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In one of her last acts as the head of the Federal Communications Commission under President Joe Biden, Jessica Rosenworcel dismissed multiple efforts by activist groups to censor media companies for unfavorable coverage.
As I wrote at the time, Rosenworcel’s statement included a grim warning about now-President Trump’s threats to the free press:
It may seem quaint to draw attention like this to broadcast licenses, in an era when so many of us seek out information we want, when we want it, from where we want it, on any screen handy. But these stations remain a vital source of local and national news. And there is nothing antiquated about the idea that the FCC has a duty to respect the Constitution.
The former FCC chairwoman’s fears may already be coming to fruition. On Thursday, new FCC chairman Brendan Carr, a Project 2025 author and right-wing critic of the media, launched probes into National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service, two outlets that receive federal funding and have been often been targeted by conservatives. (Remember when Mitt Romney was going to “fire Big Bird”?)
NPR reported on excerpts of a letter from Carr (which has not been verified by MSNBC or NBC News) in which he said, “I am concerned that NPR and PBS broadcasts could be violating federal law by airing commercials,” and that, "In particular, it is possible that NPR and PBS member stations are broadcasting underwriting announcements that cross the line into prohibited commercial advertisements.” NPR goes on to note that public broadcasting stations are forbidden from running commercials and quotes executives from both outlets saying their companies have acted within the law.
It’s noteworthy that Project 2025, the far-right blueprint for governance to which Trump’s administration is closely adhering to in his second term, calls for defunding PBS and NPR. Beyond that, Trump has accused NPR of being a “liberal disinformation machine” and last year demanded that its funding be stripped. And during his first administration, Trump repeatedly tried to strip funding from the public media outlets, too.
The FCC’s probes into NPR and PBS can also be seen as a new front in Trump’s broader assault on the media. As I wrote in December, Trump has been pursuing private legal action against various media outlets, including the recent multimillion-dollar settlement of a defamation claim against ABC News and its parent company, and an ongoing lawsuit accusing an Iowa newspaper and well-known pollster of “election interference” for publishing a poll he didn’t like. CBS staffers are also reportedly concerned their parent company is preparing to settle with Trump over a dubious lawsuit that accused the outlet of editing a pre-election “60 Minutes” interview to favor Kamala Harris during the campaign.
The NPR and PBS probes seem pretty clearly to be the latest steps in Trump’s developed a track record of attacking the free press.