LAS VEGAS — For fellow Commissioner Anna Gómez, appearing at the 2026 NAB Show meant speaking out against the Republican leadership and what she believes is the Carr Commission’s infringements on Freedom of the Press and the First Amendment.
As Olivia Trusty sees it, the matter of “news distortion” claims from the Daniel Suhr-led Center for American Rights and Chairman Brendan Carr’s public interest push took center stage. And as Trusty noted, it came 28 years after former Commissioner (and later Chairman) Michael Powell talked of the FCC’s public interest approach.
Trusty learned of Powell’s speech as part of her preparation ahead of her April 20 speech at the Las Vegas Convention Center. She remarked, “As part of that speech, he said he had hoped for a visit from what he called ‘the angel of the public interest,’ someone who might appear and offer guidance on how to apply that standard.”
Although this angel never reportedly appeared to Powell, Trusty said that advancing the public interest in broadcasting “is just as relevant today as it was 30 years ago.” She then shared how she approaches the public interest standard in the broadcasting context while perhaps lending her efforts to the search for that elusive angel of the public interest.
For Trusty, she sees “a number of well-defined elements of the Communications Act’s public interest mandate.” Some obligations are technical, spelled out in federal statutes and FCC rules. Others address broadcast content, she added. In some cases, the law restricts content, referring to Emergency Alert System violations, obscene and indecent programming, and underwriting rules for noncommercial stations.
Other “longstanding duties” of serving the public interest as a FCC broadcast licensee include, in Trusty’s view, “equal time” rules for political figures; and localism (interpreted by some as a Trump card for a network affiliate that doesn’t wish to air a program, using local community interest obligations as a justification).
“Commission rules reinforce that principle,” Trusty said. As an example, she said licensees may not enter into network agreements that prevent them from preempting programming that is “unsatisfactory or unsuitable or contrary to the public interest,” or when other programming is “of greater local or national importance.”
She continued, “In other words, broadcasters are expected to respond to the unique needs of their communities, not simply transmit identical programming nationwide without considering local circumstances. This responsibility is reinforced by requirements such as public inspection files and community notification during license transfers or renewals, which give local viewers and listeners an opportunity to inform the Commission about how well stations are serving their communities. Commission precedent also reinforces this duty.”
Acknowledging the rise of non-regulated media including cable television and streaming audio and video, Trusty said, “Broadcasters have accepted public interest responsibilities as part of their licenses, they occupy a unique place in the media ecosystem. That makes it critical for the FCC to ensure that broadcasters not only survive in today’s competitive environment, but thrive … broadcasters have accepted public interest responsibilities as part of their licenses, they occupy a unique place in the media ecosystem. That makes it critical for the FCC to ensure that broadcasters not only survive in today’s competitive environment, but thrive.”
Winding back her conversation to how it began, Trusty concluded, “If the FCC gets the policy framework right, supporting broadcasters, while ensuring accountability to the law, FCC rules, and longstanding legal doctrine, I believe broadcasters themselves could serve as the ‘angels of the public interest,’ delivering trusted information, connection, and service to the local communities that rely on them. Achieving that distinction will require continued work ahead to empower broadcasters to compete on a level playing field while cementing an unwavering commitment to serve the public interest both now and in the future.”
To view Olivia Trusty’s prepared speech at the 2026 NAB Show in full, please click here.
Also in attendance in Las Vegas was Marcus Maher, legal advisor to Commissioner Trusty. Maher spoke on Monday afternoon to a small gathering of approximately nine individuals including attorney Davina Sashkin and Mark Aitken, President of ONE Media, Sinclair’s Innovation subsidiary, as part of an Advanced Television Broadcasting Alliance (ATBA) session held in a meeting room within the West Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center.
