Broadcast news
Disney Sues FCC for 'Retaliatory' Investigation of ABC
"Government censorship is deeply un-American," the lawsuit states, before listing numerous times the government has tried to censor it.
FCC Rule Change Would Allow More Broadcast Mergers, but It's Not Clear the FCC Has That Power.
It's not clear if the agency even has the legal authority to make the change. But if it goes through, there's little to worry about.
Conservative Groups Urge FCC To Show Restraint in ABC Investigation
Fourteen organizations otherwise supportive of the Trump FCC's agenda cautioned against abusing powers that could later be used against conservatives.
Brendan Carr Says ABC's Refusal To Air a Trump Speech Could Affect Renewal of Its Broadcast Licenses
The FCC chairman thinks the "public interest" standard is a license to interfere with freedom of the press.
Trump's Threats To Yank Broadcast Licenses Are Part of a Speech-Chilling Intimidation Campaign
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr seems to think TV stations are legally obligated to please the president.
Trump Threatens To Revoke ABC and NBC Licenses for Not Broadcasting His Election Speech
As someone should have explained to him by now, that's not how it works.
ABC Asks Viewers To Defend the Network Against the FCC
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr is targeting the Disney-owned broadcaster with two different government enforcement actions.
Brendan Carr's 'Equal Time' Threat Against The View Is Blatantly Unconstitutional, ABC Says
The FCC chairman seems determined to impose a requirement that would amount to a ban on interviews with political candidates.
Trump's Responses to Kimmel and Comey Highlight His Contempt for Freedom of Speech
The president is not shy about using government power to punish people for saying things that offend him.
Brendan Carr's Crusade To Reshape TV Journalism Is Blatantly Unconstitutional
The First Amendment does not allow the FCC chairman to police news coverage.
Brendan Carr Says He Can Police TV Journalism Because Broadcast Licenses Are 'Free'
The FCC chairman's reasoning is faulty.
Brendan Carr and the Fog of War
In war, the facts are hard to determine. In Carr’s war against broadcasters, the facts are easier to see.
Stephen Colbert Says CBS Killed an Interview Because of FCC Equal-Time Rule
If anything, the incident just provided further proof that the equal-time rule should be abolished.
The FCC Wants To Police How Many Conservatives Appear on The View
The equal-time rule is an antiquated regulation that becomes more obsolete with each passing year.
How the FCC Became the Speech Police
The constitutionally anomalous status of broadcasting invites government meddling.
A Reporter's Unwelcome Questions Provoke Yet Another Trump Threat To Yank Broadcast Licenses
The president thinks TV networks have a legal obligation to cover him the way he prefers. The FCC's chairman seems to agree.
No One Is Winning the YouTube TV Dispute With ESPN. It's Time for Both Sides To Call It Off.
Plus: Betting scandals come to baseball, and happy Veterans Day
What John Oliver Gets Wrong About Bari Weiss and CBS News
The default in mainstream media isn't no opinion, it's his opinion.
Trump's Vision of Broadcast Regulation Is a Threat to Conservatives
History suggests that Republicans will regret letting the FCC police TV programming.
The FCC's Involvement in Canceling Jimmy Kimmel Was 'Unbelievably Dangerous,' Ted Cruz Says
Rand Paul concurs that the threats preceding the comedian's suspension were "absolutely inappropriate" because the agency has "no business weighing in on this."
Brendan Carr Flagrantly Abused His Powers To Cancel Jimmy Kimmel
"We can do this the easy way or the hard way," the FCC chairman said, threatening to punish broadcasters for airing the comedian's show.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr's Meddling in Broadcast Journalism Contradicts His Own Avowed Views
As a minority FCC member during the Bush administration, Carr condemned government interference with newsroom decisions.
The FCC's Paramount/Skydance Decision Aims To Reshape Broadcast Journalism by Bureaucratic Fiat
Chairman Brendan Carr thinks his agency should strive to ensure that news coverage is fair and balanced—a role precluded by the First Amendment.
Trump, Who Wants To 'Straighten Out the Press,' Sues The Wall Street Journal Over 'Fake' Epstein Letter
Whatever the merits of this particular defamation claim, the president has a long history of abusing the legal system to punish constitutionally protected speech.
