Stephen Colbert, Trump and the clash over the FCC equal time rule

It was an bonzer media moment: CBS late-night big Stephen Colbert connected Tuesday publically blasted his ain leader implicit its handling of his interrogation with Democratic U.S. Senate campaigner James Talarico of Texas.

Colbert contended that his ain web prevented him from airing the interrogation successful an effort to appease the Trump administration, which CBS has denied. He chose alternatively to enactment the sit-down with the Texas authorities legislator connected YouTube, which is not regulated by the FCC.

The standoff not lone highlighted the simmering tensions wrong CBS with the late-night host, it besides marked the latest flash constituent successful the ongoing clash betwixt the Trump medication and starring media and amusement figures — including different late-night hosts Seth Meyers and Jimmy Kimmel — who person been openly captious of the president’s policies.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr has been starring the charge, aggressively attempting to wield the agelong dormant adjacent clip rules forcing broadcast TV stations to connection adjacent clip to opposing candidates arsenic a means of influencing the bequest media companies who President Trump believes treats him unfairly.

Carr contends the effort is simply a agelong overdue corrective to combat what helium and Trump judge is wide bias successful broadcast web quality coverage. He has adjacent threatened to propulsion TV presumption licenses if programmers don’t get successful line.

Last fall, helium warned ABC that it could suffer its TV presumption licenses aft Kimmel made remarks connected his programme astir slain right-wing activistic Charlie Kirk that upset conservatives. Two large TV presumption groups pulled the programme and the web suspended Kimmel‘s programme for a week.

But experts accidental the efforts — on with the caller apprehension of erstwhile CNN writer Don Lemon implicit civilian rights charges — airs a menace to constitutionally protected state of code and would apt look tribunal challenges.

“We don’t privation the authorities trying to marque decisions arsenic to what counts arsenic governmental code and what doesn’t and what counts arsenic fairness and what doesn’t,” media advisor Michael Harrison told The Times past month.

Some experts are besides skeptical that Carr volition ever marque bully connected those threats done greater enforcement of the adjacent clip provision.

Andrew Jay Schwartzman, a nationalist involvement communications attorney, said Carr is utilizing his bully pulpit astatine the FCC to intimidate “a timorous broadcasting industry.”

“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert “ connected July 23, 2024.

(Scott Kowalchyk / CBS)

“It’s conscionable each bluster,” said Schwartzman. “Broadcasters are much funny successful short-term regulatory alleviation from the FCC, and successful the lawsuit of [CBS parent] Paramount, getting support of a imaginable Warner Bros. Discovery deal.”

CBS cited fiscal losses arsenic the crushed for the cancellation of Colbert’s show, which ends successful May, conscionable 2 months earlier CBS genitor Paramount Global closed its merger woody with Skydance Media, which required regulatory support from the Trump administration. Paramount besides has been attempting a hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery.

Paramount besides drew scrutiny implicit its arguable determination to wage $16 cardinal to settee Trump’s ineligible salvo against “60 Minutes” implicit the editing of an interrogation with his 2024 opponent, then-Vice President Kamala Harris. Most ineligible analysts viewed the lawsuit arsenic frivolous.

Jeffrey McCall, a communications prof astatine DePauw University, said helium understands wherefore CBS did not privation to invitation FCC scrutiny.

“CBS could person different matters successful beforehand of the FCC,” McCall said. “So, I don’t blasted CBS for trying to archer Colbert like, ‘hey, backmost off.’”

But McCall added that helium sees nary crushed for the FCC to extremity oregon curtail the exemption daytime and late-night tv speech shows person from laws requiring stations to connection adjacent broadcast opportunities to governmental candidates.

“They person a batch to bash different and I’m conscionable not definite this is worthy their trouble,” helium said.

The adjacent clip rules were devised astatine a clip erstwhile consumers had a constricted fig of media options. Broadcast TV is nary longer ascendant successful the epoch of streaming arsenic evidenced by however the Talarico interrogation drew 8 cardinal views connected YouTube — much than 3 times the emblematic TV assemblage for Colbert’s “Late Show.”

Schwartzman noted that adjacent clip proviso cases are typically resolved quickly, arsenic the regularisation lone applies during an predetermination campaign.

If Talarico’s interrogation had aired connected TV and his opponents requested time, CBS would person to accommodate them up of the Texas superior predetermination connected March 3. (The web would not person been required to springiness clip to Republican candidates).

CBS could person fulfilled the petition by providing clip connected its affiliated stations successful Texas. The opposing candidates did not person to look connected Colbert’s show.

“The remedy is you person to springiness them airtime,” Schwartzman said. “That’s all.”

CBS wanted Colbert to steer wide of Talarico due to the fact that the FCC antecedently announced it is “investigating” ABC implicit the candidate’s quality connected “The View,” according to a web enforcement not authorized to sermon the substance publicly. Talarico was connected the daytime speech amusement Feb. 2, which has led to the FCC launching an “enforcement action” connected the matter.

Representatives from CBS and ABC declined comment.

Appearing Wednesday connected Fox News Channel’s “The Ingraham Angle,” Carr brushed disconnected accusations by Democrats that helium was utilizing the regularisation to soundlessness their candidates.

“What we’re doing present is simply applying the instrumentality connected the books,” Carr said.

When big Laura Ingraham noted that if CBS had aired the Talarico interview, it would person meant escaped airtime for Tarico’s superior hostile and high-profile Trump professional Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), Carr replied, “Ironically, yes.”

But Schwartzman noted that if the FCC punished a web for ignoring the rule, the determination would apt beryllium challenged successful tribunal and instrumentality years to resolve. Even if the argumentation were violated, that would not beryllium capable to get a presumption licence pulled.

“A azygous usurpation oregon adjacent a mates of violations of FCC argumentation are meaningless,” Schwartzman said. “You person to show a signifier of violations.”

Carr has besides publically supported Nexstar Media Group’s projected $6.2-billion merger with Tegna, which would necessitate the authorities to assistance the ownership headdress that limits TV presumption owners to sum of 39% of the U.S. with their outlets.

Not surprisingly, the merger has the enactment of Trump, who is pals with apical Nexstar enforcement Sean Compton, who oversees its cablegram transmission NewsNation.

“We request much contention against THE ENEMY, the Fake News National TV Networks,” Trump wrote Feb. 7 connected Truth Social. “Letting Good Deals get done similar Nexstar — Tegna volition assistance sound retired the Fake News due to the fact that determination volition beryllium much competition, and astatine a higher and much blase level.”

How Nexstar could instrumentality connected the broadcast networks is simply a mystery. Nexstar is highly babelike connected its affiliations with ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox owed to their contracts with the NFL, which supply the stations with their highest-rated programming. Those web affiliations besides springiness Nexstar leverage successful its negotiations to get carriage connected cablegram and outer providers.