(The Guardian) FCC commissioner accuses CBS of 'corporate capitulation' in Colbert row
We start with FCC commissioner Anna M Gomez criticizing CBS for what she called “corporate capitulation in the face of this administration’s broader campaign to censor and control speech”.
Gomez, the only Democrat on the FCC, was appointed by former president Joe Biden to the five-person board in 2023. Her comments follow talkshow host Stephen Colbert accusing the Trump administration and CBS of censorship after he said the network told him not to air a television interview with a Texas Democrat running for Senate.
Gomez said in a statement: This is yet another troubling example of corporate capitulation in the face of this administration’s broader campaign to censor and control speech.
The FCC has no lawful authority to pressure broadcasters for political purposes or to create a climate that chills free expression. CBS is fully protected under the First Amendment to determine what interviews it airs, which makes its decision to yield to political pressure all the more disappointing.
On his show, Colbert told viewers of the Late Show that network lawyers told him he was also prohibited from talking about their refusal to air his interview with James Talarico, a Texas state representative seeking his party’s nomination to challenge the Republican incumbent, John Cornyn, for a Senate seat in November. “He was supposed to be here, but we were told in no uncertain terms by our network’s lawyers, who called us directly, that we could not have him on the broadcast,” Colbert said, stemming from a concern that it would trigger a legal requirement to provide equal access to Talarico’s campaign rivals.
In the end, the interview was instead broadcast on Colbert’s YouTube page, which is out of the remit of the Federal Communications Commission. CBS has disputed Colbert’s account, saying that the network only “provided legal guidance” that broadcasting the interview could violate the FCC directive.
We start with FCC commissioner Anna M Gomez criticizing CBS for what she called “corporate capitulation in the face of this administration’s broader campaign to censor and control speech”.
Gomez, the only Democrat on the FCC, was appointed by former president Joe Biden to the five-person board in 2023. Her comments follow talkshow host Stephen Colbert accusing the Trump administration and CBS of censorship after he said the network told him not to air a television interview with a Texas Democrat running for Senate.
Gomez said in a statement: This is yet another troubling example of corporate capitulation in the face of this administration’s broader campaign to censor and control speech.
The FCC has no lawful authority to pressure broadcasters for political purposes or to create a climate that chills free expression. CBS is fully protected under the First Amendment to determine what interviews it airs, which makes its decision to yield to political pressure all the more disappointing.
On his show, Colbert told viewers of the Late Show that network lawyers told him he was also prohibited from talking about their refusal to air his interview with James Talarico, a Texas state representative seeking his party’s nomination to challenge the Republican incumbent, John Cornyn, for a Senate seat in November. “He was supposed to be here, but we were told in no uncertain terms by our network’s lawyers, who called us directly, that we could not have him on the broadcast,” Colbert said, stemming from a concern that it would trigger a legal requirement to provide equal access to Talarico’s campaign rivals.
In the end, the interview was instead broadcast on Colbert’s YouTube page, which is out of the remit of the Federal Communications Commission. CBS has disputed Colbert’s account, saying that the network only “provided legal guidance” that broadcasting the interview could violate the FCC directive.
