The Media Bureau has approved Sinclair’s sale of five stations to Rincon Broadcasting and waived a limit on common ownership of top-four stations in the same market, said an order Tuesday. The bureau also rejected a petition to deny the deal from recently formed public interest group Frequency Forward (see 2504150056). The group’s “allegations concerning Sinclair’s character qualifications have repeatedly been considered and rejected,” the order said.
The FCC should “act to restore public trust in those who use public airwaves” in the wake of an ABC News journalist publicly criticizing President Donald Trump (see 2506090054), the Center for American Rights said Tuesday in a letter to Chairman Brendan Carr. ABC reportedly released correspondent Terry Moran after he described Trump as a "world-class hater" and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller as one in a social media post.
Senate Commerce Committee Democrats appeared set Tuesday afternoon to pillory Republican FCC candidate Olivia Trusty during her confirmation hearing Wednesday over concerns about the commission's independence from the Trump administration and Chairman Brendan Carr’s actions since he took the gavel Jan. 20. Congressional Democrats have amplified concerns about the FCC’s future independence since President Donald Trump’s disputed firing of both party-affiliated FTC commissioners (see 2504010053). Trusty’s hearing will immediately follow a scheduled 10 a.m. Senate Commerce meeting to vote on NTIA administrator nominee Arielle Roth, which is likely to see her advance with strong GOP support and little to no Democratic backing (see 2504080059). Both events will occur in 253 Russell.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr pushed back against a probe by Senate Homeland Security Investigations Subcommittee ranking member Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., of eight investigations of broadcasters that the Enforcement and Media bureaus launched since Carr took over Jan. 20 (see 2503140055). The FCC probes thus far focus on broadcasters that have carried content critical of President Donald Trump or otherwise face claims of pro-Democratic Party bias. Carr has, in some cases, said the scrutiny is focused on other matters (see 2502110063). House Commerce Committee Democrats are also investigating Carr's broadcaster actions (see 2503310046).
A broad swath of commenters from all over the political spectrum condemned the FCC’s news distortion proceeding as unconstitutional in comments filed by Monday’s deadline, while the complainant, the Center for American Rights, insisted the proceeding against CBS is justified. The FCC should use the Skydance/Paramount deal to “address the deeper disease” of “relentless bias” by CBS, CAR said.
Eight conservative groups want the FCC to dismiss its news distortion complaint against CBS to prevent setting precedent that could be used against conservative media, said a letter posted Thursday in docket 25-73. The letter -- from Americans for Tax Reform, the Center for Individual Freedom, Digital Liberty and others -- also called for the FCC to eliminate the news distortion and news hoax rules. “All of these rules and procedures open the door for politicians to play politics with broadcasting.”
The full FCC should overturn the Media Bureau’s dismissal of the Media and Democracy Project’s petition to deny against Fox’s WTXF Philadelphia, MAD said in a response filing in docket 25-11 Monday. Fox argued earlier this month that the FCC should affirm the Media Bureau order, which came under previous FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. Current Chairman Brendan Carr reinstated petitions against NBC, ABC, and CBS that Rosenworcel had dismissed but didn't resurrect MAD's Fox petition. MAD conceded in a news release Monday that “it's unlikely" Carr "will move quickly to review MAD's appeal.” Fox said MAD “has sought to treat Fox 29 Philadelphia as collateral in its efforts to punish Fox 29 Philadelphia’s corporate parent for speech disfavored by MAD that never even aired on the broadcast station.” The bureau order dismissing MAD’s petition “properly applied the Communications Act and FCC precedent,” Fox added. It continued that MAD hasn’t identified Fox conduct that is relevant to the FCC character standards.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said Thursday his actions against broadcast networks are based on precedents set by former FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, and his views on free speech and the role of the FCC have been consistent throughout his time there.
The full FCC should reverse the Media Bureau’s dismissal of the Media and Democracy Project’s (MAD) petition against Fox’s WTXF Philadelphia, MAD said in an application for review Tuesday. The petition's dismissal under former FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel (see 2501160081) was “politically manipulated” and intended to add “a patina of impartiality” to the contemporaneous dismissal of complaints against ABC, NBC and CBS, MAD said. Those complaints, from the Center for American Rights (CAR), weren’t based on court findings and “did not rise to the level” of the WTXF petition, MAD said. “In rescinding the three CAR decisions, while leaving the MAD decision to stand, [FCC Chairman Brendan] Carr doubled down on Rosenworcel’s biased, politically motivated adjudications,” the group said (see 2501220059). “It is not the duty of the FCC chair, whether a Republican or a Democrat, to play politics with legal proceedings,” and both parties' chairs "failed [in] their statutory duty.” The Media Bureau was incorrect not to consider the factual record and court findings from the litigation against Fox by Dominion Voting Systems over Fox’s 2020 election coverage, MAD said. It also disputed that its case against WTXF violates the First Amendment. “The question before the Commission is not whether Fox had a right to dissemble, rather it is about the consequences of those lies and the impact on Fox’s character qualifications to remain a Commission licensee.”
House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin of Maryland, other panel Democrats and Free Press co-CEO Craig Aaron used a Wednesday hearing aimed at reviewing instances of claimed Biden administration censorship to lambaste Republican FCC Chairman Brendan Carr for ordering a string of investigations against U.S. broadcasters. The probes, launched since Carr took office Jan. 20, thus far focus on broadcasters that have aired content critical of President Donald Trump or otherwise face claims of pro-Democratic Party bias, though Carr has, in some cases, framed the scrutiny as focused on other matters (see 2502110063). House Judiciary Democrats also sharply criticized X owner Elon Musk for actions on the social media platform that they view as censorship of anti-Trump content.