President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to head the Federal Communications Commission has reportedly hit out at Disney CEO Bob Iger and Mouse House-owned ABC News over the “erosion in public trust” when it comes to the news media.
Incoming FCC Chairman Brendan Carr sent a letter to Iger on Monday — 10 days after he agreed to settle a defamation lawsuit brought by Trump — saying, “Americans no longer trust the national media. news to report fully, accurately and fairly,” according to CNN,
Carr went on to cite the survey data and added: “The ABC’s own behavior has certainly contributed to this erosion of public trust. For example, ABC News recently agreed to pay $15 million to President Trump’s future presidential foundation and museum and an additional $1 million in attorney’s fees to settle a defamation case.
Carr’s scathing letter also suggested the ABC was taking a tough approach in negotiations with its local affiliates.
“The fact that a massive breakdown of trust has emerged between local news outlets and national broadcasters like ABC only heightens the importance of the rebroadcast approval revenue that remains available for local broadcast television stations to invest in their local broadcast operations. news and content that serves their communities,” Carr. he wrote in the letter, which was obtained by CNN.
Local TV stations, which are licensed by the FCC, are more trusted than national networks, Carr said, adding that he supports more local programming.
Carr expressed “concerns” about how ABC reaches affiliate deals with local stations that carry ABC shows.
“My understanding is that the ABC is trying to extract heavy financial and operational concessions from local broadcast television stations under the threat of terminating long-standing links, which could result in disruptions and other harm to local consumers of news and broadcast content. ,” Carr wrote. .
It also showed how Disney is prioritizing its global streaming services at the expense of local, freely accessible stations — a strategy used by most major media companies trying to compete with streaming giant Netflix.
Carr ended his mission on an ominous note, writing that he would “monitor the outcome” of the ABC talks “to ensure that those negotiations enable local broadcast television stations to meet their federal obligations and serve the needs of their local communities”.
Representatives for ABC News, Disney and Trump did not immediately return requests for comment.
While TV station license renewals are rarely contested and almost never denied, Trump has targeted ABC and other broadcasters, saying he wanted them to lose their licenses.
Trump recently hit CBS News with a $10 billion lawsuit, alleging that a “60 Minutes” interview with Vice President Kamala Harris was “deceptively” edited to help his Democratic foe during the presidential race. CBS has denied that allegation.
Trump also sued pollster Ann Selzer, her polling firm, The Des Moines Register, and its parent company Gannett after Selzer released a poll unfavorable to Trump before the election. That poll showed Harris ahead by three points, but Trump ended up winning the state by 13 points.
Disney’s surprise settlement followed Trump’s lawsuit against ABC and “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos, who said on air that Trump was found “liable for rape” — when in fact he was found liable for sexual abuse in the civil case of raised by the journalist. E. Jean Carroll.
Trump denied any wrongdoing.
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