He was asked what the FCC can do to help “legacy media.” But, his comments regarding the Commission’s pending approval of the acquisition of majority control of Paramount Global by David Ellison-led Skydance Media from the Redstone Family’s National Amusements, Inc., are reverberating across Washington.
Brendan Carr, soon to be the FCC’s Chairman, suggests the transaction will undergo scrutiny based on claims CBS News manipulated interviews with Vice President Kamala Harris, resulting in “distortion.”
Speaking to Dana Perino Tuesday during a 9:55am Eastern interview on Fox News Channel, Carr spent some 4 1/2 minutes on-air discussing how the “status quo” for broadcasters needs to evolve.
Halfway through the interview, in response to a query from Perino, Carr referenced the “news distortion” complaint brought to the Commission as it decides whether or not to approve the Paramount Global/Skydance transaction.
“I’m pretty confident that the ‘News Distortion’ complaint over the CBS ’60 Minutes’ transcript is something that is likely to arise in the context of the FCC’s review of that transaction,” Carr said.
Before the 2024 U.S. presidential election, Harris was interviewed by CBS News. According to the Center for American Rights, which filed a complaint with the Commission one month ago, CBS News & Stations’ WCBS-2 in New York aired a snippet of the conversation with Harris on the October 6 edition of “Face the Nation” and again on the October 6 edition of “60 Minutes.” As the group sees it, Harris was asked the same question in both stories, but the audience was presented with two different answers. President-elect Trump filed a $10 billion lawsuit against CBS, seeking a release of the “60 Minutes” transcript. Carr has called on CBS News to do so.
View the complaint in full by clicking here:
The $8.4 billion transaction that would make Skydance Media the owner of Paramount Global would deliver to Ellison control of 28 stations in 17 U.S. markets.
CARR’S FIRST THREE GOALS
Labeled “a warrior for Free Speech” by President-elect Trump, Carr shared with Perino what his top three items will be “if confirmed.”
The first order of business will be for Carr to meet with the president’s team “to make sure I 100% understand his agenda,” but the top issue is looking at “tech censorship,” with an “unprecedented surge” in censorship in recent years.
The second item — to look at the FCC’s approach to media. He said, “Jeff Bezos just recently did an op-ed where he said that Americans don’t trust the news media. He said now they’re the least trusted of all. And I think he’s speaking a lot of truth there. So I think the status quo, particularly when it comes to legacy media, needs to change.”
Third, Carr believes job creation is at stake with improved communications policy, with freeing up more spectrum and “permitting reform” with rural broadband at its focus. The “space economy” is another area where paperwork should be reduced to spur that.
What can the FCC do to help legacy media? “There’s a lot the FCC can do,” Carr responded. “Broadcasters are differently situated than other speakers. They get access to a valuable public resource — the airwaves — and are licensed by the FCC. In exchange for that, they have to serve the public interest. I think it is important that we take another look at that and that we reinvigorate that.”
Perino also quizzed Carr on how the FCC under his leadership “will end its promotion of DEI,” referencing a post on X made by Carr after learning of his selection as Chairman by the president-elect. Carr said, “We need to get back to common sense in the government. The idea that the FCC lists as its second-highest strategic priority promoting DEI … there’s no place for that. When the transition is complete … the FCC is going to end its promotion of DEI and focus on our core mission — rural broadband, exceling our permitting for the satellite industry, and promoting our national strategy. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
