Cnn
–
Brendan Carr, the new president of the Federal Communications Commission, ordered an investigation on Wednesday survey of the sponsorship of the member stations of NPR and PBS.
In a letter obtained by CNN, Carr said that it was “concerned about the fact that NPR and PBS programs could violate federal law by disseminating advertisements”.
“In particular, it is possible that the member stations of NPR and PBS broadcast subscription announcements which cross the line in prohibited commercial advertisements,” wrote Carr in the letter, which was sent to the CEO of NPR, Katherine Maher and To the president and chief executive officer of PBS, Paula Kerger.
The NPR and PBS programming is broadcast on a network of around 1,500 member stations, which choose all the programs to be broadcast. Stations require licenses approved by the FCC to work, and these licenses limit them as non -commercial educational broadcasting stations, which are prohibited by federal law to disseminate advertisements. The FCC survey will probe announcements and subscription policies of NPR and PBS, as well as their distribution stations.
In a press release, Maher stressed that the radio broadcaster and its member stations compared to the FCC regulations.
“We are convinced that any revision of our programming and subscription practices will confirm the membership of NPR to these rules,” wrote Maher.
PBS, in the same way, defended its compliance with the standards of the FCC, affirming in a press release that he had worked “with diligence to comply with the subscription regulations of the FCC”.
Carr also sent the letter to the Congress legislators, noting that the investigation “can prove relevant for an ongoing legislative debate” on the opportunity to “stop obliging taxpayers to subsidize the NPR and PBS programming”.
“Insofar as these dollars taxpayers are used to support a for-profit company or an entity that broadcasts commercial advertisements, which would still undermine any case to continue to finance the NPR and the PBS with taxpayers’ dollars,” he wrote.
The investigation was reported for the first time by the New York Times.
The FCC’s investigation echoes President Trump’s attacks on press organizations he challenges the report. Last week, the president of the FCC canceled the decisions of the eleventh hour of his predecessor, Jessica Rosenworcel, to reject the complaints which had been brought against the local stations of CBS, ABC and NBC. In particular, Rosenworcel also rejected a complaint that had blocked the license renewal of the Fox division based in Philly – a decision that Carr did not reversed.
“We do not have the luxury of doing something other than showing very, very clear that this agency and its license authority should not be armed in a way which is fundamentally in contradiction with the first amendment,” wrote Rosenworcel in a declaration of January 16.
Trump’s anger against the press is not new – in the context of his reprisals against those who, according to him, have done him wrong. On the campaign track, he has repeatedly targeted news publishers. For example, in March, Trump slapped ABC News and George Stephanopoulos with a trial that the diffuser belonging to Disney finally designed $ 15 million. And in November, Trump continued CBS about the network’s “60 -minute” interview with the president of the time, Kamala Harris.
CNN’s October Revue on speeches and publications on Trump’s social networks revealed that over the past two years, he has asked that each major American television network be punished.
Only two days after reallowing the presidency, Trump targeted MSNBC in a social article of truth.
“MSDNC is even worse than CNN,” wrote Trump. “They shouldn’t even have the right to disseminate – only in America.”