Brendan Carr threatens broadcast licenses over Iran war coverage
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr wrote on X On Saturday, he said broadcasters must correct course or risk losing their broadcast licenses, citing Donald Trump’s recent displeasure over mainstream media coverage of the war in Iran.
“Broadcasters that spread hoaxes and news distortions – also known as fake news – now have an opportunity to correct course before their license renewals,” Carr wrote. “The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest and if they don’t, they will lose their licenses.”
Carr linked to a Truth Social post from Trump, in which the president condemned “intentionally misleading headlines” about U.S. tanker planes being targeted by Saudi Arabia. Trump claimed that the planes were not “hit” or “destroyed” and that four of the five planes involved in the attack had “already returned to service.” Trump went on to call out “lowlife ‘papers’ like the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, who ‘want us to lose the war.’
Important to note that the FCC chairman has no control over papers like the WSJ or NYT. However, Carr, who has been outspoken about silencing unfavorable TV coverage of the Trump administration, appears to be sending a warning signal to broadcasters in a preemptive effort to muddle their reporting.
Carr has not made any statements about major news organizations during his tenure under Trump. Instead, his biggest impact was in the talk show and late-night TV space. In February, the FFC chairman appeared on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” and confirmed that the commission had initiated enforcement proceedings against what he said were equal-time rule violations involving political candidates by ABC’s “The View.”
“Gone are the days when these traditional media broadcasters get to decide what we can say, what we can think, who we can vote for,” Carr said during his appearance. “I think President Trump has played a key role in breaking the facade that they still get to call the shots here.”
Because they are related to news programs, talk shows have long been exempt from the equal-time rule, which requires equal coverage of both sides of the political spectrum. But Carr has publicly stated that he plans to change that. “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” is the latest victim of the shift. In February, Colbert said his home network, CBS, refused to air his interview with Texas state Rep. James Talarico, fearing the FCC would come knocking and cite equal time violations.
