Federal Communications Commission chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has dismissed four complaints against local TV stations that “seek to weaponize” the agency and are “at odds” with the First Amendment.
“We draw a bright line at a moment when clarity about government interference with the free press is needed more than ever,” Rosenworcel said in a statement. “The action we take makes clear two things. First, the FCC should not be the President’s speech police. Second, the FCC should not be journalism’s censor-in-chief.”
Three of the complaints, all filed by The Center for American Rights, accuse ABC Philadelphia’s WPVI-TV of alleged bias by favoring Vice President Kamala Harris when the network hosted the September presidential debate, New York’s WCBS-TV for “news distortion” for the way a “60 Minutes” interview with Harris was edited, and New York’s WNBC-TV of violating the FCC’s equal time rule when Harris appeared on “Saturday Night Live” during the weekend leading up to the presidential election.