WASHINGTON, D.C. — “This Administration is running a coordinated, government-wide effort to reshape the media into its sanctioned messenger, and the Federal Communications Commission has become one of its most active instruments.”
That’s the viewpoint expressed in a lengthy four-page letter sent by the lone Democrat serving as a FCC Commissioner to the President/CEO of the NAB. Why did Anna Gómez write to Curtis LeGeyt? As she explains, the NAB “is one of the few institutions with the reach to warn the entire broadcast industry about a threat that is now actively targeting broadcasters across the country.”
As Gómez sees it, the NAB “speaks for thousands of stations nationwide, many of which do not have the legal resources or the political standing to push back on their own when the FCC comes calling.” As such, the association is “best positioned to ensure every one of them understands what is happening and why it matters heading into the upcoming midterm elections.”
Of utmost concern to the FCC’s only Democratic vote-maker are potential Carr Commission investigations of broadcast licensees of political polls that may be seen by the Republican majority as a voter influence mechanism. “One of the most brazen efforts involves how this Commission has recently suggested that broadcasters who air polling that does not align with this Administration’s preferred narrative could face an FCC news distortion or broadcast hoax investigation,” she said, referring to comments widely reported this week from FCC Chairman Brendan Carr.
On Friday, the Trump Administration fueled speculation that the executive branch would interfere with voting during the midterm election by having the Justice Department preemptively sue to block Alaska Senate confirmation of Election Day results should Republican Dan Sullivan lose his Senate race on November 3. Former Representative Mary Peltola, a Democrat, is the top challenger to Sen. Sullivan, seeking his third term. A poll by The New York Times/Siena University put Peltola at 50% with Sullivan at 43% for the period of September 24-October 1, a significant swing from June 15-29, when Sullivan had a 47%/45% advantage.
Reporting of this poll’s findings or those that the Trump Administration disfavors should not, in Gomez’s view, result in any FCC actions that could lead to an investigation of a licensee’s reporting or news coverage.
As Gomez explains, investigations regarding news distortion and broadcast hoaxes require proof of deliberate distortion of a factual report or knowingly false information about a crime or catastrophe. “Reporting the results of a poll this Administration happens to dislike does not come close to meeting those standards,” Gomez said.
She also reminded broadcasters what the public interest standard means, stating in the letter to LeGeyt, “This agency does not get to redefine the public interest standard as whatever happens to serve the political interests of whoever is in power. That standard was written into the law to protect the audiences these stations are licensed to serve, not the officials who regulate them.”
Read the letter to Curtis LeGeyt from Commissioner Anna M. Gómez in full by clicking here.
