The Federal Communications Commission is supposed to be an independent government agency that “regulates interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories.”
But it’s pretty clear that under FCC chair Brendan Carr, the agency has been acting on behalf of President Donald Trump through threats and actions against network programming that Trump doesn’t like.
Carr threatened ABC over comments Jimmy Kimmel made in a monologue about the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The FCC is looking into whether ABC’s “The View” is subject to the equal-time rule for politicians. And, most notably, the FCC is taking the highly unusual step of forcing ABC to apply early to renew eight local broadcast licenses.
Carr has been asked about his communications with the White House, but he told Politico’s Dasha Burns, “As a general matter, I don’t speak publicly about conversations with the White House, or whether they happen or don’t happen.”
Oh, they apparently happen all right. According to a trove of FCC documents — obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request and a lawsuit filed by the advocacy group Democracy Forward, and provided to The Guardian — such conversations happen a lot.
The Guardian’s Jeremy Barr writes, “Between 12 March 2025 and 11 February 2026, Carr attended at least eight meetings at the White House, according to the records, and had at least three scheduled calls with administration officials, including two conversations with the chief of staff, Susie Wiles. He also spoke by phone with administration officials such as the controversial health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr.”
There’s more.
Barr writes, “In addition, the files provide insight into Carr’s media strategy, including communications with producers at Fox News, and make public previously undisclosed meetings he has held with media titans such as the Fox Corp chief executive, Lachlan Murdoch, and Sinclair Broadcast Group chair, David Smith.”
Sadly, none of this is surprising. But it is disturbing.
Dan McGrath, special counsel for oversight at Democracy Forward, said, “This raises serious questions about whether the FCC is operating as an independent regulator, or whether political relationships and industry influence have become too intertwined with its decision-making.”
Barr writes, “While it’s not uncommon for FCC chairs appointed by a president of their party to meet and confer with the administration, Carr is known to be unusually in sync with the priorities of the Trump White House, particularly with its focus on using the levers of government to punish the legacy television networks that Trump has derided as fake news.”
Barr also notes that it’s not unusual for the FCC chair to meet with leaders and executives of media companies. “Notably, though,” Barr writes, “most of Carr’s meetings with media executives (and personalities) represent companies that appeal to conservatives.”
The records show that Carr has met with former Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, now a One America News host; Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch; and David Smith, the chair of the conservative media company Sinclair. Those are just a few examples.
In the end, Barr writes, “The emails paint a picture of a telecommunications regular who is extremely cautious about the language he uses in communications that are subject to the Freedom of Information Act. In none of the emails does Carr express pro-Trump sentiments, or suggest that he is doing the bidding of the Trump administration, as some critics have suggested. Carr is professional, diplomatic and respectful in the email exchanges with industry representatives and past and present telecommunications professionals.”
More on Carr
As my colleague, Angela Fu, wrote in Wednesday’s newsletter, ABC sued the Federal Communications Commission, alleging that the agency had violated the company’s First Amendment rights by threatening to revoke the broadcast licenses of eight ABC-owned stations.
Fu wrote, “The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., states that the FCC — which is supposed to function as an independent regulatory agency — has openly pressured and coerced ABC into changing its programming. As part of a ‘retaliatory campaign’ against ABC’s speech, the FCC has decided to review eight ABC-owned stations’ licenses years before their expiration date, placing immense pressure on the network, the lawsuit states. It further argues that even if the FCC does not decide to revoke the licenses and force the stations off the air, ABC will suffer ‘years of costly litigation, with the threat of adverse action ever present’ as the FCC conducts its review process.”
In an interview with NPR’s David Folkenflik, Carr claimed Disney’s lawsuit is “without merit.”
Carr then threw out this: “Perhaps Disney is concerned or worried about how the record is developing. But again, ultimately, they’re going to get a fair shake before the agency.”
There’s no public indication that Disney is concerned about how the record is developing.
Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board has weighed in. The subhead of the editorial says, “ABC’s owner has a good case in its lawsuit against Brendan Carr’s harassment on free-speech grounds.”
