CBS probe "unprecedented," say chairs who served under George H.W. Bush and Obama.
Then-FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler sits at a table and speaks in front of a microphone during a Senate hearing. Then-FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler sits at a table and speaks in front of a microphone during a Senate hearing.
Tom Wheeler, then-Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, testifies at a Senate committee hearing on September 15, 2016. Credit: Getty Images | Bill Clark
The Federal Communications Commission's news distortion investigation into CBS drew a public rebuke from a bipartisan group of five former FCC commissioners, including two former chairmen.
The group criticizing current Chairman Brendan Carr includes Republican Alfred Sikes, the FCC chair from 1989 to 1993, and Democrat Tom Wheeler, the FCC chair from 2013 to 2017. They were joined by Republican Rachelle Chong, Democrat Ervin Duggan, and Democrat Gloria Tristani, all former commissioners.
"These comments are submitted to emphasize the unprecedented nature of this news distortion proceeding, and to express our strong concern that the Federal Communications Commission may be seeking to censor the news media in a manner antithetical to the First Amendment," the former chairs and commissioners told the FCC in a filing this week.
The Center for American Rights filed the news distortion complaint against flagship station WCBS over the editing of a CBS 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris. The complaint was dismissed in January by then-Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. Carr, Trump's pick to lead the FCC, revived the complaint shortly after taking over.
“Editorial judgment protected by First Amendment”
The Center for American Rights' claim of news distortion is based on an allegation that CBS misled viewers by airing two different responses from Harris to the same question about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, one on 60 Minutes and the other on Face the Nation. But CBS provided the FCC with a transcript showing that the programs aired two different sentences from the same response.
"The transcript confirms that the editing choices at issue lie well within the editorial judgment protected by the First Amendment and that the Commission's January 16 dismissal of the complaint was legally correct," the former chairs and commissioners wrote. "Yet the Commission has reopened the complaint and taken the highly unusual step of inviting public comment, even though the proceeding is adjudicatory in nature. These developments have unjustifiably prolonged this investigation and raise questions about the actual purpose of the proceeding."
The FCC has historically punished licensees only after dramatic violations, like "elaborate hoaxes, internal conspiracies, and reports conjured from whole cloth," they wrote. There is "no credible argument" that the allegations against CBS "belong in the same category."
"The Commission's departures from its typical practice and precedent are especially troubling when viewed in context. This Administration has made no secret of its desire to revoke the licenses of broadcasters that cover it in ways the President considers unfavorable," the comments said.
FCC chair “not close” to dismissing complaint
CBS this week urged the FCC to deny or dismiss the complaint and close the proceeding without delay. "As commenters across the ideological spectrum overwhelmingly agree, the transcript and unedited interview footage demonstrate that CBS engaged in commonplace editorial practices—specifically, by deciding what material from a lengthy sit-down interview would air in a time-limited television format," CBS said. "A chorus of ideologically diverse commenters likewise agree that any adverse action against CBS concerning this matter would violate the First Amendment and chill speech, all while creating the prospect that the Commission will serve as the arbiter of acceptable journalism going forward."
Carr said he is not ready to close the investigation. "We're not close in my view to the position of dismissing that complaint at this point," he told Reuters on Tuesday.
Carr said in November that the news distortion complaint would factor into the FCC's review of CBS owner Paramount's transfer of TV broadcast station licenses to Skydance. A New York Post report this week said the merger "remains in FCC purgatory" and that the Harris interview is "a key element" holding up FCC approval of the transaction.
"Carr believes CBS has done nothing to bring the commission's investigation to an end, including a fix for the alleged pervasive bias in its programming, according to people with knowledge of the matter," the report said. One anonymous FCC official was quoted as saying that "the case isn't close to being settled right now."
While Carr is eager to investigate news stations accused of bias against President Trump, that wasn't the case with the FCC chair during Trump's first term. In 2017, amid Trump calling for broadcast licenses to be revoked, Republican Ajit Pai said that "the FCC under my leadership will stand for the First Amendment. And under the law, the FCC does not have the authority to revoke a license of a broadcast station based on the content of a particular newscast."