FCC chairman Brendan Carr says he has been “highly entertained” by the news cycle surrounding Stephen Colbert‘s interview with Texas State Rep. James Talarico, and The Late Show not being able to—or choosing not to— air it on CBS.
In a Wednesday-morning presser following the FCC’s monthly Open Commission Meeting, Carr was asked a multi-part question about Colbert’s Talarico interview and the different accounts of whether The Late Show was told they could not air it on CBS, or the program simply elected not to, for fear of having to comply with the FCC’s Equal Time rule.
“When I step back and look at the entire arc of the news story yesterday, I was highly entertained,” Carr told reporters. “It was probably one of the most fun days I’ve had on the job, watching the hilarity of how this story played out.
“Anybody that’s not suffering from a terminal case of Trump Derangement Syndrome could see right away how it was going to play out,” he contended. “You had a Democrat candidate who understands the way the news media works, and he took advantage of all of [the news media’s] prior conceptions to run a hoax—apparently for the purpose of raising money and getting clicks. And the news media played right into it.”
Colbert’s YouTube-only sit-down with Talarico as of midday Wednesday has 5.8 million views, while his campaign HQ shared on socials that the campaign raised $2.5 million in the first 24 hours after the initial story broke.
“Yesterday was a perfect encapsulation of why the American people have more trust in gas station sushi than they do in the national news media,” Carr said. “This was very plainly an effort ginned up to get clicks and to raise money, and you guys [in the media] ate it up like slop.”
Carr noted that one of Talarico’s rivals for the Senate seat he’s seeking, U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, “herself came out yesterday afternoon and said there was no censorship by the government here.” Rather, The Late Show was simply given guidance, from CBS lawyers, warning they may have to comply with the Equal Time provision and have on Crockett and/or other legally qualified candidates. “But for some reason they chose not to do this,” the FCC chief said.
“The whole idea here is more speech, not less,” he asserted. “You can have more candidates on.”
Carr confirmed that the FCC “has an enforcement action underway” stemming from Talarico’s recent appearance on ABC’s The View, then pointed out that neither ABC’s daytime talker nor The Late Show have taken action to prove themselves worthy of skirting the Equal Time provision that his FCC aims to more strictly enforce.
“Neither Disney and The View nor the Colbert show have come forward with a filing seeking to demonstrate that they qualify for the ‘bona fide news’ exception,” he said.
there simply isn’t anyone in the administration that’s not a complete a-hole
Asshole
Only a total Drumpf licking loser would believe what these criminals in the big fat baby’s administration are doing is on the up and up!
It will be funny when Brendan Carr and Bari Weiss go down in history as purposefully ruining a decent network.
After Colbert’s last episode, CBS
will have nothing left to tune in for. (Bari Weiss already ruined 60 Minutes)
They have NFL football and every couple of years, the Super Bowl…oh, and the Masters, NCAA tournament.
And College Football. And they’re all far more viewed than the shitter KKK Kolbert
So you can suck your embargo. LOL.
See BS is losing viewers and their advertisers are getting targeted. Seems nobody like you MAGats bullshit disguised as news!
Yeah, nobody will ever again watch football, basketball, golf, the grammys, and tony awards anymore! And they’re on CBS
That why the CBS on NFL get zero viewers…gawd, you people get stupider.
This is a new dawn now! NOBODY’S putting up with the bullshit your Dear Racist Scum Drumpf is trying to impose on America! Including trying to silence people who say truths about your pedophile hero!
This is well over your pointy head, and you all are too stupid to realise it! A hard rain’s gonna come for ya, boy!
We shall be highly entertained when all these unqualified toads are cooling their heels in jail after personally very expensive litigation, while dear leader is laughing at them from the lap of luxury on some Russian oligarchs’ compound.
He’ll throw them all under the bus.
The level of grade school snark coming from all of these creeps is so unbecoming of any self-respecting professional, much less someone in a Public Service position.
They have grossly fouled public discourse down to the level of some brat that needs a serious ‘correction’ by their elders.
When they are hired solely for their corrupt ‘loyalty’, they’re no different than the mob or gangs. RICO prosecution?
Indeed. They’re only there for Trump, not for us.