The board wrote, “In 2020 he lambasted a progressive media group for petitioning the FCC to censor broadcasts of Mr. Trump’s Covid press conferences, calling it a ‘dangerous and sweeping attempt by the left to weaponize the FCC.’ It’s a shame Mr. Carr won’t defend ABC’s free-speech rights today.”
Plagiarism scandal
Back in May, Washington Post reporter Drew Harwell wrote a story about conservative commentator Ben Shapiro. A few days later, New York magazine published a story about Shapiro by Ross Barkan, a contract writer for the publication. Harwell took to social media to point out that the lead of Barkan’s story was similar to his own, with no attribution. Soon after, New York magazine updated its story to quote from Harwell’s story.
But that wasn’t the end.
NPR’s Bobby Allyn found other instances in which passages of Barkan’s work were similar to work written by others. More accusations followed.
Barkan pushed back on social media on more than one occasion to defend himself and criticize those who questioned his work. When asked for a comment by NPR in May, Barkan called the NPR reporter “unprofessional.”
But last week, after investigating the claims, New York magazine cut ties with Barkan. New York magazine said its review had found 67 columns that violated its standards. And as we wrote in Wednesday’s newsletter, Penguin Random House suspended promotion and public sales of Barkan’s forthcoming book “The Revolutionary: Zohran Mamdani and the Remaking of American Politics,” which was set to come out in October.
In addition, Gothamist also removed some of Barkan’s work. In one such case, it was replaced by an editorial note that said the story did not meet Gothamist’s standards.
Then Wednesday, after all of this, Barkan apologized.
In a statement on social media, Barkan, 36, wrote, “I truly am sorry for the mistakes I made. None of them, genuinely, were willful or intentional. In the course of writing many columns a week, I did not use citations as aggressively as I should have and did not paraphrase well enough.”
Barkan said he is going to take “some time away.”
Barkan told The New York Times’ Benjamin Mullin that he was in the “center of a firestorm,” adding, “When this happens, you don’t know what to do. Now that I’ve taken a breath, I am going to self-reflect on my conduct and hopefully be a better person.”
Barkan also spoke to Mullin about his angry reaction to the NPR reporter seeking comment back in May, saying, “I was responding at midnight on a Saturday. I was scared, and I was upset. And it wasn’t my best moment.”
There was more fallout.
Status’ Natalie Korach wrote, “Status has also learned that Barkan, who has been an adjunct faculty member at New York University’s school of journalism, will not be teaching in the upcoming semester. ‘Ross Barkan is not teaching at NYU this fall,’ university spokesperson Joseph Tirella told me, without elaborating.”
Nastier than ever
President Donald Trump speaking from the White House on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Since becoming president, Trump has never hidden his disdain for the media. But he has especially targeted female reporters, often with degrading insults. He constantly attacks CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, but Collins is far from the only female journalist who has been called names and told to be quiet when they ask a question he doesn’t like.
Earlier this week, CNN correspondent Kristen Holmes asked Trump about conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. Trump told her to be quiet and called her “disrespectful.” Attacks from Trump and the White House were enough that CNN put out a statement defending Holmes.
Appearing on Christiane Amanpour’s “The Ex Files” podcast this week, veteran New York Times White House correspondent Maggie Haberman said, “(The) attacks on female reporters have gotten much nastier and much more aggressive and much less just about being a keyboard warrior where he would do it on Twitter in term one.”
While it appears Trump is truly bothered by strong female journalists, Haberman also said his insults are a way to take the focus off the tough questions they ask. He’d rather the story be about the insults than the topic at hand.
And, it would appear, Trump becomes even more frustrated when he doesn’t get a reaction out of the reporters. It’s likely why Collins is such a frequent target of Trump. She never loses her cool or gets distracted, and continues acting professionally while asking her questions.
War of words
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who is leading the lawsuit to stop the Paramount acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, did an in-depth Q&A with The Hollywood Reporter’s Steven Zeitchik.
