*

Carr's pressure to drop Kimmel's show reveals how he has

re-imagined FCC chief's role

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Carr vows 'more to come', defies calls for his resignation

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Democratic FCC commissioner says Carr is 'twisting the

public

interest'

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Top U.S. media regulator

Brendan Carr has sparked outrage and calls for his resignation

from Democratic lawmakers and other critics after he pressured

Walt Disney ( DIS ) to stop running a late-night talk show.

But his attack on comedian Jimmy Kimmel was only the latest

in a string of efforts to rein in media companies he accuses of

bias.

In Carr's eight-month tenure as Federal Communications

Commission chair, he has re-imagined the role, using it as a

bully pulpit to pressure media companies for changes in policies

or programming while arguing they have been unfair to President

Donald Trump.

"There is more to come," he said Thursday.

He has also used the commission's power to approve mergers

as a cudgel, opened investigations, and sent letters to prod

companies as Trump has berated and threatened broadcasters,

including with repeated calls for them to lose their licenses

despite First Amendment protections for stations.

"Americans no longer trust the legacy national news media to

report fully, accurately, and fairly. It is time for a change,"

Carr said in July.

Carr drew immediate criticism from some conservative

commentators, as well as many Democrats, for pressuring Disney ( DIS )

and local broadcasters to drop late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel's

show after comments the comedian made about murdered right-wing

activist Charlie Kirk.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate

Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer were among numerous lawmakers

calling on Carr to resign. Carr, who did not respond to a

request for comment, told a podcaster Thursday he would not

resign. "I'm not going anywhere," he said.

Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez said Thursday in an

interview with Reuters that the FCC does not have the authority

or the constitutional right to police content or punish

broadcasters for speech the government dislikes, and that Carr

is improperly trying to use the "public interest" standard.

"It's twisting the public interest to mean whatever it wants

in order to kill broadcasters' free speech," Gomez said. "At

this point it looks like it is just trying to use that as an

excuse to censor content it doesn't like."

Carr told broadcasters on Wednesday: "We can do this the

easy way or the hard way."

"These companies can find ways to take action on Kimmel or

there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead," he

said.

Using presidential power in this way to curb speech is rare.

In the early 1970s, then-President Richard Nixon and his top

aides discussed using the FCC's license renewal process to

punish the Washington Post for its coverage of the Watergate

burglary, which ultimately brought down his presidency.

Trump again threatened broadcasters on Thursday for what he

called negative coverage, this time saying: "They're getting a

license, I would think maybe their license should be taken away.

It will be up to Brendan Carr."

In July, the FCC approved the $8.4 billion merger between

CBS parent Paramount Global and Skydance Media after

Skydance agreed to ensure CBS news and entertainment programming

is free of bias, and to hire an ombudsman for at least two years

to review complaints and end diversity programs.

"The new owners of CBS came in and said: 'It's time for a

change. We're going to reorient it towards getting rid of

bias'," Carr said after approving the tie-up. "At the end of the

day that's what made the difference for us."

Carr has repeatedly said he wants to enforce the FCC's

public interest obligation for broadcasters that use the public

airwaves, which he says the FCC has failed to properly deploy

for decades. On Thursday, he told a podcaster the FCC should

consider reviewing whether ABC's "The View" runs afoul of equal

time commission rules when covering rival political candidates.

The FCC says on its website the public interest standard

means it must air programming that is responsive to the needs

and problems of its local community of license.

The website notes that the commission has long held that

"the public interest is best served by permitting free

expression of views."

Democratic Senator Ed Markey said Carr was carrying out

Trump's threats. "Instead of acting in the public interest, he's

trying to force broadcasters to act in Donald Trump's interest.

You say something that Donald Trump doesn't like, we'll take

away your license."