{"id":5528,"date":"2025-01-28T20:00:29","date_gmt":"2025-01-28T20:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/firstamendmentlawreview\/?p=5528"},"modified":"2025-01-28T20:00:29","modified_gmt":"2025-01-28T20:00:29","slug":"trumps-call-to-action-free-press-at-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/firstamendmentlawreview\/trumps-call-to-action-free-press-at-risk\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s Call to Action: Free Press at Risk"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By: Maggie Caudle<\/a>, Vol. 23 Staff Writer<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Background<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the first presidential debate on ABC in September, Donald Trump called for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to \u201ctake away<\/a>\u201d the network\u2019s broadcasting license. Trump accused moderators of treating him unfairly during the debate, calling it \u201crigged<\/a>\u201d and saying ABC deserved to have their broadcasting license revoked<\/a>. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel explained in a letter to two democratic senators that revoking ABC\u2019s license would be a clear First Amendment violation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was not the first or last time Trump has threatened a news network that disagreed with him. In 2017, among many criticisms of \u201cfake news,\u201d he tweeted suggesting<\/a> that partisan news networks such as NBC should have their licenses revoked. Most recently, he has suggested CBS should lose their license<\/a> over an interview with Kamala Harris on \u201c60 Minutes,\u201d the editing of which he claims to be \u201cillegal\u201d and a \u201cscam.\u201d He subsequently even cancelled his own interview<\/a>on the show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ajit Pai, who was head of the FCC during Trump\u2019s presidency, has sided with Rosenworcel in dismissing the former President\u2019s claims. He explained to The Washington Post that the FCC has no authority to revoke a broadcasting license<\/a>because of content or partisanship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Implications of a Second Trump Term<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump\u2019s calls to revoke the licenses of many major news outlets including NBC, CBS, ABC and CNN will likely ould be just the tip of the iceberg now that he has been reelected. Nathan Simington, a commissioner for the FCC, has suggested he may be receptive<\/a> to Trump\u2019s criticisms of CBS during the \u201c60 Minutes\u201d interview. Simington is one of the two Republicans appointed by Trump on the five-person FCC. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When he takes office, Trump will be able to appoint another member to the Commission. He has indicated that he will appoint Brendan Carr<\/a>, one of the current commissioners, to the chair position in January. Carr is one of the authors on Project 2025, which aims to increase licensing fees<\/a> for educational media outlets such as Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and the National Public Radio (NPR).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a majority Republican FCC, <\/a>Trump will have the potential<\/a> to take action against broadcasters, but this action could still face challenges in courts, which apply strict scrutiny to such content-based restrictions. The former President\u2019s 2017 call to revoke NBC\u2019s licenses has been compared to threats by President Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal. Nixon threatened both CBS and the Washington Post, who took charge of the litigation during Watergate. Trump\u2019s criticism of media outlets who disagree with him is eerily similar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The FCC has not denied a broadcasting license renewal in decades, but some TV executives suggest Trump\u2019s comments have had a chilling effect<\/a> on the media, which could worsen when he takes office in January. While the FCC operates independently, Trump has expressed a desire to place it \u201cback under presidential authority.\u201d While this would be an uphill legal battle, Ted Boutrous, who represented CNN against Trump, says the threat should be taken seriously<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Threats to media outlets are just a few of many threats<\/a> to his perceived enemies. Trump has repeatedly warned of the \u201cenemy from within,\u201d and even said in 2022 he would send reporters to jail for not disclosing their sources. Stephanie Grisham, who worked for him in 2016, warns that he is likely to follow up on his threats. In a post to Truth Social<\/a> in 2023, he discussed implementing White House review of any regulations the FCC considers. This sort of executive oversight would give the Commission much less freedom to control the press and put it in the hands of the President.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Broader Implications of Restrictions on Media<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump\u2019s reelection could have dangerous consequences for the media depending on the action he decides to take, but the mere suggestion of revoking media licenses based on partisanship is dangerous and uncharted territory in the United States. The First Amendment provides a guarantee of free speech and a free press, both of which could be lost if the law of media censorship changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In many countries around the world such as Georgia<\/a>, independent journalism is in grave danger. The recent passing of a series of bills prohibiting LGBTQ+ \u201cpropaganda\u201d has Georgian journalists worried for the future of their industry. A case was brought by prosecutors in Germany<\/a> in 2016 against a comedian who criticized the President of Turkey. Angela Merkel allowed prosecution to proceed despite Germany\u2019s long-standing value of free speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the U.S. media currently receives more protection for press through the First Amendment, suggestions by a former and future president to curb journalistic speech should be concerning to everyone. Despite a close presidential race, the results indicate that more than fifty percent of Americans are willing to elect a candidate who repeatedly advocates for such media restrictions. With an increasingly partisan electorate and a Republican majority in the legislature, it is very likely this threat to free speech will worsen in the near future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By: Maggie Caudle, Vol. 23 Staff Writer Background After the first presidential debate on ABC in September, Donald Trump called for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to \u201ctake away\u201d the network\u2019s broadcasting license. Trump accused moderators of treating him unfairly during the debate, calling it \u201crigged\u201d and saying ABC deserved to have their broadcasting license revoked. …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":5521,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[396,398],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/firstamendmentlawreview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5528"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/firstamendmentlawreview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/firstamendmentlawreview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/firstamendmentlawreview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/firstamendmentlawreview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5528"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/firstamendmentlawreview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5528\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5537,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/firstamendmentlawreview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5528\/revisions\/5537"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/firstamendmentlawreview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/firstamendmentlawreview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/firstamendmentlawreview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/firstamendmentlawreview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}