Trump administration, allies move to punish outlets during his second term

Brendan Carr, chair of the Federal Communications Commission

Marjorie Taylor Greene, U.S. representative

Karoline Leavitt, White House press secretary

Brendan Carr, chair of the Federal Communications Commission

Feb. 11, 2025 | FCC opens investigation into NBC parent over DEI program

FCC Chair Brendan Carr, in a Feb. 11, 2025, letter to NBC News parent Comcast, said the agency would launch an investigation into the company’s promotion of diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

“The FCC will be taking fresh action to ensure that every entity the FCC regulates complies with the civil rights protections enshrined in the Communications Act,” Carr’s letter read, “including by shutting down any programs that promote invidious forms of DEI discrimination.”

President Donald Trump has made eliminating DEI programs a pillar of his second term, signing an executive order eliminating such programs in the federal government on Jan. 22 and pressuring private companies to follow suit. PBS News told employees on Feb. 11 that it was eliminating its DEI office to be in compliance with the administration’s policy.

Tom Wheeler, a former chair of the FCC, told The New York Times that this latest investigation fits a pattern of Carr using the commission’s authority to advance Trump’s political aims.

“It’s clear that what is going on here is — whether it be Comcast and DEI or NPR and PBS, or CBS and the ‘60 Minutes’ interview — is how can you use the coercive authority of regulation to accomplish the goals of your master and mentor, Donald Trump?” Wheeler said.

Feb. 5, 2025 | FCC opens investigation into California radio station

FCC Chair Brendan Carr launched an investigation into San Francisco, California, radio station KCBS on Feb. 5, 2025, after the station broadcast the locations of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during operations in the San Jose area, Fox News reported.

Carr told Fox that he believes KCBS may have violated licensing rules requiring broadcasters to operate in the “public interest.”

Carr had previously opposed the transfer of the station’s license, following Republican scrutiny of the ownership role of billionaire investor George Soros, a Democratic megadonor whose nonprofit now controls the broadcasting outlet.

Jan. 29, 2025 | FCC opens investigations into NPR, PBS; calls on CBS to turn over interview transcript

FCC Chair Brendan Carr informed public broadcasters NPR and PBS on Jan. 29, 2025, that he had initiated an investigation into the news outlets, suggesting that they may have violated federal law by airing commercial advertisements. A copy of the letter was also shared with members of Congress, Carr wrote, because of its potential relevance to ongoing debates.

“In particular, Congress is actively considering whether to stop requiring taxpayers to subsidize NPR and PBS programming,” the letter read. “For my own part, I do not see a reason why Congress should continue sending taxpayer dollars to NPR and PBS given the changes in the media marketplace since the passage of the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967.”

That same day, the FCC sent a letter of inquiry to CBS News demanding that the outlet turn over the “full, unedited transcript and camera feeds” from a Kamala Harris interview on “60 Minutes” in October 2024, according to a statement published by the broadcaster.

CBS said that it was working to comply with the inquiry, “as we are legally compelled to do.” The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker was unable to obtain a copy of the inquiry as of press time.

A spokesperson for CBS told Reuters that the news organization submitted the documents to the FCC on Feb. 3. In an interview with Fox News, Carr said he was “open minded as to potential consequences” and that he would consider releasing the transcript in the interest of transparency.

CBS published the transcripts and video that it turned over to Carr on Feb. 5. “They show — consistent with 60 Minutes’ repeated assurances to the public — that the 60 Minutes broadcast was not doctored or deceitful,” the outlet wrote.

The Harris interview was the focus of a federal lawsuit filed against CBS on behalf of President Donald Trump, which alleged the network had “doctored” the broadcast in an attempt to influence the presidential election. Trump had demanded the network release unedited tapes and transcripts. CBS has maintained the claims are false and the suit without merit.

Jan. 22, 2025 | FCC chair reinstates complaints against three news outlets

Brendan Carr, a Donald Trump appointee and the new chair of the Federal Communications Commission, reinstated complaints against multiple outlets that Trump targeted leading up to and in the wake of the election, alleging their reporting was biased and aimed at swaying favor toward his opponent.

NPR reported that, shortly before leaving office, then-FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel dismissed complaints about appearances by Kamala Harris on CBS’ “60 Minutes” and NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” and about how ABC News moderated the debate between Trump and former President Joe Biden.

“We don’t have the luxury of doing anything other than making very, very clear that this agency and its licensing authority should not be weaponized in a way that is fundamentally at odds with the First Amendment,” Rosenworcel said. “This agency should not be the president’s speech police and this agency shouldn’t be journalism’s censor-in-chief.”

Rosenworcel also dismissed a complaint against a Philadelphia Fox station for allegedly promoting lies about election fraud in the 2020 election.

Carr took over as FCC chair on Jan. 20, and reinstated the complaints against ABC, CBS and NBC two days later. In a statement, the agency said that the complaints had been dismissed “prematurely based on an insufficient investigatory record,” according to The Guardian.

