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Media Outlets Panic Over Trump’s Pick To Head FCC

By GOVERNMENT

President-elect Donald Trump has selected FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, known for his vocal criticism of partisan media outlets and their attempts to influence elections, to chair the agency, a move has raised concerns among mainstream media outlets. “I am pleased to announce that Commissioner Brendan Carr will be Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Commissioner Carr currently serves as the senior Republican on the FCC. Before that, he was the FCC’s General Counsel,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Sunday night.

The president-elect noted that he first nominated Carr to the position in 2017. “His current term runs through 2029 and, because of his great work, I will now be designating him as permanent Chairman.” The appointment has caused a stir across the media landscape, as Carr has previously advocated for actions that would limit the influence of partisan media outlets.



Last month, when CBS News faced accusations of editing Vice President Kamala Harris’ interview with 60 Minutes, Carr highlighted the seriousness of the allegations, calling for a full investigation. The network came under scrutiny after airing two separate broadcasts with differing responses from Harris to the same question about Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s willingness to listen to the Biden-Harris administration. “The FCC does not regulate, or really even respond to, allegations of politically unfavorable coverage or legitimate editorial discretion,” Simington wrote in a statement to the Daily Caller.

“The recent complaint regarding WCBS-TV raises a fully different set of issues regarding whether or not coverage was intentionally distorted: reporting that something was said in response to a question that literally was not. I don’t know whether that’s true, but it’s a different issue,” the statement continued. Simington outlined steps that a commissioner appointed by Trump could take in a second term, ideas that Carr fully supported.

As CBS and its subsidiaries prepare to renew their broadcasting licenses, a Republican-led FCC could impose certain conditions, including requiring the release of the 60 Minutes interview transcript, according to an FCC source speaking to the Daily Caller. Carr’s appointment has raised concerns for CNN’s Brian Stelter, who criticized the incoming FCC chairman for his stance against pro-censorship initiatives like Newsguard, a platform that has been accused of demonetizing and de-platforming right-leaning media outlets. “Facebook, Google, Apple, Microsoft & others have played central roles in the censorship cartel. The Orwellian named NewsGuard along with ‘fact checking’ groups & ad agencies helped enforce one-sided narratives,” Carr wrote in an X post earlier this week. “The censorship cartel must be dismantled.”





Disclaimer: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.