A group of prominent former Federal Communications Commission (FCC) officials filed a pleading on Tuesday urging the agency to reject petitions to deny renewal of broadcast licenses for eight ABC-owned local television stations. The filing argues that the Brendan Carr-led FCC is sending a “chilling message” to broadcasters by allowing the challenge to proceed, after the network’s licenses were placed up for early renewal in late April following criticism of ABC by Donald Trump and Melania Trump.
Who is backing the filing?
The coalition includes former FCC chairs and senior staffers appointed by both Democratic and Republican presidents. Among them are Mark S Fowler, who served as FCC chair during Ronald Reagan’s presidency; Alfred C Sikes, who served as FCC chair during George HW Bush’s presidency; Thomas E Wheeler, who served as FCC chair during Barack Obama’s presidency; and several high-ranking lawyers and advisers to past commissioners.
“This early license renewal proceeding is unprecedented in the history of the Federal Communications Commission and a grave violation of both the Communications Act and the Constitution,” the coalition wrote in the filing. “Through this proceeding, the FCC seeks to censor Disney’s and ABC’s speech and send a chilling message to all broadcasters: carry speech we don’t like at your peril.”
The group said the ABC matter should be viewed as part of a broader pattern by the current FCC leadership. In that context, the coalition described the order as “the latest attack in a sustained campaign by Chairman Carr and the of threatening legal sanctions against licensees whose speech President Trump dislikes”.
Why are the licenses being challenged?
The filing responds to petitions submitted by conservative media watchdog the Media Research Center (MRC) and the Center for American Rights (CAR), a conservative legal organization that is closely aligned with Carr and has initiated several complaints against television networks premised on accusations of liberal bias. CAR’s petition to deny ABC’s license renewal accused the network of “[ignoring] long-standing Commission precedents and principles protecting the integrity of the news” and “[engaging] in explicit racial and gender discrimination”.
The former officials argued that the petitions should be denied because they would force the FCC into “content and viewpoint regulation” and into policing alleged bias by punishing a network for editorial decision-making. They said that would amount to “a stunning – and plainly unconstitutional – expansion of the Commission’s role”.
“As former Chairs, Commissioners, Chiefs of Staff, General Counsels and Bureau Chiefs, we call on the Commission to respect the constitutional and congressional prohibitions on its ‘power of censorship’ and terminate this proceeding,” the group wrote.
What happens next?
Interested parties have until 5 August to reply to the petitions to deny ABC’s licenses. After that, the FCC could either grant the extension requests, which appears unlikely, or schedule hearings on the matter. The process has no clear timetable, leaving ABC and its eight local television stations facing uncertainty over their long-term ability to continue broadcasting.
Key Facts
- The filing was submitted on Tuesday by former FCC officials from both parties.
- It concerns renewal of broadcast licenses for eight ABC-owned local television stations.
- The stations were put up for early renewal in late April after criticism of ABC by Donald Trump and Melania Trump.
- Replies to the petitions are due by 5 August.
- The petitions were filed by the Media Research Center and the Center for American Rights.
