Incoming Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chair Brendan Carr sent a stern letter to Disney CEO Bob Iger this week slamming ABC News for engendering an “erosion in public trust.”
ABC News is of course owned by Disney.
“Dear Mr. Iger, Americans no longer trust the national news media to report fully, accurately, and fairly,” the letter begins, according to CNN. “ABC’s own conduct has certainly contributed to this erosion in public trust.”
“For instance, ABC News recently agreed to pay $15 million to President Trump’s future presidential foundation and museum and an additional $1 million in attorney fees to settle a defamation case,” the letter continues.
ABC News recently settled with President-elect Donald Trump over reporter/correspondent George Stephanopoulos claiming that he is, Trump, is a rapist.
‘Total victory’: ABC News agrees to pay Trump $16M over defamation suit — Stephanopoulos to apologize https://t.co/RYDift0fcH via @BIZPACReview
— BPR based (@DumpstrFireNews) December 15, 2024
Carr went on to compare local stations, which are licensed by the FCC, to national network news stations, writing that “Americans largely hold positive views of their local media outlets.”
This is true.
Carr then wrote about ABC News’ controversial negotiations with local stations over retransmission consent,
“Most stations with ABC shows aren’t actually owned by the network; they are owned by other companies that strike affiliation agreements with ABC,” CNN notes.
What happens is that “cable distributors [like CNN] pay local stations for the right to retransmit their signals.”
“The approach that ABC is apparently taking in these negotiations concerns me,” Carr wrote. “My understanding is that ABC is attempting to extract onerous financial and operational concessions from local broadcast TV stations under the threat of terminating long-held affiliations, which could result in blackouts and other harms to local consumers of broadcast news and content.”
“The fact that a massive trust divide has emerged between local news outlets and national programmers like ABC only increases the importance of retransmission consent revenues remaining available for local broadcast TV stations to invest in their local news operations and content that serves their communities,” he added.
Broadcast media have had the privilege of using a scarce and valuable public resource—our airwaves. In turn, they are required by law to operate in the public interest.
When the transition is complete, the FCC will enforce this public interest obligation.
— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) November 18, 2024
He concluded the letter by warning that he’ll be “monitoring the outcome” of the negotiations “to ensure that those negotiations enable local broadcast TV stations to meet their federal obligations and serve the needs of their local communities.”
All this comes weeks after Carr said he wants to investigate TV networks to ensure they’re operating in “the public interest.”
“The law is very clear — the Communications Act says you have to operate in the public interest,” he said on CNBC. “And if you don’t, yes, one of the consequences is potentially losing your license. And of course that’s on the table. Broadcast licenses are not sacred cows.”
Listen:
NEW – Trump FCC Pick Brendan Carr Says TV Networks Could Have Their Licenses Revoked If They Are Not ‘Operating in the Public Interest’
“The law is very clear. The Communications Act says you have to operate in the public interest. And if you don’t, yes, one of the consequences… pic.twitter.com/oOrSxKLJ8H
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) December 7, 2024
He was then asked whether this means he intends to target networks that are too liberal or whatnot. Carr said that’s not the case.
“At the end of the day, obviously there’s a statutory provision that prevents the FCC from engaging in censorship,” he said. “I don’t want to be the speech police. But there is something that’s different about broadcasters than, say, podcasters, where you have to operate in a public interest.”
“I’m just saying follow the law. I mean, this law has been on the books for a long time. It’s not my decision to hold broadcasters to a public interest obligation. It’s Congress. And if they don’t like that, then they should go to Congress to change the law,” he added.
A perfect example of what he means played out recently when CBS News shamelessly published a completely edited interview with then-Democrat presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
He’s also complained about “Saturday Night Live” featuring Harris but not Trump in the days leading up to the 2024 presidential election.
This is a clear and blatant effort to evade the FCC’s Equal Time rule.
gThe purpose of the rule is to avoid exactly this type of biased and partisan conduct – a licensed broadcaster using the public airwaves to exert its influence for one candidate on the eve of gan election.… https://t.co/LliZF0po9tg— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) November 3, 2024
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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