The Federal Communications Commission announced Tuesday that it will accelerate renewal reviews for eight ABC-owned television stations, a decision that arrives just days after the White House attacked late-night host Jimmy Kimmel over a joke about the first lady.
Kimmel's comment, made last week, described Melania Trump as having "a glow like an expectant widow." The joke preceded an attempted shooting that interrupted the White House correspondents' dinner by two days. On Monday, Donald Trump called for Kimmel to be fired.
The FCC, led by Trump-appointed chair Brendan Carr, moved to require renewal filings from ABC's eight owned-and-operated stations by May 28, years ahead of their originally scheduled deadlines, which ranged from 2028 to 2031. The targeted stations are WABC-TV New York, KABC-TV Los Angeles, WLS-TV Chicago, WPVI-TV Philadelphia, KTRK-TV Houston, KGO-TV San Francisco, WTVD-TV Raleigh-Durham, and KFSN-TV Fresno.
David J. Brown, chief of the video division at the FCC's media bureau, framed the acceleration in procedural terms. The agency cited an existing investigation into ABC parent company Disney's diversity, equity and inclusion practices as justification, claiming early renewal was essential to conduct that inquiry and ensure the broadcaster met public interest obligations.
Disney responded that ABC "has a long record of operating in full compliance with FCC rules and serving their local communities" and said the company is "prepared to show that through the appropriate legal channels."
On a conservative podcast Tuesday, Carr elaborated on Disney's DEI practices. "There's evidence that Disney has been pretty bad," he said, alleging the company "was dividing and categorizing employees based on race and gender, and potentially giving different opportunities to people based on their race or gender."
Anna M. Gomez, the FCC's lone Democrat, condemned the action. "This is unprecedented, unlawful, and going nowhere," she wrote on social media. "This political stunt won't stick. Companies should challenge it head-on. The First Amendment is on their side."
The FCC's license renewal apparatus is deliberately complex, Gomez explained in an earlier interview, designed to prevent partisan decision-making. License denials are exceedingly rare, and any adverse FCC determination would face court challenges.
Tom Wheeler, who chaired the FCC under Barack Obama, told reporters that Carr "has turned it into a political organization using policy to achieve political goals." Wheeler suggested the acceleration sends multiple messages: to Trump's political base, to the president himself, and to every other FCC licensee as a warning of what could happen to them.
This is not Carr's first action against Kimmel. In September, the FCC chair reportedly pressured television station groups to pre-empt the host's show following comments he made after an assassination. Sinclair and Nexstar, two right-leaning broadcast groups, complied, and ABC temporarily pulled the show indefinitely before bringing it back a week later.
Kimmel defended his latest joke on Monday's broadcast. "It was a very light roast joke about the fact that he's almost 80 and she's younger than I am," he said. "It was not by any stretch of the definition a call to assassination."
Seth Stern of the Freedom of the Press Foundation called the FCC action "illegal jawboning intended to intimidate ABC into kissing the ring." Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, warned that the administration is attempting to consolidate control over American media. "If he gets his way, we'll have only government-aligned media organizations that broadcast only government-approved news and commentary," Jaffer said.
Carr also confirmed in February that the FCC is investigating ABC's daytime talk show The View for potential violations of rules regarding equal time for opposing political candidates.
Author James Rodriguez: "The FCC is supposed to protect broadcasters from arbitrary government pressure, not weaponize the renewal process as punishment for jokes the White House doesn't like."
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