Sacramento watchdog groups to challenge KDND broadcast license

Two Sacramento media watchdog groups said they will challenge the broadcast license renewal of a local radio affiliate held financially responsible for the water intoxication death of a young mother trying to win a video game for her family.

Representatives for the Sacramento Media Group and the Media Action Center announced that they intend to file legal challenges with the Federal Communications Commission before the Nov. 1 deadline to contest the station’s pending eight-year broadcast license renewal. Media Action Center founder Sue Wilson, producer of a 2009 documentary, “Broadcast Blues,” that spotlighted the death, said the groups intend to formally serve papers challenging KDND’s license renewal when FCC commissioners meet on Oct. 22. The group’s efforts were also supported by California Common Cause, which advocates on political transparency and media issues.