Carr Vows To Hold Broadcasters ‘Accountable’ After NBC, ABC Declined To Air Trump’s Speech

The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, says his agency will hold broadcast networks “accountable to their public interest obligation” after ABC News and NBC News declined to air President Trump’s speech regarding allegations of foreign interference in the 2020 election.Last Thursday, Mr. Trump delivered a primetime address in which he presented documents he said showed America’s elections are vulnerable to foreign interference — though some of the documents he released disagreed with his assessment. During the speech he lashed out at ABC News and NBC News for not carrying his remarks, saying that “Fraud like this should mean a revocation of their licenses.” A media newsletter, Status, reported that CBS News was originally only planning on streaming the speech online, but abruptly changed course and broadcast the speech.During a press conference on Wednesday, Mr. Carr noted that he had previously said he believes that the broadcast networks should have carried the president’s speech.“I think there were some concerning reports that emerged … One of the newsletters out there said that one or more of the networks had been in communication with, the report said, Democrat aides about their decision not to carry the president’s remarks,” Mr. Carr said. “I think that when you have the President of the United States standing inside the White House delivering an important speech, I think that’s something broadcasters should be carrying.”Mr. Trump’s call for ABC and NBC to lose their broadcast licenses has been viewed as a threat that carries more weight as the FCC is currently reviewing the broadcast licenses of eight ABC stations.In April, the FCC initiated an early renewal process of the eight ABC stations, kicking off the process of challenging their licenses. Mr. Carr told reporters that the decision was made after ABC’s parent company, the Walt Disney Company, failed to produce documentation about its diversity, equity, and inclusion policies. Critics, however, said the move was meant to punish ABC after its late-night host, Jimmy Kimmel, made what turned out to be an ill-timed joke about First Lady Melania Trump having a “glow” like an “expectant widow.” That comment came just days before a gunman tried to storm into the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, which Mr. Trump and other members of his administration attended. ABC filed paperwork to renew its licenses, but also criticized the FCC chairman, saying that the accelerated process was “inconsistent with a legitimate exercise of investigative authority and is plainly incompatible with the First Amendment.”Mr. Carr told reporters on Wednesday that the FCC will hold broadcasters “accountable to their public interest obligations.” The commission says networks that have government-issued broadcast licenses must “air programming that is responsive to the needs and problems of its local community of license.”When asked if it “could be held against Disney” that ABC did not air Mr. Trump’s speech, Mr. Carr said, “Broadcasters should be doing that. I think anytime a broadcaster is not in the public interest, that raises significant concerns.” While it is rather rare for the FCC to revoke broadcast licenses, Mr. Carr has suggested that beginning the process should not be seen as such a momentous decision. He told CBS News earlier this year that broadcast licenses are not “some sort of property right,” and said that networks that do not operate in the “public interest” will lose their license. Mr. Carr has also said that if critics, including those in Congress, do not like how he is enforcing the public interest standard, lawmakers can adjust the law. He has also suggested that broadcasters that do not wish to be bound by FCC regulations could give up their broadcast licenses and explore other platforms.

Carr Vows To Hold Broadcasters ‘Accountable’ After NBC, ABC Declined To Air Trump’s Speech

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