politics
FCC Requires Early License Renewal Review for ABC Stations After Conservative Petitions
The Guardian reported that several conservative organizations petitioned the FCC to deny renewal of ABC's eight local television station licenses. The filings cite alleged political bias, racial and gender discrimination, and other concerns. The FCC advanced the renewal timeline under chair Brendan Carr.
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Several conservative organizations have petitioned the Federal Communications Commission to deny renewal of the eight local television station licenses held by ABC. The filings accuse the network of political, racial and sexual bias along with support for the Chinese communist party.
The Center for American Rights filed a petition last Monday that said ABC programs show consistent and overt partisan bias.
The group cited past complaints about Jimmy Kimmel and the network's moderation of a 2024 presidential debate. It wrote that ABC ignores long-standing Commission precedents protecting the integrity of the news and engages in explicit racial and gender discrimination.
The Media Research Center filed a separate petition that accused ABC of abusing its licenses, improperly influencing elections, engaging in misinformation, and promoting violence.
The group said ABC stations in New York City and Los Angeles suppressed news coverage, engaged in electioneering, excused political violence, and peddled misinformation. The Article III Project focused its petition on Disney's employment practices and diversity hiring efforts.
Senior counsel William Chamberlain wrote that the record demonstrates consistent and serious violations of federal Equal Employment Opportunity law.
America First Legal, co-founded by Stephen Miller, also filed a petition claiming ABC stations demonstrated a lack of the character qualifications necessary to hold broadcast licenses. The FCC, led by Trump appointee Brendan Carr, required ABC to apply for license renewals several years early. Carr stated the early process stems from an FCC investigation into ABC's DEI efforts.
