“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.”
The incoming chairman of the Federal Communications Commission issued a warning on X Monday that broadcast media should do their jobs responsibly and “operate in the public interest.”
“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 posted on X.
https:/twitter.com/BrendanCarrFCC/status/1858389116930425092
On Sunday, President-elect Trump announced Carr’s January appointment. He is currently the senior Republican member of the FCC. Trump also nominated Carr to that position in 2017 after he had served as the FCC’s general counsel. Trump noted in a statement that Carr had "been confirmed unanimously by the United States Senate three times." The president-elect added that Carr’s current term runs through 2029 and “because of his great work, I will now be designating him as permanent Chairman.”
Carr’s message on X could be an oblique reference to recent examples of broadcast media attempting to evade some of their responsibilities. NBC was forced to air a Trump election ad after Vice President Kamala Harris appeared on the network’s Saturday Night Live during the crucial last weekend of the presidential election campaign. According to the FCC’s Fairness Doctrine, broadcasters must present both sides of a political policy issue and cannot choose to just air one side of the issue.
Trump also objected over the way that CBS News’ 60 Minutes handled an election campaign interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump sued the media outlet for $10 billion in damages for what he called “deceptive conduct” and election interference connected to the interview.
Harris did the interview with 60 Minutes' Ben Whitaker. CBS released clips of the interview before the entire broadcast was aired but the clips did not correspond to the final version with Harris offering different answers to the same questions seen in the clips. Trump’s lawyers said their lawsuit focused on "CBS' partisan and unlawful acts of election and voter interference through malicious, deceptive, and substantial news distortion calculated to confuse, deceive, and mislead the public."
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