This week, the efforts of a New jersey citizen media watchdog group are yielding results in Washington, and local Fox station WWOR is facing some tough questions. The Federal Communications Commission is expanding their investigation of WWOR for allegedly lying to the agency about their local programming and staffing of the Seacaucus, NJ station.

These days, broadcasters don’t lose much sleep over the license renewal process. Once every eight years, stations simply put a postcard in the mail to renew their right to use the public airwaves—what used to be an opportunity for community input and evaluation has become a simple rubberstamp process.

That is, until residents of a New Jersey community had enough of years of neglect from local Fox station WWOR and organized to fight for representation on the airwaves. They challenged WWOR’s license renewal in 2007. A call for action led by citizen group Voice for New Jersey and congressional champion Sen. Lautenberg triggered an unprecedented response from the FCC. The Commission held a public hearing, where hundreds of WWOR viewers turned out to testify that WWOR operated as though it were licensed to New York City, ignoring its legal obligation to serve New Jersey residents. WWOR cameras sent to cover the hearing conspicuously placed masking tape over the “New York” on their gear. They were feeling the heat.

And then, nothing. Three years passed and the FCC did not take action to revoke or renew WWOR's license. In the interim, things changed at WWOR. They reduced the amount of New Jersey news they aired even further. They slashed their newsroom staff, relying heavily on a sister station in New York City for news production. And Voice for New Jersey kept track. When the watchdog group noticed that the facts didn't seem to match information WWOR was providing to the FCC, they filed a new complaint.

It appears that WWOR may have been nervous enough to lie to the FCC, exaggerating the amount of news programming it provides, as well as the number of staff working at its Seacaucus, NJ studios.In a letter dated February 17, 2011, the FCC informed Fox of its investigation and required it to produce documentation and answer questions within 30 days. The move comes just two months after the Media Access Project, Free Press, RainbowPUSH, and the United Church of Christ filed a letter urging the FCC to look into the complaint filed last year against the station by citizen group Voice for New Jersey.

We applaud the FCC for investigating Voice for New Jersey’s well-documented complaint, and we urge the Commission to revoke WWOR's license. New Jersey residents have continued to endure lack of representation on the airwaves for three years since filing a petition to deny WWOR’s license renewal. They deserved access to coverage of New Jersey issues and concerns in 2007, and they are still waiting for the information their community needs today. They shouldn't have to wait much longer.