The fight has become nasty, with Paramount CEO David Ellison threatening to pull his company out of California in an attempt to force a settlement in the case.
Bonta told Zeitchik, “I literally envision them sitting in a war room saying, ‘We’re getting our butts kicked, what can we do? What rabbit out of a hat can we pull to try to impose some pressure on the attorney general? We know the attorney general loves having jobs in California. Maybe we can threaten to leave? It’s a Hail Mary, but let’s try it! Anyone else got anything better?’ I don’t know what they’re thinking. I do know it’s not working. If their goal is to apply pressure, no pressure felt, no pressure applied. Honestly, it reveals more than it tries to impose. What it reveals is that they’re on the back foot, they’re reeling. They’re losing in court. And David Ellison has to explain why he’s talking out of two sides of his mouth. Out of one side he’ll say, ‘I believe in Hollywood, I believe in the future of Hollywood, my future is here.’ And then from the other side of the mouth he’s saying, ‘I’m pulling out of California.’ I don’t know how he harmonizes those two things.”
Bonta has plenty more to say, so check out the full Q&A.
MS NOW’s new product
If you’re a big fan of MS NOW, this might interest you.
On Sept. 9, MS NOW will introduce Membership, the organization’s first direct-to-consumer product. MS NOW describes it this way: “The first-of-its-kind Membership will serve as an additive experience to MS NOW’s television and digital offerings, building on the audience’s connection with its anchors and reporters.”
In a statement, Rebecca Kutler, president of MS NOW, said, “From the beginning, we’ve approached this deliberately. When we launched MS NOW, our ‘We the People’ campaign was never just a tagline. Our mission has always been to inform, engage and empower our audience. Our Membership is the first step in a long-term strategy to deepen our relationship with audiences in ways that build on what they already value about MS NOW, while addressing what consumers told us was missing from the news experience. We will continue to research, test, and refine this experience because we want it to be something that our loyal MS NOW fans genuinely love, as well as something that future fans genuinely need.”
So the two big questions: How much is it and what do you get for it?
Semafor’s Max Tani explains, “The new membership, priced at $7.99 per month and $79.99 annually, will offer perks like members-only content verticals, opportunities for subscribers to interact with the network’s personalities, community features for members to engage with each other, and a 24/7 network feed.”
MS NOW is clearly looking beyond traditional cable as the number of cable subscribers continues to dwindle.
Tani writes, “Their clear ideological viewpoints, brands, and the willingness of most of their personalities to stick around have insulated networks like Fox News and MS NOW from the sharp decline in viewership eating away at much of the rest of cable television. The networks remain good businesses in the medium term; while their parent companies do not break out their individual earnings, Fox News is estimated to generate billions in revenue each year, while Kagan data projected MS NOW would likely generate a billion in 2026. CNN has suffered significant viewership and revenue losses, yet its adjusted EBITDA in the coming years is expected to fluctuate between $500-600 million. Not bad for a news media business. Still, the cable networks see the eventual trajectory. For years, linear television news networks competed for attention online with other digital content. Now, the networks realize they increasingly need to build their businesses there.”
Tragic news
José Suárez, president and general manager of Telemundo‘s TV stations in Florida, died Wednesday in a helicopter crash in Kenya. He was 55.
Suárez was in charge of Telemundo 31 in Orlando, Telemundo 49 in Tampa and Telemundo Fort Myers-Naples. He previously served as president of other Telemundo stations across the country.
NBCU Newsgroup chairman Cesar Conde, NBCU Local chairman Valari Staab and Telemundo Station Group president Jose Cancela put out the following statement:
We are heartbroken to learn the tragic news that José was killed in a helicopter accident in Kenya. José was an exceptional colleague who cared deeply about his teams, the communities they served and the important role our stations play in people’s lives. He brought energy, humor, warmth and a strong sense of purpose to his work, and his impact was felt far beyond the stations he led. Our hearts are with his loved ones, and with all of José’s colleagues and friends who are grieving this terrible loss.
NBC’s “Today” show reported that seven people were killed in the crash, including four Americans.
