Trump's FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has transformed the Federal Communications Commission from an independent regulatory agency into what The Nation called “a mob enforcer” for the Trump administration's media agenda. Carr is simultaneously pursuing three strategies to bring American media under political control.
First, Carr weaponized the “equal time” rule. The FCC issued new guidance declaring that late-night and daytime talk shows no longer qualify for the longstanding “bona fide news” exemption from equal time requirements — but only when they host Democrats. Carr told the Hollywood Reporter that “if you're fake news, you're not going to qualify for the bona fide news exemption,” giving himself the power to decide which journalism is real and which is “fake.” He confirmed the FCC is investigating ABC's “The View” for hosting a Democratic candidate. This directly led CBS to censor Stephen Colbert's interview with a Democratic Senate candidate.
Second, Carr called on broadcasters to air “pro-America programming,” suggesting stations begin “each broadcast day” with the national anthem or Pledge of Allegiance as part of their “public interest obligations.” A government official telling broadcasters what content to air is the definition of state media.
Third, Carr is moving to eliminate the national television ownership cap — a 1940s-era rule preventing any single entity from owning stations reaching more than 39% of American households. He is also reviewing rules limiting ownership of multiple stations in the same market and the dual network rule prohibiting mergers between the Big Four networks. House Democrats say Carr has no legal authority to remove the 39% cap, calling it “political favoritism.”
Taken together, the pattern is clear: Trump's FCC is deciding what counts as news, who can own news organizations, and what content they should air. That is not regulation — it is state control of the press.