{"id":670,"date":"2025-09-19T11:59:42","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T11:59:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globaltaalenthq.com\/?p=670"},"modified":"2025-09-22T09:00:17","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T09:00:17","slug":"fcc-commissioner-we-dont-have-the-authority-to-retaliate-against-broadcasters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globaltaalenthq.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/19\/fcc-commissioner-we-dont-have-the-authority-to-retaliate-against-broadcasters\/","title":{"rendered":"FCC commissioner: 'We don't have the authority' to retaliate against broadcasters"},"content":{"rendered":"

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Anna Gomez said Thursday that the independent regulatory agency<\/a> does not \u201chave the authority\u201d to retaliate against broadcasters over what they choose to run on air.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThat’s exactly the point, because we don’t have the authority to do this, because it’s against the law. We would not be able to actually take that final action, because on appeal, the FCC would be wrong on the facts and the law if, in fact, it retaliated against the \u2026 broadcasters, the local licensees, because of what they air,\u201d Gomez, an attorney who has served at the FCC for two years, said during an appearance on CNN\u2019s \u201cErin Burnett Outfront.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSo the threats are the point, and the capitulation is so disappointing, because what we are doing is eroding, little by little, the freedom of the press, the freedom of speech on which our democracy relies,\u201d she told host Erin Burnett. \u201cWe need the fourth estate to push back against the likes of me, to hold me and the government to account.\u201d <\/p>\n

Gomez\u2019s analysis comes two days after ABC indefinitely suspended<\/a> host Jimmy Kimmel’s show after the comedian received blowback<\/a> following comments he made Monday about the assassination of<\/a> conservative activist Charlie Kirk.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,\u201d Kimmel said during a recent \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live!\u201d episode.<\/p>\n

Hours before ABC\u2019s decision, FCC Chair<\/a> Brendan Carr, while on conservative commentator Benny Johnson\u2019s podcast, called on broadcasters<\/a> \u201cto step up and say this garbage to the extent that that\u2019s what comes down the pipe in the future isn\u2019t something that we think serves the needs of our local communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

The network’s decision, which came after Nexstar Media Group, which owns The Hill, announced its local affiliates would preempt Kimmel\u2019s show, was welcomed by Carr and celebrated<\/a> by President Trump and other administration officials<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some Democrats have pushed back<\/a> against Kimmel’s suspension \u2014 the latest since CBS announced the end<\/a> of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” earlier this year \u2014 and even called on the FCC chief to resign<\/a> in its wake.<\/p>\n

Kimmel planned to address Carr\u2019s remarks during the episode Wednesday.<\/p>\n

He spoke with Dana Walden, co-chair of Disney Entertainment, about it before the show, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday evening, citing people familiar with the matter. Walden and other senior executives thought Kimmel\u2019s approach could make the case worse, the Journal reported<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Earlier Thursday, Gomez said the Trump administration<\/a> is \u201cweaponizing its licensing authority in order to bring broadcasters to heel\u201d via the FCC.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI see this as a part of this administration\u2019s campaign of censorship and control,\u201d said at the Axios Media Trends Live event. \u201cAnd what it\u2019s doing is, it\u2019s weaponizing its licensing authority in order to bring broadcasters to heel, and to really think twice about what they say about this administration.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Anna Gomez said Thursday that the independent regulatory agency does not \u201chave the ...<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":672,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globaltaalenthq.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/670"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globaltaalenthq.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globaltaalenthq.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globaltaalenthq.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globaltaalenthq.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=670"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/globaltaalenthq.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/670\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":671,"href":"https:\/\/globaltaalenthq.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/670\/revisions\/671"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globaltaalenthq.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globaltaalenthq.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=670"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globaltaalenthq.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=670"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globaltaalenthq.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=670"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}