Policing News, Policing DEI: The FCC’s Shifting Priorities Erode Its Credibility

My colleague Mark Jamison recently observed that “[f]or decades, well-functioning independent regulatory agencies have been a stabilizing force.” Though primarily addressing the Federal Trade Commission following President Donald Trump’s firing of two Democratic commissioners, Jamison highlights four “core principles of stability, predictability, legitimacy, and credibility” for the FTC’s success that also could apply to another independent agency, the Federal Communications Commission. Unfortunately, the predictability that exists at the FCC under Republican Chairman Brendan Carr’s leadership is that most Democrats (and some Republicans) will view many of its prominent investigations––ones into programming on CBS, ABC, and NBC, a news story on KCBS radio, and underwriting announcements on NPR and PBS––as blatantly partisan efforts to aid Trump and attack press freedom. This perception erodes the FCC’s legitimacy and credibility. When President Trump elevated Carr as chair, the new Chairman said he looked “forward to collaborating with the Trump Administration.” Carr is taking collaboration to a hand-in-glove level that’s eroding the credibility of––in Carr-like parlance––“the Trump FCC” while shredding any semblance of independence.