ABC Affiliate Pulls Gubernatorial Ad in WV

WOAY, an ABC affiliate in West Virginia, yanked an ad paid for by the Democratic Governors Association in support of candidate Bill Maloney, claiming it was misleading.

The Charleston Daily Mail reports that the spot suggests, among other things, that Maloney has ducked taxes by incorporating his drilling business in Delaware, and was not a native of the state.

“WOAY, the ABC-affiliate in southern West Virginia, took the negative ad down after it was demonstrated that the ad contained multiple lies attacking Bill Maloney,” the Maloney campaign said in a statement Thursday evening. 

Stations are responsible for vetting Super PAC-bought ads for truthfulness.

Michael Malone

Michael Malone is content director at B+C and Multichannel News. He joined B+C in 2005 and has covered network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television, including writing the "Local News Close-Up" market profiles. He also hosted the podcasts "Busted Pilot" and "Series Business." His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The L.A. Times, The Boston Globe and New York magazine.