On August 18, The Wall Street Journal editorial page posted an editorial headlined:
Disney Strikes Back Against the FCC
ABC’s owner has a good case in its lawsuit against Brendan Carr’s harassment on free-speech grounds.
The Journal editorial board attacked FCC Chairman Brendan Carr for being a “censor” for talking about TV stations acting in the “public interest” and enforcing equal-time rules for political candidates.
They insisted an equal-time rule “violates the First Amendment by letting the FCC interfere in editorial judgments and suppress disfavored content and viewpoints…It’s a shame Mr. Carr won’t defend ABC’s free-speech rights today.” They concluded: “Congress ought to repeal the rule (and kill the FCC itself) since it makes little sense in today’s diverse media marketplace.”
In response, MRC CEO David Bozell sent a rebuttal in a letter to the editor:
Regarding your Aug. 18 editorial “Disney Strikes Back Against the FCC,” I write to object to the Editorial Board’s false accusation that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) violated “ABC’s free-speech rights” by acting on a petition my group filed. Nothing could be further from the truth.
ABC is one of a very select group of companies that is permitted to access the public broadcast spectrum, which is the property of the American people. In order to obtain this privilege, ABC vowed to act to uphold the public interest. To date, ABC has broken its vow again and again. As the MRC’s petition detailed, ABC used the public spectrum to directly electioneer for political candidates, call for hospitals to intentionally let “unvaccinated” people die, recite debunked 9/11 and Holocaust conspiracy theories and falsely blame “the MAGA gang” for free speech advocate Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
By investigating the points raised in MRC’s petition, the FCC was upholding its legal duty to ensure that public spectrum is used for the public interest. ABC’s objections to this investigation boil down to a “squatters’ rights” argument: that it has an entitlement to control the public spectrum in perpetuity, regardless of its misconduct. But the public spectrum belongs to the American people, not ABC. It is inaccurate for The Journal’s editorial page to pretend ABC was given such an entitlement by the First Amendment.
David Bozell
CEO, Media Research Center (MRC)
Herndon, Virginia
The letter has not been published, but the Journal didn't publish any letters responding to this FCC editorial. The MRC's rebuttal to the FCC on ABC's arguments is available here.
