The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has deviated from long-standing traditions as an autonomous regulatory body, wading headlong into the contentious discussion surrounding media bias and the impartiality of news coverage provided by major news outlets.
CBS News finds itself in a contentious situation as the newly appointed FCC chairman, Brendan Carr, expresses interest in investigating allegations of biased reporting, specifically concerning the October “60 Minutes” interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. This development occurs while CBS’s parent company is waiting for FCC approval for their merger proposal, which involves transferring CBS’ TV station licenses to Skydance Media. As tensions rise, “60 Minutes” has complied with the FCC’s demand for the release of the complete, unedited 53-minute interview conducted by Bill Whitaker, along with two other related interviews from the October 7 broadcast.
Carr’s recent action has sparked concerns in journalism communities and among First Amendment supporters. One of the two Democratic members on the five-member commission (now reduced to four), Anna Gomez, has criticized the chairman’s actions as a “fishing expedition” and an “unprecedented misuse of our licensing power.
Over the last fortnight, representatives from the Federal Communications Commission have failed to respond to six requests for comment from EbMaster, deviating from their traditional practice. In a February 7th interview with Fox News, Carr responded to the CBS complaint and investigation, stating unequivocally that Trump’s stance on media bias has been correct.
In Carr’s words to Fox News, this appears to be an instance where President Trump was forward-thinking. He’s been ahead of the game on numerous topics. Specifically, he spoke out early about the potential editing of his ’60 Minutes’ interview and now we’ve maintained transparency with the American people. Reflecting on my three weeks as chair, I must say there’s a significant shift in Washington. As you mentioned, President Trump is taking immediate action, such as addressing the border situation effectively and lowering living expenses. Moreover, he has been correct about media bias matters.
Experts who closely follow the FCC have pointed out that the political motivation behind the complaint about “60 Minutes” is reminiscent of an event from the early 1970s. This event occurred when The Washington Post published sections of the Pentagon Papers, which revealed actions taken in Vietnam by the Defense Department and various White House administrations, and were highly critical.
Similar Information: CBS Publishes ’60 Minutes’ Transcripts and Videos: FCC’s Requested Content Labelled as “Honest” and “Unmanipulated”
During that period, people associated with President Richard Nixon contested the renewals of TV and radio stations owned by The Post, alleging affiliation. Later, during the Watergate scandal, transcripts of White House conversations surfaced, showing the extent Nixon and his advisors went to conceal their involvement. In light of this history, Carr’s assertion that Trump is correct while an investigation into “60 Minutes” for potentially distorting news seems unfounded, has left many astounded.
Donald Trump himself has initiated a $10 billion lawsuit against CBS regarding the Harris interview, which is complicating Paramount Global’s efforts to finalize their merger with Skydance Media and RedBird Capital. Lawyers from Paramount Global are reportedly discussing settlement terms with Trump’s legal team in an attempt to gain approval for the merger from the new administration in Washington. However, due to the absence of concrete evidence of CBS News wrongdoing – especially since the release of unedited videos and transcripts of Harris interviews on February 5th – this lawsuit carries significant implications. A monetary settlement between CBS and a sitting President could potentially set harmful precedents for journalism and violate the ethical standards expected of public officials in terms of legal and political conduct. This is comparable to Disney’s recent decision to pay Trump $15 million as part of a defamation lawsuit settlement last month.
As a movie critic reviewing the events unfolding in the political arena, I found myself drawn into the controversy surrounding WCBS-TV New York. The initial grievance, lodged by the Center for American Rights based in Chicago, claimed that CBS manipulated Harris’ responses, altering their meaning to enhance her image as a candidate as Election Day neared. This complaint, along with two others against ABC’s WPVI-TV Philadelphia and WNBC-TV New York, were previously dismissed by Jessica Rosenworcel, former FCC chair, who was a Democrat. However, in one of his first official acts following Donald Trump’s inauguration as President on January 20th, the new FCC chair, Carr, decided to reopen these cases.
Following Carr’s resubmission of the CBS complaint, a public comment phase was initiated, inviting opinions on whether the uncut “60 Minutes” interview with Harris represented “news distortion.” This move prolonged the FCC’s assessment of the sale transaction until at least March 24. Skydance and Paramount Global were anticipating to finalize the deal by early April, but this extension has delayed their plans. The two parties originally reached the preliminary agreement in July, and since then, they have been working on regulatory approval.
Over the past three weeks, I’ve been deeply impressed by Carr’s actions. He’s also launched an investigation into radio and television stations linked to NPR and PBS, public broadcasting networks. In a letter, he informed both organizations that the commission is examining whether they’ve breached FCC rules prohibiting commercials during certain on-air mentions of donors and program underwriters for public TV stations. It’s crucial to note that nonprofit public TV stations operate under different guidelines than commercial broadcast stations, which are ad-supported.
