Trump Pressures FCC to Punish Networks Over Coverage Decision
The FCC’s review of station renewals raises First Amendment concerns as Trump pushes for punishment over the networks’ decision to stream the address.
- Last week, President Donald Trump demanded ABC and NBC lose their broadcast licenses after both networks declined to air his election-security speech live, accusing them of participating in a "plot."
- FCC Chair Brendan Carr has fueled these threats by asserting "the public interest" requires broadcasters to cover the president fully, and previously initiated an early review of licenses held by eight ABC-owned stations.
- Paramount ultimately agreed to a $16 million settlement regarding CBS after Carr initiated a "news distortion" investigation, and the FCC approved the Skydance Media acquisition of Paramount based on expectations of a "Trump-friendlier CBS News."
- While the Federal Communications Commission licenses local stations rather than national networks, FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez noted editorial decisions are protected by the First Amendment and legal experts warn connecting license proceedings to political complaints strengthens viewpoint discrimination claims.
- Critics argue imposing such open-ended standards on media is unconstitutional, while Trump continues claiming broadcasters owe the American public for "free access to the nation's airwaves" despite broadcast licenses factoring into acquisition prices.
11 Articles
11 Articles
Chicago Sun Times
Usa newsTrump, once again, threatens TV stations. Will FCC chief follow through?
While Brendan Carr has yet to act on the president's threats to yank broadcast licenses, Carr seems to think broadcasters have a legal obligation to please the president.
Trump exposed the cracks in our elections. The media proved his point.
On July 16, President Donald Trump delivered a national address on vulnerabilities in our electoral process, including noncitizens on voter rolls and foreign access to election data. Unsurprisingly, CNN, NBC, and ABC declined to carry the speech live on their primary networks.The blackout reinforced what millions of Americans already believe: Major media outlets protect one party’s preferred narrative. Trump’s fiercest critics had already decide…
Top media networks put on notice after refusing to air Trump's primetime address: 'Serious concerns'
Rep. Buddy Carter asks the FCC to review ABC, NBC and CBS broadcast licenses after the networks declined to fully air Donald Trump's primetime election integrity address.
Trump Pressures FCC to Punish Networks Over Coverage Decision
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A programming decision has escalated into a test of presidential power, federal regulation and press freedom after President Donald Trump demanded that ABC and NBC lose broadcast licenses for declining to air his election-security address live. Trump accused the networks of participating in a “plot” and said their licenses should be revoked. ABC and NBC streamed the speech through digital platforms rather than carrying it on t…
Our Viewpoint: Newsroom decision making
Last week, President Trump gave a half-hour primetime speech that focused primarily on election security in this country. Despite its primetime appearance, the speech was not aired on every major TV network. Some broadcast the speech in its entirety, some showed portions of it and then cut away, and some networks chose not to air any of it, at least not live. The air/don’t air decision is not what...
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