FCC chairman defends actions against ABC, says broadcasters must operate
'in the public interest'
[August 01, 2026]
By JOCELYN NOVECK
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr on Friday
defended his agency’s recent actions against ABC, saying broadcasters
have a duty to “operate in the public interest” and the FCC is merely
trying to restore that standard.
Broadcasters like ABC, Carr said in an interview on the Fox Business
Network, “struck a deal with the American people. You broadcasters get
subsidized access, free access to a valuable public resource, the
airwaves, worth billions of dollars. In exchange, you have to operate in
the public interest.”
“Look, as a country, we should have a trusted, respected news media, and
we’re not there,” Carr told anchor Maria Bartiromo. “So I hope more
broadcasters return to their public interest obligations.”
The FCC has been pushing ABC
The remarks came a day after ABC, issuing another salvo in an
ever-escalating battle with President Donald Trump’s FCC, again accused
the agency of a brazen attempt to chill its constitutionally protected
free speech — and by extension, that of every media outlet in the
country.
ABC accused the agency of retaliating against it simply because it
doesn't like the political content of ABC’s shows.
The network's new comments came in its latest filing to the agency,
expressing its formal opposition to the FCC's early review, launched in
April, of eight ABC local broadcast licenses well before they expire.
“There is no question why the Commission is singling out these eight
stations,” the filing said. “Each is owned by ABC, and the
Administration has openly and repeatedly called for the revocation of
ABC’s licenses, because it dislikes the content and viewpoints expressed
on ABC network programs.”
“The retaliation against ABC is a signal to every media company in the
country,” it continued. “Accommodate the Administration’s view of what
news coverage should look like or pay the price. … The tools vary; the
objective does not: a media industry too fearful of official reprisal to
report the news freely. “
The license review is only one part of a long-simmering confrontation
between ABC and the FCC. The network is also battling Carr’s efforts to
make "The View,” a talk show whose hosts and guests have frequently
angered Trump, subject to equal-time rules — a question ABC says the
agency itself resolved more than two decades ago.
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Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr departs an
event in the East Room of the White House, March 20, 2026, in
Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
 The rules require granting equal
airtime to competing candidates for office. Bona fide news programs
are exempt. The FCC qualified the show as such in a 2002 decision.
Kimmel has also been a target
Trump has also repeatedly called for late-night host Jimmy Kimmel to
be fired.
When the FCC launched its early review of ABC’s licenses in April,
it came amid a fight with Kimmel over a joke that offended Trump.
The agency, however, cited diversity, equity and inclusion practices
at the company, and Carr brought them up in the Fox interview.
Operating in the public interest, he said, “means you can’t run news
distortions, broadcast hoax. You can’t be engaging in this invidious
form of DEI discrimination.” He did not elaborate.
In its filing Thursday, ABC referred to over 140,000 comments from
viewers, part of the public comment period on the issue, posted to
the FCC website — more than 95% of which it said were supportive of
ABC’s position.
“The outpouring of support for the Stations has been unprecedented
for a license renewal proceeding," it said. “These supporters span
the ideological spectrum but share a fundamental commitment to free
speech and press freedom.”
In its lengthy filing, ABC also noted how rare it is that the FCC
would call for early license renewal applications.
“Until the day before the Commission took this step, it had not
called for license renewal applications ahead of schedule for more
than fifty years,” ABC said. “The Commission’s departure from those
norms lays bare what is really going on: the Administration is
retaliating against ABC for the exercise of its First Amendment
rights.
"That alone should stop these proceedings in their tracks.“
___
Jocelyn Noveck covers the intersection of media and entertainment
for The Associated Press.
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