Trump's FCC Chair Carr uses old powers in new ways to rein in media companies
He has also used the commission's power to approve mergers as a cudgel, opened investigations, and sent letters to prod companies as Trump has berated and threatened broadcasters
Highlights:
- Carr's pressure to drop Kimmel's show reveals how he has re-imagined FCC chief's role
- Carr vows 'more to come', defies calls for his resignation
- Democratic FCC commissioner says Carr is 'twisting the public interest'
Top US media regulator Brendan Carr has sparked outrage and calls for his resignation from Democratic lawmakers and other critics after he pressured Walt Disney to stop running a late-night talk show.
But his attack on comedian Jimmy Kimmel was only the latest in a string of efforts to rein in media companies he accuses of bias.
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In Carr's eight-month tenure as Federal Communications Commission chair, he has re-imagined the role, using it as a bully pulpit to pressure media companies for changes in policies or programming while arguing they have been unfair to President Donald Trump.
"There is more to come," he said yesterday (19 September).
Instead of acting in the public interest, he's trying to force broadcasters to act in Donald Trump's interest. You say something that Donald Trump doesn't like, we'll take away your license
He has also used the commission's power to approve mergers as a cudgel, opened investigations, and sent letters to prod companies as Trump has berated and threatened broadcasters, including with repeated calls for them to lose their licenses despite First Amendment protections for stations.
"Americans no longer trust the legacy national news media to report fully, accurately, and fairly. It is time for a change," Carr said in July.
Carr drew immediate criticism from some conservative commentators, as well as many Democrats, for pressuring Disney and local broadcasters to drop late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel's show after comments the comedian made about murdered right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer were among numerous lawmakers calling on Carr to resign. Carr, who did not respond to a request for comment, told a podcaster yesterday he would not resign.
"I'm not going anywhere," he said.
Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez said yesterday in an interview with Reuters that the FCC does not have the authority or the constitutional right to police content or punish broadcasters for speech the government dislikes, and that Carr is improperly trying to use the "public interest" standard.
"It's twisting the public interest to mean whatever it wants in order to kill broadcasters' free speech," Gomez said. "At this point it looks like it is just trying to use that as an excuse to censor content it doesn't like."
Carr told broadcasters on 17 September: "We can do this the easy way or the hard way."
"These companies can find ways to take action on Kimmel or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead," he said.
Using presidential power in this way to curb speech is rare.
In the early 1970s, then-President Richard Nixon and his top aides discussed using the FCC's license renewal process to punish the Washington Post for its coverage of the Watergate burglary, which ultimately brought down his presidency.
Trump again threatened broadcasters 18 September for what he called negative coverage, this time saying: "They're getting a license, I would think maybe their license should be taken away. It will be up to Brendan Carr."
In July, the FCC approved the $8.4 billion merger between CBS parent Paramount Global and Skydance Media after Skydance agreed to ensure CBS news and entertainment programming is free of bias, and to hire an ombudsman for at least two years to review complaints and end diversity programmes.
"The new owners of CBS came in and said: 'It's time for a change. We're going to reorient it towards getting rid of bias'," Carr said after approving the tie-up. "At the end of the day that's what made the difference for us."
Carr has repeatedly said he wants to enforce the FCC's public interest obligation for broadcasters that use the public airwaves, which he says the FCC has failed to properly deploy for decades.
Yesterday, he told a podcaster the FCC should consider reviewing whether ABC's "The View" runs afoul of equal time commission rules when covering rival political candidates.
The FCC says on its website the public interest standard means it must air programming that is responsive to the needs and problems of its local community of license.
The website notes that the commission has long held that "the public interest is best served by permitting free expression of views."
Democratic Senator Ed Markey said Carr was carrying out Trump's threats.
"Instead of acting in the public interest, he's trying to force broadcasters to act in Donald Trump's interest. You say something that Donald Trump doesn't like, we'll take away your license."
