Washington Beat

Yes, the FCC is effectively shuttered due to the federal government shutdown due to lack of funding amid Capitol Hill squabbling between Republicans and Democrats. But that didn't stop Chairman Brendan Carr from circulating a proposal on Friday to set interim rate caps and to review the IPCS framework.

The Federal Communications Commission has largely shut down alongside the federal government, with more than four out of five employees furloughed and day-to-day systems frozen - including the licensing and comment portals broadcasters rely on for transactions and regulatory engagement.

 Anna M. Gómez, the fiery lone Democrat on the Commission, on Thursday will be at Ole Miss speaking out against GOP-fueled efforts she believes squelch freedom of speech. Her visit comes on what's expected to be the second day of a federal government shutdown due to a lack of funding.

The Media Bureau's Audio Division, on its own motion, is proposing to amend the Table of FM Allotments by substituting the FM channel or class for five existing vacant FM allotments located in various communities in Alabama, California, and Texas. Why? Compliance with minimum distance separation requirements is the reason.

A D.C. think tank has teamed up with more than 70 legal scholars and free speech groups to express their concerns over recent threats by Brendan Carr "to punish broadcasters for airing constitutionally protected speech—an attempt to pressure media outlets through vague legal claims and regulatory intimidation."

At its August Open Meeting, the FCC adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to reexamine the Emergency Alert System. Now the NAB is making its voice heard, warning that modernization must preserve broadcasters' roles as “first informers” in a crisis.

The Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau within the FCC has taken a moment to highlight what it considers "best practices" for cross-sector cooperation and network resiliency during hurricane season — which is far from over, as a storm could be nearing the U.S. Southeast early next week.

Two prominent Democratic U.S. Senators from New England on Monday will join in hosting a "spotlight forum" on what they call "the Trump Administration’s unprecedented efforts to use the FCC and government authority to chill First Amendment-protected speech and independent, fact-based news reporting."

The CPB, which is winding down its operations due to Congress voting to end federal funding after more than 50 years, is distributing the very last bit of funding left for stations in FY 2025.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr pushed back against accusations that the agency pressured Disney and ABC over Jimmy Kimmel’s absence from late-night television, while Democratic Commissioner Anna Gomez accused the Commission of enabling “government intimidation,” underscoring growing partisan tension over broadcast regulation.

The indefinite suspension by the ABC Television Network of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" — officially concluding Tuesday (9/23) — is what the associate dean of academic affairs and Boston College Law School professor Daniel Lyons says "is part of a long, unfortunate FCC tradition of 'regulation by raised eyebrow,' where informal threats shape media behavior without formal action."

The Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, along with the leading Democrats on the Communications and Technology Subcommittee and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, have called on the FCC's Inspector General to launch an investigation into Chairman Brendan Carr.

FCC Commissioner Olivia Trusty offered a luncheon keynote on Thursday at the Free State Foundation, sharing why "we need to support today’s New Golden Age of America, where our communications networks are the most advanced, secure, and widely available in the world." She also touched on Jimmy Kimmel and Chairman Carr.

The lone Democrat-aligned FCC Commissioner on Thursday issued a follow-up statement in response to ABC’s decision to indefinitely suspend late-night talk host Jimmy Kimmel for making false statements about the alleged assassin of Turning Point USA founder and conservative political activist Charlie Kirk.

Constitutional litigator Daniel Suhr and his Chicago-based "CAR" are applauding FCC Chairman Brendan Carr for acting in the public interest by scolding ABC for comments made by Jimmy Kimmel on his now-suspended late-night talk show. CAR took it one step further by filing a complaint at the Commission against KABC-TV.