The Committee to Protect Journalists and 16 other organizations, led by the nonprofit group Public Knowledge, sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr on March 7, expressing concern about recent developments that threaten to erode long-established safeguards for editorial independence and free expression.
The agency recently launched investigations into public broadcasting for allegedly airing advertising and threatening to investigate the northern California radio station KCBS after it reported on planned U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids. FCC investigations can result in fines and license revocations, undermining the ability of news organizations to operate freely and without fear of government retaliation.
The signatories underscored that a free press requires the FCC to uphold journalistic independence with impartiality and without political bias, and urged Carr to commit to:
- requiring clear evidence of wrongdoing before launching investigations;
- reaffirming the FCC’s commitment to protecting, not pressuring, editorial independence;
- ensuring that any oversight actions are based on clear, objective criteria, not speculative political considerations; and
- maintaining a clear boundary between government regulation and newsroom decisions.
The letter was also filed as a comment responding to FCC docket number 25-73, which concerns a news distortion complaint involving CBS Broadcasting Inc.
Read the letter here.