Redskins name fight snares two more stations in Los Angeles

Story by Inside Radio

Red Zebra Broadcasting’s WWXX, Buckland, VA (94.3) is no longer the only station to be hit with a petition to deny a new license. Advocates looking to push the Washington Redskins to change its name have now filed a similar petition on Los Angeles Fox affiliate KTTV-TV and NBC O&O KNBC-TV.

Unlike WWXX, which has direct ownership ties to Redskins owner Dan Synder, the L.A. television stations have no direct ties to the billionaire. One of the three Native Americans who filed the KTTV protest is Pacifica Radio’s Larry Smith, who is a co-host of the weekly show “American Indian Airwaves” on KPFK, Los Angeles (90.7).

George Washington University law professor John Banzhaf has led the charge and has said he’ll go after other radio and TV stations that “repetitively and unnecessarily” use the team’s name. He says they targeted the L.A. stations in part because they have a large number of Native Americans, but more critically all California television stations come up for license renewal next month. The next targets would likely come in Alaska, Washington, and Oregon which come up for renewal in February.

The FCC hasn’t said whether it’ll block the license renewal of WWXX, which simulcasts Washington’s “ESPN 980” WTEM. But the renewal is still in limbo. Banzhaf says that may not be needed, pointing out many radio stations backed off playing songs that glorified drug use after the FCC began expressing its concerns.