Former FCC Chairs And Officials Call Agency’s Early Review Of ABC Licenses “An Assault On Free Speech Disguised As Regulatory Process”
A group of former FCC chairs and top agency officials of both parties are calling on current chairman Brendan Carr to end the early review of broadcast licenses for ABC stations, characterizing it as “an assault on free speech disguised as regulatory process.”
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In a filing with the FCC on Tuesday, the officials wrote, “The Commission initiated the early renewal process of all eight ABC-owned-and-operated stations one day after the President and First Lady criticized ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel for a joke he made about them.”
They added: “Public reporting and the notice establishing the procedures for this proceeding also suggest that the Chairman has prejudged the outcome of this proceeding and that the Commission may assert the power to terminate the stations’ licenses early. All this betrays that this proceeding is pretext for the Chairman’s continued campaign of suppressing disfavored speech.”
Among those signing on to the filing were Mark Fowler and Dennis Patrick, chairmen of the FCC under Ronald Reagan; Alfred Sikes, chairman under President George W. Bush; and Thomas Wheeler, chairman under Barack Obama.
The FCC under Carr ordered ABC to file renewal applications for its eight owned stations at the end of May, even though the first of the licenses wasn’t set to expire until 2028. Carr has said that the action was as part of an ongoing investigation into Disney’s diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
ABC filed for renewal, but characterized the action as “an extraordinary demonstration of power and coercion directed at disfavored editorial voices which sends a clear warning to every broadcaster in America.”
As part of the process, the FCC opened up a public comment proceeding.
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In their filing, the former FCC officials noted that two groups, the Center for American Rights and the Media Research Center, had called for the agency to deny the stations’ renewal applications.
The FCC officials said that the groups “ask the Commission to interfere with the stations’ First Amendment-protected editorial discretion: word choices, fact-checks, time covering certain topics, personnel, and the licensees’ perceived viewpoints. These are not legitimate subjects of FCC regulation. Indeed, the Supreme Court has repeatedly held that the government may not ‘un-bias’ what it thinks is biased.”
So far, more than 141,000 comments have been received in the station renewal proceeding. The deadline for ABC to reply to the responses is Wednesday.
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An FCC spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In its petition to deny the licenses, the Center for American Rights cited broadcasters’ public interest obligations. Among other things, they argued that ABC does not provide “a balanced presentation of information on issues of public importance.”
The group wrote: “It is likely lots of ink will be spilled in this proceeding focused on the First Amendment rights of Disney. ABC and its allies will ‘attempt to drape the mantle of First Amendment protection solely around those in the broadcast industry. This approach ignores the rest of the citizens of this country.’ … ABC’s rights are important, but they are not preeminent. It is the right of viewers of ABC stations which must feature first and foremost in this Commission’s considerations.”
In the filing, the former FCC officials called the agency’s early renewal action “virtually unprecedented.” The FCC also launched an investigation and separate proceeding into ABC’s The View and whether it qualifies as a bona fide news program and therefore is exempt from equal-time rules. The network has pushed back on that action as well, also characterizing it as a retaliatory effort to chill free speech.
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The former FCC officials were represented in the filing by the Protect Democracy Project, Andrew Jay Schwartzman, Gigi Sohn of G Squared Strategies and Berin Szóka of Tech Freedom. They also represented a group of former FCC officials to petition the agency to rescind its news distortion policy, arguing that Carr has used it to launch investigations into news coverage that is protected by the First Amendment.
Other former FCC officials signing on to the filing include Kathryn C. Brown, chief of staff to FCC Chairman William Kennard from 1998-2001; Rachelle B. Chong, a Republican commissioner who served from 1994-97; Jerald Fritz, legal adviser and chief of staff to Fowler from 1981-87; Rosemary Harold, enforcement bureau chief from 2017-22; William T. Lake, media bureau chief from 2009-17; Ruth Milkman, chief of staff to Wheeler from 2013-17; Peter Pitsch, chief of staff to Patrick from 1987-89; Gloria Tristani, Democratic commissioner from 1997-2001; and Christopher J. Wright, general counsel from 1997-2001.