FCC grants WJXT license renewal, ending two-year Nixon-era challenge

The FCC grants license renewal to WJXT, the Washington Post Company television station in Jacksonville, effectively ending the Nixon-era challenges filed in January 1973. The two-year ordeal demonstrates the lasting financial and operational damage that license challenges inflict on broadcast outlets even when the FCC ultimately grants renewal. The Washington Post Company spends millions defending its licenses and its stock remains depressed throughout the proceedings. The episode proves that license threats do not require ultimate revocation to achieve their suppressive purpose — the cost and uncertainty of challenge alone can discipline broadcasters and warn others.