Gomez stated that Carr prematurely began the comment period for CBS and other actions without consulting the entire commission, which is against protocol. The first public meeting under Carr’s leadership at the FCC will take place on February 27. Before being appointed as an FCC commissioner by Trump in 2017, he had previously worked as a legal advisor at the FCC for five years and later served as general counsel.
Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, a Democrat representing the FCC, voiced his concerns after reports emerged about Carr’s letters to NPR and PBS. He stated, “Any effort to silence these local media outlets jeopardizes the open exchange of information and the intellectual marketplace. The initiation of this investigation raises some serious alarms for me,” as expressed on January 30th.
Gomez has become more outspoken about the potential danger to journalism due to the FCC’s assertive approach towards subjectively perceived media bias. She hasn’t hesitated to criticize Carr’s threats to use the FCC’s power in areas that were previously unimaginable, even under previous Republican administrations. Since 2023, Gomez has been a member of the commission and spent 12 years working for the agency, including a period as senior legal advisor to William Kennard, who was then chairman. Carr’s comments to Fox News have further fueled Gomez’s apprehensions about the direction the agency might take under his leadership.
As a film enthusiast, I’ve always felt that for far too long, the FCC has neglected its responsibility to enforce the public interest standard on broadcasters. But now, I’m excited to say that we’re making a change! Over the coming weeks, you’ll see an FCC that takes its obligations seriously and ensures broadcasters deliver fair coverage across all channels – be it TV or cable. Here’s to hoping for some balanced and engaging content ahead!
Here, Gomez engages in a conversation with EbMaster regarding the appropriateness of the FCC’s decisions and the possible negative impacts on news reporting through broadcast media.
Why does Carr seem determined to renew his grievances towards CBS, ABC, and NBC networks? What’s the ultimate objective he aims to achieve in the future?
It appears that what I’ve noticed is the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has been actively carrying out the administration’s wishes. However, this action seems to overlook the fact that Congress intended for the FCC to function as an autonomous body. These actions could establish a harmful precedent that erodes trust in the agency’s role as an unbiased regulator, since it appears that our licensing power is being used to restrict media freedom.
The First Amendment is crucial to American democracy, and we need a press that remains untouched by regulatory interference, including from myself. Therefore, I believe the FCC should cease its efforts to align with this administration’s focus on partisan conflicts and instead revert to our primary mission of safeguarding consumers, fostering competition, and ensuring the integrity of our communication networks.
Have you met as a body since Carr became chairman?
We have monthly meetings and we have not had our first one yet.
Have you spoken with him directly about your concerns about the CBS situation?
I’ve spoken multiple times with the chairman about these enforcement proceedings.
How has he characterized his position?
He’s generally consistent with his public statements, but my concern lies in the fact that the actions he’s mentioned haven’t been coordinated with the rest of the commissioners. Instead, they seem to have been implemented at the bureau level without any prior warning – not even a heads-up for the commissioners. This lack of communication is causing me to respond publicly as well. What makes the CBS action unusual is the public disclosure of the investigation and the release of documents for public comment. It appears that this is another step in the misuse of our licensing procedures to achieve a specific result, which I refer to as the weaponization of these processes.
Is it your sense that Carr sees this as a reason to block the CBS station license transfers?
As a movie critic, I must express my concern over the recent linkage between the ongoing investigation and the merger, a move publicly announced by the chairman. The potential impact of this union cannot be overlooked, particularly in light of its chilling effect on a vital news-broadcasting source. This development raises serious questions about the future of information dissemination, a matter of utmost importance for our society’s informed discourse and understanding.
What does opening it up to public comment mean for the scale of the investigation?
We value public input on issues, but after careful examination, there seems to be insufficient evidence to pursue this investigation further. I’ve been referring to it as a “fishing expedition” because of this. Now that the chairman has made the video and transcript available, it’s evident that no rules were broken. What CBS did was simply edit a clip for clarity and conciseness, rather than violating any rules.
Do you have a sense of where your fellow commissioners stand?
To be honest, I can’t vouch for my colleagues’ views, and predicting the future is challenging. However, what I am certain of is that this complaint ought never to have been reinstated; instead, it should have been discarded. Moreover, it definitely should have been discarded a week ago, which means there’s no justification for prolonging the investigation, regardless of how long it persists.
Could you tell me more about Carr’s broader goals for the commission, and if you have any worries that his approach, which you refer to as “weaponization,” might expand to other aspects of the FCC’s responsibilities?
In simpler terms, while I’m not representing the chairman personally, his public comments suggest a continuation of the political conflicts we’ve seen before. However, I sincerely hope that he will focus on crucial matters such as making Internet access affordable for all Americans, equipping our emergency responders, maintaining a vibrant media landscape with localism, diversity, and competition, and ensuring our global standing by supporting innovators with necessary resources. Ideally, these objectives should be the FCC’s primary focus rather than getting involved in political disputes.
(Pictured: Anna Gomez)
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2025-02-08 06:19