By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, Oct 23 (Reuters) – The sole Democratic member of the Federal Communications Commission on Friday urged the broadcast industry to take a more aggressive approach in confronting the Trump administration’s actions toward major US networks and stations.
FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez called on the National Association of Broadcasters to address the administration’s efforts to challenge broadcasters on a series of fronts, including a warning from FCC Chair Brendan Carr that US broadcast networks could violate their regulatory obligations by airing “entirely fake polls” before the November 3 election.
“This administration is running a coordinated, government-wide effort to reshape the media into its sanctioned messenger,” Gomez warned, adding that Carr was seeking to pressure networks into not running polls the administration dislikes, which she said was not proper.
Carr, who has repeatedly faced pressure from President Donald Trump to crack down on US broadcasters and journalists, in April ordered an unprecedented early license review for all eight of Disney’s company-owned ABC TV stations.
A spokesperson for Carr did not immediately comment.
NAB President Curtis LeGeyt said in a statement that the group appreciated Gomez’s “recognition of the value of local broadcasters and her commitment to the First Amendment principles that underpin a free press.”
“We will continue working with her and all policymakers to protect broadcasters’ rights,” he said.
Gomez said the NAB had been “largely quiet through the first year of this censorship and control campaign” but that it had not stayed “completely silent.”
An “industry confronting a coordinated effort to turn licensing authority into leverage over election-year coverage needs more than a couple of tempered statements,” she added.
In April, the NAB said the Disney early-renewal decision “creates significant uncertainty for all broadcasters” and argued the “FCC must be careful to avoid actions that create further instability for the local stations viewers and listeners depend on.”
The FCC also said earlier this year that late-night and daytime talk shows are no longer bona fide news programs that are exempt from equal-time rules for interviews with political candidates.
(Reporting by David ShepardsonEditing by Bill Berkrot)
