text of the members\u2019 letter to WJLP\u2019s pending new owner and the FCC are provided below.
 
November 5, 2021
 
Mr. Norman Shapiro
President
Weigel Broadcasting LLC
26 N Halsted St
Chicago, IL 60661
 
Dear Mr. Shapiro,
 
As the new owner of a public broadcasting station in New Jersey, we welcome you to the Garden State. We write on behalf of New Jersey\u2019s 9.2 million residents to request WJLP continues to provide a reliable source of robust local news and public affairs programming.
 
A broadcast license is valuable public property. A station that possesses one holds a public trust. In return, the station must provide a public service in the form of news and public affairs programming to the communities within its coverage area. At time when the residents of New Jersey are starved for local news, and as more and more newspapers and other media outlets downsize or shutter outright, it is imperative that stations like WJLP continue to provide local coverage of the issues that matter to the Garden State.
\u00a0<\/strong>
Perhaps no other state\u2019s residents suffer from a lack of local news coverage more than New Jerseyans. Sandwiched between the New York and Philadelphia media market, New Jersey lacks its own designated market area. As a result, we often find coverage of our state affairs dominated by events occurring in our mega-metropolis neighbors. New Jersey\u2019s designated local news station WWOR-TV continues to shirk its statutory obligation, leaving our constituents with few options. We hope WJLP will not follow in WWOR-TV\u2019s footsteps, but rather seek to produce programming that can inform New Jerseyans of important issues to our state. Additionally, we ask you to keep WJLP\u2019s operations in New Jersey.
 
Ensuring a well-informed citizenry is a prerequisite for any healthy democracy.\u00a0There is little doubt that our inability to obtain incisive journalism about our own communities is a driving cause of our growing national divisions. A healthy democracy rests on the bedrock foundation of a vibrant, independent press and we hope that you and your new station can continue to deliver for the Garden State.
 
Sincerely,
Comments are closed.
All fields are required<\/p>\n

source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pascrell, Menendez, Booker Urge New Owners of New Jersey TV Outlet and FCC to Continue Local Coverage Using public airwaves, WJLP must not follow WWOR\u2019s example to worsen the Garden State news desert  WASHINGTON, DC \u2013 U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) and U.S. Sens. Bob Menendez and Cory Booker (both D-NJ) today wrote to the pending new owner of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t