Media experts have raised alarms about a “troubling” assault on press freedom under the Trump administration, labeling it a “genuine free-speech crisis” as the Federal Communications Commission has initiated investigations into various media entities, including NBC News’s parent company.
Under the direction of Brendan Carr, a Trump appointment and author of Project 2025, the FCC has initiated probes into NPR and PBS shortly after Trump assumed office, while also examining a CBS News segment and a radio station in San Francisco.
In correspondence with Comcast, owner of NBC News, Carr requested that the FCC’s enforcement bureau “launch an investigation” into the company, expressing concern that “Comcast and NBCUniversal may be endorsing harmful forms of DEI that do not align with FCC rules.”
This move follows Carr’s statement questioning why Congress should keep funding taxpayer-supported entities like PBS and NPR, which Trump has threatened to defund.
Matthew Gertz, a senior fellow at Media Matters, a media watchdog organization, remarked, “What we’re witnessing is a direct assault on free speech and press freedom from the Trump administration.”
Carr, who authored a chapter on the FCC in Project 2025—a conservative initiative aimed at overhauling the US government—has been a communications lawyer at the FCC since 2012. His loyalty to Trump is evident in his social media, which often features enthusiastic endorsements of the president. According to The Daily Beast, Carr has expressed to acquaintances that he is having “the time of his life” conducting inquiries into media firms; he shared this news on X, with the comment: “Find a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”
With the FCC’s investigation into Comcast underway, there’s a prevailing concern that large news corporations like Comcast—a $100 billion entity—might hesitate to confront the Trump administration over press freedom issues.
The situation could become more pronounced with Paramount Global, the parent company of CBS News, as they reportedly explore settling a lawsuit with Trump regarding a CBS News interview with Kamala Harris. Trump alleges the segment was edited unfairly and is seeking $10 billion in damages. Earlier this month, Carr initiated an inquiry into CBS. While there is no proof that the interview was edited outside standard practices, CBS has denied the claim. Adding to the complexity is Paramount’s intention to merge with Skydance Media, which would require approval from Carr’s FCC.
“This mirrors the approach taken by Viktor Orbán in Hungary, where state power is utilized to ensure media compliance, leading to outlets either becoming less critical or being sold to compliant owners,” Gertz stated.
“Clearly, we are in the nascent stages of such a dynamic, but the early indicators we observe are alarmingly concerning.”
Rebecca Hamilton, a professor at American University Washington College of Law, informed the Guardian that the FCC’s probes could hinder journalists’ ability to report on the Trump administration.
“Legitimate FCC investigations can positively impact the information landscape. However, the recent investigations initiated by Carr align with a more extensive agenda to penalize media outlets that Trump targets. Such actions might create a chilling effect, instilling fear of retaliation among journalists,” she noted.
Hamilton also expressed in a recent piece for Just Security that the FCC’s investigations into media outlets signify “a comprehensive effort by Trump and his allies to undermine the free press in order to establish an information ecosystem dominated by his viewpoints.”
Fox Corp, which operates Trump-supportive Fox News, outlines various values on its website that may exemplify DEI initiatives. Their “culture and belonging” section states that Fox “provides tools and resources for every individual to feel connected, seen, heard, and inspired to perform their best work.”
The page details several internal groups available for employees to join, such as “BLK+,” designed to “celebrate the intersectionality of our Black colleagues,” and a “Pride” group which aims to “create an environment where all FOX LGBTQ+ colleagues feel authentic and professionally supported.”
In its report to shareholders for 2023, Fox Corp declared its commitment to “promote a diversity of professional backgrounds, expertise, perspectives, ages, genders, and ethnicities among board members, ensuring that minority and female candidates are considered for each vacancy.”
When the Guardian inquired whether the FCC plans to investigate Fox Corp, founded by Rupert Murdoch, there was no response, nor was there any comment regarding its ongoing investigations.
Craig Aaron, co-CEO of Free Press, a non-profit advocating for media freedom, stated that the US is “experiencing a genuine free-speech crisis.”
“The First Amendment exists to prevent the government from silencing undesirable speech. A weaponized FCC is attempting to do just that. The FCC chairman is misusing the authority of the agency appointed by President Trump to target the president’s presumed adversaries and suppress critical journalism,” Aaron commented.
“The government must never interfere with editorial choices or news content. Nevertheless, the FCC has sent intimidating letters and initiated inquiries into editorial choices, law enforcement reporting, and fundamental fact-checking. This is chilling and perilous.”
