FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez asked for a louder defense of local stations. Now NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt has answered, saying the association will keep working with the commissioner and all policymakers on broadcasters’ First Amendment protections.
LeGeyt said, “We appreciate Commissioner Gomez’s recognition of the value of local broadcasters and her commitment to the First Amendment principles that underpin a free press. We will continue working with her and all policymakers to protect broadcasters’ rights and strengthen local stations’ ability to deliver trusted news and information to the communities they serve.”
The statement responds to an October 22 letter from Gomez asking the NAB to warn broadcasters about what she described as a coordinated administration effort to pressure stations, particularly ahead of the midterm elections. As Radio Ink reported on October 26, Gomez credited the association for opposing the FCC’s early license renewal order but said its response had not matched the scale of the pressure facing members.
Her letter cited FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s suggestion that stations airing polls that don’t fit the administration’s preferred narrative could face news distortion or hoax investigations. Gomez also raised changes to Media Bureau guidance on the bona fide news interview exemption under Section 315, and a staff reinterpretation of which political spenders qualify for the lowest unit charge. She said the full Commission did not adopt either.
In August, a divided Fourth Circuit panel set aside the Media Bureau’s March 30 notice on the license renewal rule. The Supreme Court stayed that ruling in September, leaving the expanded rule in effect for now.
