Representative Dave Min Leads Letter to FCC Chairman Raising First Amendment and Editorial Independence Concerns
Rep. Min: “Freedom of the press and the independence of broadcast journalism are foundational principles of our constitutional system. It is essential that the FCC’s regulatory actions, direct or indirect, don’t have a chilling effect on protected speech”
Washington, D.C. — Today, Representative Dave Min (CA-47) sent a letter to Brendan Carr, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), raising serious concerns following reports that CBS executives prevented late-night host Stephen Colbert from airing an interview with Texas State Representative James Talarico due to fears of potential regulatory retribution. In the letter, Rep. Min questions whether recent FCC actions and public statements surrounding the agency’s “equal time” rule have created pressure that could influence editorial decision-making at broadcast networks.
The full letter is available here.
Rep. Min wrote, “I write to express serious concerns regarding recent reporting that CBS executives and counsel prevented late-night host Stephen Colbert from airing an interview with Texas State Representative James Talarico due to potential retribution.1 These reports raise serious First Amendment concerns, as well as concerns about editorial independence, potential political pressure, and the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) troubling campaign to apply its “equal time” rule to late-night talk show hosts. Given the FCC’s longstanding role in safeguarding the public interest in broadcast licensing, you must provide Congress, and the American public, with additional clarity about this situation.”
Among other things, the letter asks whether the FCC has received communications from CBS or its parent company related to political programming decisions in regulatory matters, what safeguards exist to ensure review processes cannot influence editorial decisions, and whether recent public statements by elected and appointed officials’ could be interpreted as pressuring programming decisions. The letter also directly probes Chairman Carr’s previous statements regarding the FCC’s status as an independent commission.
###