Led by Trump-picked chairman, the FCC takes aim at media companies

NBC, ABC, CBS, PBS, NPR and KCBS radio all have one thing in common: They’re under scrutiny from the Federal Communications Commission, which is now being led by Brendan Carr, a Republican who has praised President Donald Trump as a leader in combating bias in the media.

NBCUniversal and its parent company, Comcast, were the latest media companies to receive word of an investigation by the FCC. In a letter sent to Comcast CEO Brian Roberts on Tuesday, Carr wrote that the FCC’s enforcement bureau will probe whether the company was “promoting invidious forms of discrimination in violation of FCC regulations and civil rights laws” by prioritizing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Carr said he will ensure that media companies are doing away with such DEI efforts, which were targeted in an executive order signed by Trump last month.

“Promoting invidious forms of discrimination cannot be squared with any reasonable interpretation of federal law,” he wrote. Carr asked the media company to provide “an accounting of Comcast’s and NBCUniversal’s DEI initiatives, preferences, mandates, policies, programs, and activities.”

In a statement, Comcast said the company will cooperate with the FCC’s investigation. “For decades, our company has been built on a foundation of integrity and respect for all of our employees and customers,” the company said.

Word of the investigation comes approximately a week after CBS handed over a trove of proprietary production material after being compelled by the FCC to do so as part of a news-distortion complaint made against the network. Two days later, the FCC published the material online, which includes transcripts and unpublished videos from a “60 Minutes” interview conducted in September with Vice President Kamala Harris.

Carr also chose to open a docket for members of the public to provide comment on the case against CBS. So far, at least 240 comments have been made.

Carr began his term as chairman by reopening three investigations that had been closed by his predecessor, Jessica Rosenworcel. In addition to the news-distortion complaint against CBS, Carr resurrected a complaint against ABC for its moderation of the Sept. 10 presidential debate between Harris and Trump, and a complaint against NBC for having Harris appear on “Saturday Night Live” three days before the election.

Ishan Mehta, who serves as director of the media and democracy program at Common Cause, pointed out that Carr chose not to reinstate a complaint that had been filed against a Fox station in Philadelphia, arguing that the station should lose its license over Fox News’ coverage of the 2020 election and revelations that stemmed from a defamation suit filed against the network by Dominion Voting Systems. “There is no even attempt to make it seem objective at this point,” Mehta said. “That is the appalling part.”

The FCC’s actions have been met with pushback by some of the media companies being investigated, by press advocates who say the commission should not be meddling in editorial decision-making and even from members of the commission. FCC Commissioner Anna M. Gomez, who was nominated by President Joe Biden in 2023, said the commission under Carr “has been implementing the will of the administration” and that its actions “set a dangerous precedent that undermines the trust in the FCC’s role as an impartial regulator.”

“I believe that the FCC should not be interfering in decisions by news organizations about their content,” Gomez said in an interview with the Washington Post. “It’s important that we respect the freedom of the press, it’s important that we respect the First Amendment, and it’s also important that we follow our Communications Act directions that we not censor broadcasters.”

Gomez also criticized Carr for seeking public comment on the CBS investigation. “It’s not done,” she said. “Based on what we have, (the complaint) should have been dismissed. Period.”

Carr said the complaint could have bearing on the commission’s review of a pending merger between CBS’ parent company, Paramount Global, and entertainment company Skydance Media.

Michael J. Copps, who served as an FCC commissioner between 2001 and 2011, put his criticism more bluntly: “The new FCC scares the hell out of me.”

“I’m not saying that the FCC has never been political, but at no time in my experience of it has it been nearly as political and as directed by anti-government ideology as it is right now,” Copps added.

Tom Wheeler served as chairman of the FCC from 2013 to 2017, during Barack Obama’s presidency. “The history is that we were treated independently,” he told the Post. “Barack Obama said to me early on, ‘I will never call you.’ And he was true to his word.”

Wheeler called on Comcast to push back forcefully against Carr and the FCC’s investigation into the company’s DEI initiatives, which the chairman said is the start of a broader investigation into such practices among licensees. “Comcast has the opportunity to put its finger in the dike,” Wheeler said. “I hope Comcast stands up and says, ‘Show me where the law is being broken.’ ”

On Wednesday, three Senate Democrats sent a letter to Carr and fellow Republican-appointed FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington expressing “serious concern” about the FCC’s recent actions toward broadcasting companies, which it said were taken “without any evidence of wrongdoing in what appears to be an attempt to intimidate broadcasters for political purposes.” “This weaponization of the FCC is unacceptable,” the senators wrote, urging Carr and his colleague to “immediately cease such conduct and respect the First Amendment.”

The complaints targeting CBS, ABC and NBC were filed by the Center for American Rights, a conservative legal organization.

Daniel Suhr, who serves as president, said he was “thrilled” that CBS released its transcript and video of the “60 Minutes” segment. “Seeing the commission bring transparency to ‘60 Minutes’ is a major step forward,” he said.

And he applauded the work that Carr is doing at the FCC by opening up investigations into a variety of media companies.

“We appreciate Chairman Carr’s leadership in doing this,” Suhr said. “I’m encouraged by the initial steps we’re seeing from the chairman, and I hope to see more of it.”

Carr, who was not made available for an interview, has emerged as a power center in the ongoing clashes between the Trump administration and the media industry.

“I think we’re seeing that this chairman is not afraid to step up and use his full discretionary authorities,” Wheeler said.

Already, the Defense Department has dislodged several legacy media companies from their physical workspaces in the Pentagon as part of a “rotation” program. And this week, the White House barred Associated Press reporters from covering official events because of the news organization’s decision to continue using the name Gulf of Mexico, a position press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended during a briefing Wednesday.

On Monday, the Daily Beast reported that Carr has told associates that he’s having “the time of his life” launching investigations into media companies.

Rather than contesting the reporting, Carr reposted the article on X. “Find a job you love,” he wrote, “and you will never have to work a day in your life.”