By Settling Trump's Laughable Lawsuit Against CBS, Paramount Strikes a Blow at Freedom of the Press
The company's surrender to Trump's extortion vindicates his strategy of using frivolous litigation and his presidential powers to punish constitutionally protected speech.
Trump Wants $25 Million To Settle His Meritless 60 Minutes Lawsuit
In a legal filing this week, Trump argued that routine edits to a CBS News interview he did not participate in caused him "confusion and mental anguish."
Trump's Actions Contradict His Avowed Commitment to First Amendment Rights
The president has launched a multifaceted crusade against speech that offends him.
Trump Tries To Carve Out a First Amendment Exception for 'Fake News'
The president's portrayal of journalism he does not like as consumer fraud is legally frivolous and blatantly unconstitutional.
Trump Is Flat-Out Lying About the 60 Minutes Interview With Harris
The full transcript shows the president's complaints about the editing of the interview are not just wildly hyperbolic and legally groundless. They are demonstrably false.
Transcript Proves the 60 Minutes Scandal Was Always Fake
Donald Trump's complaints were always meritless, but CBS' capitulation sets a dangerous precedent for the future of the news media.
How the FCC's 'Warrior for Free Speech' Became Our Censor in Chief
Brendan Carr has a clear record of threatening to suppress constitutionally protected speech.
Why Is Paramount So Keen To Settle Trump's Laughable Lawsuit Against CBS?
The company is worried that the president's complaints about a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris could block a pending merger.
Given George Stephanopoulos' Carelessness, ABC's Defamation Settlement With Trump Seems Prudent
The host of This Week repeatedly and inaccurately asserted that Trump had been "found liable for rape."
Cable News Is Over
What comes next will be more fragmented, more decentralized, and more authentic than the old legacy networks.
Trump's Pick To Run the FCC Wants To Restrict the Editorial Discretion of Social Media Platforms
"Reining in Big Tech," Brendan Carr says, requires scrapping liability protections and restricting moderation decisions.
Abolish the FCC's Equal Time Rule Before the Next Election
The decades-old regulation imposes burdens that no other media outlets are subject to.
Trump's Legal Complaints Against 2 News Outlets Reflect His Disregard for Freedom of the Press
The Republican presidential candidate argues that CBS and The Washington Post broke the law by covering the election in ways he did not like.
Trump Thinks News Outlets Should Lose Their Broadcast Licenses, Even When They Have None
Despite his cluelessness, the former president's inclination to punish constitutionally protected speech reflects his authoritarian disregard for civil liberties.
Trump Threatens ABC's Broadcast License After Rocky Debate Performance
Trump's greatest enemy on Tuesday wasn't ABC. It was himself.
Mike Pesca: How NPR Lost Its Way
Former NPR and Slate fixture Mike Pesca discusses media meltdowns, objectivity vs. moral clarity, and whether we are better or worse off now that media gatekeepers have less influence.
If Ronna McDaniel Is Beyond the Pale, NBC May Have Trouble Presenting 'Diverse Viewpoints'
The former RNC chair's concession that Biden won "fair and square" did not save her from internal outrage at her support for Trump's stolen-election fantasy.
Why Are NBC Anchors Throwing a Tantrum Over Ronna McDaniel?
They should keep in mind that Jen Psaki exists.
How Middle East Outlets Reframe the News To Fit Their Narrative
Changing phrases to be for or against Israel is part of the job.
The Battlefields of Cable
How cable TV transformed politics—and how politics transformed cable TV
Ax Government Funding for NPR
NPR is no Xinhua, but Elon Musk is correct that it doesn't need government subsidies.
Fox News 2020 Election Coverage Decisions Demonstrate that Demand for Misinformation is a Bigger Problem than the Supply
Major Fox talk show hosts knew that Trump's claims of a stolen election were false, but chose not to say so on air, for fear it would anger their audience.
No, You Don't Have a First Amendment Right To Get Your Speech Aired on Cable News
On Tuesday night, Trump spokesperson Liz Harrington made the baffling claim that, if mainstream news channels failed to air the former president's campaign announcement in full, it would mean that "we do not have the First Amendment."
