Monday, January 24, 2022

Washington DC AM Station WCRW, drops Chinese programming

 

Report: Washington DC AM Station Drops Chinese Programming Following Scrutiny

WCRW Washington, DC (1190 kHz) has stopped airing programming from China Radio International after station ownership came under scrutiny, including for a $100,000 small business loan it received during the pandemic. “We are no longer carrying Chinese content," Brian Lane, co-owner of the Potomac Radio Group, told the Washington Examiner. "We are changing to a time brokerage station that will carry various programming, including Spanish programming.”

A Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) filing made by Potomac in December, cited by the Examiner, named China Global Television Network (CGTN) as the “foreign principal” for Potomac. As the filing explicitly states, CGTN “is under the control” of the China Communist Party’s Publicity Department. Potomac said it had been paid nearly $4.4 million in programming fees by CGTN and CCP-affiliated China Radio International from 2019 to 2021.

Additional story at: https://tinyurl.com/3w4wpcy6

To read more on WCRW and broadcasting from China, consult my feature, China-A Global Radio Powerhouse in the winter edition of Global Radio Guide Winter 2021-2022, available at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09MV5XMFZ