Carr had previously demonstrated his willingness to target news outlets based on alleged bias, and he has supported Trump’s calls for NBC, CBS and ABC to lose their broadcast licenses over their alleged mistreatment of him, NPR reported.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, U.S. representative

Feb. 3, 2025 | U.S. representative summons NPR, PBS to oversight hearing

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene sent letters to the CEOs of public broadcasters NPR and PBS on Feb. 3, 2025, summoning them to testify in March before the Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency.

The letters both said that the subcommittee is concerned about the outlets’ “blatantly ideological and partisan coverage” and seeks to better understand their “position on providing Americans with accurate information.”

Greene specifically cited PBS reporting on Elon Musk making “what appeared to be a fascist salute” during the official post-inauguration celebration on Jan. 20, as well as NPR’s decision not to report on Hunter Biden’s laptop in 2020.

The news outlets’ reporting, Greene wrote, “should serve the entire public, not just a narrow slice of like-minded individuals and ideological interest groups.”

NPR said in a statement that it strives to hold itself to the highest standards of journalism, citing its publicly available standards and ethics guidelines, and the presence of a public editor.

“We welcome the opportunity to discuss the critical role of public media in delivering impartial, fact-based news and reporting to the American public,” the statement said.

PBS did not respond to a request for comment.

Jan. 20, 2025 | U.S. representative threatens PBS funding

Just hours after Donald Trump’s swearing-in on Jan. 25, 2025, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene took to social media to attack PBS News for reporting that Trump appointee Elon Musk gave “what appeared to be a fascist salute” while speaking at the official post-inauguration celebration in Washington, D.C.

“As the Chairwoman of the Oversight Subcommittee on DOGE (Department of Government Oversight), I look forward to PBS @NewsHour coming before my committee and explaining why lying and spreading propaganda to serve the Democrat party and attack Republicans is a good use of taxpayer funds,” Greene posted. “We will be in touch soon.”

Congress provides indirect grant support to PBS, as well as NPR, through funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, appropriating $535 million for 2025. Trump’s first administration proposed eliminating all federal funding for PBS, and Trump made similar calls on social media in the lead-up to the 2024 election.

Karoline Leavitt, White House press secretary

Feb. 12, 2025 | White House defends AP ban, claims news agency is pushing ‘lies’

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the barring of reporters for The Associated Press from multiple events at the White House during a news briefing on Feb. 12, 2025.

In a letter objecting to the decision, AP Executive Editor Julie Pace wrote that Leavitt had warned the newsroom that its reporters would not be allowed to attend White House events if it didn’t align its editorial standards with President Donald Trump’s executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.

AP reporters were barred from attending multiple events between Feb. 11 and 13; it was unclear whether AP reporters would also be excluded from subsequent White House events.

“The actions taken by the White House were plainly intended to punish the AP for the content of its speech,” Pace wrote. “It is among the most basic tenets of the First Amendment that the government cannot retaliate against the public or the press for what they say. This is viewpoint discrimination based on a news organization’s editorial choices and a clear violation of the First Amendment.”

During a news briefing on Feb. 12, CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins asked whether the decision to exclude the AP was “setting a precedent that this White House will retaliate against reporters who don’t use the language that you guys believe reporters should use.”

Leavitt replied: “I was very upfront in my briefing on Day 1 that if we feel that there are lies being pushed by outlets in this room, we are going to hold those lies accountable. And it is a fact that the body of water off the coast of Louisiana is called the Gulf of America. And I am not sure why news outlets don’t want to call it that but that is what it is.”

The White House Correspondents’ Association quickly condemned the move, according to The Hill. “The White House cannot dictate how news organizations report the news, nor should it penalize working journalists because it is unhappy with their editors’ decisions,” the WHCA said.

Jan. 28, 2025 | Press secretary echoes media lie accusations

While President Donald Trump, in one of his first executive orders, extolled the importance of “restoring freedom of speech and ending federal censorship,” an attitude of hostility toward the press was perpetuated by the White House itself.

Karoline Leavitt, in her first briefing as press secretary Jan. 28, 2025, pushed Trump’s allegations that outlets had deliberately lied in order to hurt his campaign and administration.

“We know for a fact that there have been lies that have been pushed by many legacy media outlets in this country about this president, about his family, and we will not accept that. We will call you out when we feel that your reporting is wrong, or there is misinformation about this White House,” Leavitt said. “So yes, I will hold myself to the truth and I expect everyone in this room to do the same.”

Leavitt also told reporters, “All of you once again have access to the most transparent and accessible president in American history.” But in what appears to be a snub to mainstream media, hard passes and access to the briefing room will also be extended to members of the “new media” — who Leavitt described as “independent journalists, podcasters, social media influencers and content creators” — as long as they are producing “legitimate news content.”

Leavitt did not respond directly to a question about how often she will be giving news briefings, which Trump halted during the second half of his first term, citing unfair media treatment.

“The president is the best spokesperson that this White House has,” Leavitt said, “and I can assure you that you will be hearing from both him and me as much as possible.”