Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr on Friday defended his agency's recent actions against ABC, saying broadcasters have a duty to "operate in the public interest" and the FCC is merely trying to restore that standard. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
In an interview on Fox Business Network, Carr said broadcasters like ABC "struck a deal with the American people. You broadcasters get subsidized access, free access to a valuable public resource, the airwaves, worth billions of dollars. In exchange, you have to operate in the public interest."
"Look, as a country, we should have a trusted, respected news media, and we're not there," Carr told anchor Maria Bartiromo. "So I hope more broadcasters return to their public interest obligations."
The remarks came a day after ABC, issuing another salvo in an ever-escalating battle with President Donald Trump's FCC, again accused the agency of a brazen attempt to chill its constitutionally protected free speech — and by extension, that of every media outlet in the country. ABC accused the agency of retaliating against it simply because it doesn't like the political content of ABC's shows.
The network's new comments came in its latest filing to the agency, expressing its formal opposition to the FCC's early review, launched in April, of eight ABC local broadcast licenses well before they expire.
"There is no question why the Commission is singling out these eight stations," the filing said. "Each is owned by ABC, and the Administration has openly and repeatedly called for the revocation of ABC's licenses, because it dislikes the content and viewpoints expressed on ABC network programs."
"The retaliation against ABC is a signal to every media company in the country," it continued. "Accommodate the Administration's view of what news coverage should look like or pay the price. … The tools vary; the objective does not: a media industry too fearful of off"