Media Action Center is a nonprofit group of concerned residents throughout the United States led by former Emmy-winning broadcaster turned media democracy advocate Sue Wilson. We successfully influence policy at the Federal Communications Commission and at local US TV and Radio stations to ensure We the People are truly served by Our publicly owned airwaves. MAC joined Frequency Forward in filing a Motion to Intervene in ABC/Disney v FCC to ensure viewers, who own the Public Airwaves and whose rights are paramount, has a seat at the table. MAC also joined a current Petition to Deny the broadcast licenses of DISNEY ABC at the FCC. In 2017, MAC forced Entercom to give up its $13.5 million license to KDND for killing a woman in a radio water drinking stunt. That same year MAC empowered local listeners across the country to take Alex Jones off their local radio dials. In 2000, we informed the Supreme Court in FCC v Prometheus Radio that multiple local TV stations with one corporate owner merely duplicate news stories on all its stations; a similar methodology is currently being used in legal cases trying to prevent the Nexstar/TEGNA merger.

Find full journalistic coverage of all this plus Sinclair Broadcasting's shell game and other public interest media issues at SueWilsonReports.com. See also Wilson's documentary "Broadcast Blues" which is more relevant today than when it premiered in 2009. Broadcast Blues.

Media Action Center/ Frequency Forward "Petition to Deny" Moves to Block Backroom FCC-Disney Settlement Over ABC Licenses

                                                                                                                                       June 26, 2026 

Petition to Deny Seeks to Protect Viewers’ First Amendment Rights, Force Transparency in Disney/ABC Broadcast License Battle

In the fight over the license renewals of eight Disney-owned ABC television stations, the Media Action Center and Frequency Forward today filed a Petition to Deny at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The petition demands that the FCC grant Disney’s renewal applications immediately, but warns that if Disney agrees to restrict its speech or editorial independence to secure those renewals, the groups will seek license revocation. By filing a Petition to Deny, petitioners become parties to the proceedings, can shine a spotlight on any negotiations, and have standing to appeal FCC decisions in court.

"Time and time again, We the People have witnessed the FCC pretend to protect our public interest in broadcasting, but then go behind closed doors to make secret deals which harm us instead,” said Sue Wilson, Director of the Media Action Center. “This time, when our very Democracy is at stake, we are filing a Petition to Deny to become formal parties to this anti-First Amendment proceeding and defend the public interest from the weaponization of the FCC. This time, the FCC must address our arguments so Disney, ABC, and the Commission have no opportunity to secretly negotiate away the people's rights to our publicly owned airwaves.”

The petition is accompanied by declarations from viewers in the affected stations' broadcast markets to establish standing. By filing a Petition to Deny, the groups receive procedural rights that informal commenters lack and it preserves a pathway to challenge the FCC’s actions in court, if necessary.

“Filing this petition is the difference between being a party to the case and merely filing an amicus brief,” said Art Belendiuk, legal counsel for the petitioners. “Comments can inform the FCC, but they do not compel the agency to act, nor do they guarantee the public a seat at the table. This unprecedented strategy is necessary because the FCC has taken the unprecedented step of threatening the integrity of the news by seeking to replace ABC’s journalistic judgment with an administration-friendly point of view.”

By becoming a party to the proceeding, the petitioners are also guaranteed access to all communications between the parties and commit to making any communication not submitted in FCC Docket No. 26-131 available for public review.

The eight stations named in the petition include: KFSN-TV in Fresno, KABC-TV in Los Angeles, KGO-TV in San Francisco, WLS-TV in Chicago, WABC-TV in New York, WTVD in Durham, WPVI-TV in Philadelphia, and KTRK-TV in Houston.

The petition asks the FCC to grant Disney’s renewal applications immediately and without conditions, terminate any unconstitutional investigations, and stop using broadcast licensing as a tool to chill protected speech. But if Disney agrees to restrict its speech in any way through negotiations with the FCC, this petition is the public’s opportunity to seek accountability for the corporation’s decision to undermine viewers' constitutional rights.   Read the entire petition here .