“NBC Nightly News” anchor Tom Llamas signed off Wednesday with a tribute to Suárez, saying in part, “Jose was not only a mentor to me, but also a good friend. I, and we, will miss him so much. But we know his legacy will live on in all those newsrooms, big and small, that he touched.”
More McAfee
ESPN’s Pat McAfee greets President Donald Trump at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport in Cleveland last week. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Pat McAfee is already one of ESPN’s most exposed personalities. And now that exposure is growing even more.
ESPN announced that McAfee is joining the network’s “Monday Night Countdown” — the pregame show to “Monday Night Football.”
McAfee’s talk show airs two hours each weekday on ESPN, and he is an analyst on ESPN’s “College GameDay,” the three-hour college football pregame show on Saturday mornings during football season.
So, if there was any thought that ESPN was worried about overexposing McAfee, this latest move snuffed it out. McAfee will join host Scott Van Pelt, Jason Kelce, Marcus Spears and Jason McCourty on “Monday Night Countdown.” McCourty is replacing Ryan Clark, who was recently let go by ESPN.
The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand writes the move positions McAfee “to be a large part of ESPN’s Super Bowl coverage next February.”
McAfee stirred up controversy last week when he greeted President Donald Trump at the airport in Cleveland. Trump was there for the Patriot Games — a fitness and skill competition for high school boys and girls. McAfee defended greeting Trump and posing for photos by saying it was about the event: “I think this is a big deal. And anything that is going to amplify or encourage the next generation to remain active and competitive, I think that is a huge thing I will be a part of.”
McAfee seems to have a cordial relationship with Trump, and some have an issue with that. As he has done with other controversial stances in the past, McAfee tried to head off criticism he knew was coming his way. About this latest interaction with Trump, McAfee said on his show, “I do appreciate how people feel towards their politics and everything else; I do respect it. But there’s some absurd things when it’s like, it’s not just me.”
He then went on to talk more about the Patriot Games.
But then he returned to playing victim, talking about his new book, saying, “There’s a lot of people upset. Any time, obviously, you have the president doing anything, especially President Trump … any time he’s a part of something, it’s going to be very loud. And there’s some people saying some really mean stuff to me. ‘Diary of a Polarizing Figure’ out Friday … it will address a lot of this, and it kind of is what my life is.”
Oh, poor Pat McAfee, who keeps getting big raises and more shows to appear on. Check out this really smart column from Awful Announcing’s Matt Yoder: “Why is Pat McAfee fighting a war he has already won?”
Media tidbits
- Axios is expanding its local coverage in Arizona. It will launch “Axios Mesa” on Aug. 31 and “Axios Scottsdale” on Sept. 1. These will be Axios Local’s 42nd and 43rd markets. That includes “Axios Phoenix,” which launched in 2022.
- Veteran journalist and Columbia Journalism School professor Bill Grueskin spent four months as an unpaid junior editor at The Salt Lake Tribune and wrote about the experience for Columbia Journalism Review: “The 69-Year-Old Rookie.”
- CNBC’s Alex Sherman and Lillian Rizzo with “What will TV look like in three years? Media insiders share their predictions.”
- Variety’s Brian Steinberg with “Craig Carton to Launch New Show on Fox’s Outkick.”
Hot type
- The New York Times’ Shivani Gonzalez writes about comedian, podcaster and former reality TV star Hannah Berner in “Botched Injections Left a Comedian Unable to Smile. But She’s Laughing It Off.”
More resources for journalists
- Join a prestigious, fully funded Poynter fellowship on brain health & research that gives journalists rare access to leading experts, personalized coaching and advanced training. Apply today.
- Find your voice in our free, four-day writing workshop for journalists of color. Celebrate the 10th anniversary of Power of Diverse Voices with expert coaching, immersive learning and a supportive community. Apply by Sept. 18.
- Delve more deeply into your editing skills with Poynter ACES Intermediate Certificate in Editing.
Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at tjones@poynter.org.
Clarification: This story has been updated with more updated information on MS NOW’s projected revenue.
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