FCC chairman Brendan Carr remained that his recent comments about Jimmy Kimmel were not a threat, although they were seen by Democrats and some Republicans.
During his first FCC committee meeting since Kimmel's late night show and was later restored by ABC, Carr claimed that his comments were wrongly characterized by Democrats and the media.
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“No threat was made or suggested that if Jimmy Kimmel was not fired, someone would lose his driver's license,” Carr on Tuesday told reporters. “I have seen that there are many Democrats who write letters who say that is what happened, and it just didn't.”
During his Late-Night Show earlier this month, Kimmel said in his monologue: “We had a number of new low points during the weekend with the Maga gang that desperately tried to characterize this boy who kirlie Kirk killed as something other than one of them and with everything they can to score political points.”
Two days later, Carr, who appeared on the podcast of Benny Johnson, called Kimmel's remark 'some of the sickest behavior possibly'.
“To be honest, if you see things like this, I mean, we can do this in the easy way, or in the difficult way. These companies can find ways to change behavior, to be honest to undertake on Kimmel, or there will be extra work for the FCC ahead.”
Carr said that his' easy way, whether the hard way 'was a remark about complaints about news worship and that' there is an easy way on which they can be treated – either the TV stations and the national programmers can work out … Private. Or there is another Qay, who can submit people in the event of complaints from the newspaper assignment at the FCC, and that is what there is, in which case we have an FCC process. “
But in other comments in the Benny Johnson interview, Carr the prospect of Kimmel was fired and the possible withdrawal of station licenses.
He said: “Look, there is calling to dismiss Kimmel. You could definitely see a path forward for suspension about this. Again, the FCC will have remedies that we can look at. We can eventually be called to be a judge in it.”
Hij zei ook dat “het is tijd dat veel van deze erkende omroepen zelf terugduwen op Comcast en Disney en zeggen:” Luister, we gaan vooruitgaan, we gaan Kimmel niet meer runnen, en dus maak je dit recht omdat we, gelicentieerde omroepen zijn in de mogelijkheid van boetes of licentie -intrekking van de FCC uit de FCC als we content zijn die een patroon van nieuws vervangen. “
Hours after the podcast interview, Nexstar, the largest station group, announced that it was the show of Kimmel for the near future. Shortly thereafter, ABC announced that it dropped the program indefinitely. Another station group, Sinclair, also announced that it would not broadcast the Kimmel show.
But after a return, Disney ownership ABC has reverse course and recovered Kimmel the next week. A few days later, Sinclair and Nexstar said they would restore the show to their stations, while they claimed that the decision to pull the show was not due to the pressure of the government.
Nevertheless, Carr's comments were seen as a threat by GOP figures, including Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). Cruz compared Carr's remark with a Mafia boss and warned that it was “dangerous” in the sense that Democrats can use similar tactics when they return to power.
Asked if Cruz also removed his comments from the context, Carr said: “I have no comments on that. You are clearly free to ask them about their views. What I am clear about is that if you look the full context, not just what I said, but what the companies themselves said about their decision. It was a business decision.”
Nexstar is looking for FCC approval of its merger with Tegna, and is also one of the leading proponents of companies that encouraged the agency to raise a national media property. Sinclair also wants the FCC to relax that rule.
The FCC meeting attracted about a dozen protesters, some of whom interrupt the procedure to shout: “Fire Carr the Censorship Czar!” They were accompanied by security. Members of the group also wore T-shirts with the FCC logo, but the words “Federal Censorship Commission.” Outside, a truck sponsored by the committee to protect journalists and reporters without limits with the message: “The police of the FCC are abuse of power.”
Carr, however, indicated that he would continue to investigate individual shows, including ABCs Viewwhose co-hosts have sometimes been destructive in their criticism of Donald Trump.
Carr has increased the prospect to assess whether the show was still under the BonaFide news exemption from the Equal Opportunity rule of the FCC. This requires that the position that political candidates offer the same time on request. Talk shows are traditionally under the same exemption cases that are given to news and documentary programming.
“We have to breathe our approach and breathe new life into our approach,” said Carr. “So there may be a time when it is appropriate that the FCC takes a look at the bona fide news exemption, perhaps a guidelines that have been there, for each program on the right, left, center. It doesn't matter to me.”
Anna Gomez, the only democrat of the committee, said that what Carr has made threats about content, although he has no authority to do this.
“The threats are the point,” she said. “This administration wants capitulation before it comes to the courts, because they want the companies to change their behavior now, and they do not want the risk that it will go to court.”
She noted that under the complaints that the FCC still has to act, one is brought by a conservative group about the way that 60 minutes Edited an interview with Kamala Harris. The complaint claimed a violation of the FCC news removal policy. But companies can only be held liable if it can be proven: “That they have deliberately disrupted a factual news item.” That's a high standard, Gomez said.
CBS has challenged the complaint, but it also decided Trump's lawsuit on the 60 minutes Interview for $ 16 million. Trump's lawsuit was seen as an obstacle to overcome when Skydance sought approval from the government to merge with the parent of CBS, Paramount Global.
Companies, Gomez, said: “Fell to our first amendment and our democracy every time they capitulate, but I understand it. They are companies. They have obligations for their shareholders. So it is also our obligation not to threaten and not to let these complaints hang over people and not to threaten people with news enhancers.”
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