President Trump threatens NBC over critical coverage

President Donald Trump suggested that media companies which report critically on him should be punished by having their television station licenses revoked. In a tweet, the President decried the supposed "fake news coming out of NBC and the Networks." He asked, "At what point is it appropriate to challenge their License? Bad for country!" President Trump seems to have been furious over an NBC News report that said he wanted a tenfold increase in the US' nuclear arsenal. He claimed the story was "pure fiction" and "made up to demean."

Trump's veiled threat may contribute to the increasingly-chilly atmosphere journalists in the US are working under during his Administration. But his threat is essentially toothless. First of all, there is no single license for NBC or any other national television network. Licenses are granted to individual local stations -- and NBC doesn't even own most of the stations that broadcast its content across the country. And it is extremely unusual for any station's license to be taken away for any reason, much less for a political vendetta. The licenses for local television stations are subject to review by the Federal Communications Commission every eight years. It would not be possible for President Trump or his allies to challenge all of the licenses held by NBC in one fell swoop. Individuals who reside in the areas the local channel airs would have to submit complaints to the FCC.