FCC chairman defends actions against ABC, says broadcasters must operate 'in the public interest'
- FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said broadcasters receive valuable access to public airwaves and must operate in the public interest.
- Carr defended the FCC’s recent actions involving ABC in an interview on Fox Business Network, saying the agency is trying to restore that standard.
- ABC accused the FCC of trying to chill constitutionally protected speech and of retaliating because the agency dislikes the political content of ABC programs.
- The FCC has opened an early review of eight ABC local broadcast licenses, and ABC has formally opposed the review.
- ABC is also disputing FCC efforts to make 'The View' subject to equal-time rules, while Carr has also criticized diversity, equity and inclusion practices at the company.
- ABC said more than 140,000 public comments filed with the FCC were overwhelmingly supportive of its position.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr defended the agency’s recent actions against ABC, saying broadcasters have a duty to operate in the public interest. In a Fox Business Network interview, Carr said broadcasters are granted access to valuable public airwaves and are expected to meet public-interest obligations in return.
ABC has accused the FCC of trying to chill free speech and retaliating because of the political content of its programming. The network made those claims in a filing opposing the FCC’s early review of eight ABC local broadcast licenses, a review the agency began in April before the licenses are due to expire.
The dispute is part of a broader confrontation between ABC and the FCC. ABC is also challenging the agency’s effort to apply equal-time rules to 'The View,' which the network says was previously classified as a bona fide news program and therefore exempt.
Carr also said broadcasters should not run 'news distortions' or 'broadcast hoax' and referenced diversity, equity and inclusion practices at the company. ABC said public comments submitted to the FCC were overwhelmingly supportive of its position and described the level of support as unusual for a license renewal proceeding.
FCC主席为针对ABC的行动辩护，称广播机构必须‘以公共利益为先’
美国联邦通信委员会主席布伦丹·卡尔为该机构近期针对ABC的行动辩护，称广播机构负有以公共利益为导向运营的责任。他在福克斯商业频道接受采访时表示，广播公司获得了使用宝贵公共电波的机会，因此理应承担相应的公共利益义务。
ABC则指责FCC试图压制言论自由，并认为这是对其节目政治内容不满后的报复。该公司是在就FCC提前启动的8家ABC地方广播执照审查提交反对意见时作出上述表态的；这项审查于4月启动，早于执照到期时间。
这场争议也是ABC与FCC之间更大范围冲突的一部分。ABC还在反对FCC试图让《The View》适用平等时段规则，ABC称该节目此前已被认定为真正的新闻节目，因此不受该规则约束。
卡尔还表示，广播机构不应传播“新闻歪曲”或“广播骗局”，并提到了该公司的多元、公平和包容做法。ABC则称，提交给FCC的公众意见几乎都支持其立场，并表示这种支持力度在执照续期程序中并不寻常。