The chair of the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Brendan Carr, has claimed that journalists were misled into covering claims by late-night host Stephen Colbert that he was blocked by his network from interviewing a Texas Senate candidate. Carr made these comments at an FCC meeting, stating that the media should feel ashamed for having been lied to and then running with those lies.
Carr's comments come after Colbert accused the Trump administration and CBS of censorship, claiming that he was not allowed to interview James Talarico, a Texas Democrat, due to equal time regulations. However, CBS countered that it had merely provided legal guidance that such an interview might trigger equal time regulations, requiring Colbert to also platform Talarico's campaign rivals.
The FCC has issued guidance on the equal time rule, which was enacted as part of the Communications Act of 1934. According to Carr, the rule requires that if a legally qualified candidate is given airtime, comparable airtime must be given to all other legally qualified candidates. Carr stated that the FCC is simply enforcing the rules on the books and that there was no censorship involved.
Enforcement Action Against ABC's The View
Carr also confirmed that the FCC has opened an enforcement action into ABC's The View over an appearance Talarico made on the program earlier in the month. He declined to provide further comment on the nature of the investigation, but stated that every broadcaster has an obligation to be responsible for the programming they choose to air.
Anna M Gomez, the lone Democrat on the FCC, took a different approach, stating that the equal time rule issue is just one of a long pattern of the administration using the FCC to go after content it doesn't like. She believes that the enforcement process is being used to pressure broadcasters to self-censor.
Colbert, whose show ends in May, criticized CBS for not consulting him on the statement it released, which he believed seemed to be written by a panel of lawyers. He also picked up a printed copy of the statement as if it was pet waste, stating that he wanted to tell the lawyers how to do their jobs.
Expert Analysis
Gigi Sohn, who served as counselor to then-FCC chair Tom Wheeler during Barack Obama's administration, stated that she is less concerned about the equal time rule than about what she fears is unequal enforcement of it to crack down on liberal media opposition to Trump. Sohn believes that if Colbert is going to give Talarico 20 minutes to basically give a campaign speech, then CBS should provide equal opportunity.
Sohn also stated that the onus is on rival candidates, not the FCC, to request and pursue the equal time opportunity. She believes that Carr has a tendency to start his own investigations when nobody is complaining, and that this is not how the equal opportunities rule is supposed to work.
Carr ended his comments to reporters with an attack on Colbert, stating that he sees that, with the cancellation of his show, his time in the limelight is coming to an end. Carr believes that this must be a difficult time for Colbert, but that it doesn't change the facts of what happened.
Broader Implications
The controversy has also been a boon for Talarico's campaign, which has said it raised $2.5m in the 24 hours since Colbert's initial comments. The incident has sparked a wider debate about the role of the FCC in regulating media content and the potential for unequal enforcement of the equal time rule.
As the FCC continues to enforce the equal time rule, it remains to be seen how this will impact the media landscape and the ability of broadcasters to provide fair and balanced coverage of political candidates. The incident has highlighted the complex and often contentious relationship between the media, politicians, and regulators.
