Dear John,
The First Amendment does not leave room for interpretation when it comes to government retaliation against the press. Yet Donald Trump’s FCC chair, Brendan Carr, has crossed that line — publicly signaling that broadcasters could face consequences if their coverage of the Iran war does not align with the administration’s narrative. Carr wrote,
"Broadcasters that are running hoaxes and news distortions — also known as the fake news — have a chance now to correct course before their license renewals come up. The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not."
By openly threatening that federal broadcast licenses are contingent on editorial compliance, Carr’s message is fundamentally incompatible with the First Amendment. His message: deviate from the administration’s framing, and your broadcast license could be at risk.
This is not regulation — it’s intimidation. The First Amendment explicitly forbids the government from abridging freedom of speech or the press, and the FCC’s licensing authority cannot be wielded as a political weapon.
Calls for impeachment may face long odds, but as the ouster of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem shows, sustained public pressure can shift the political calculus. It is time for us to draw a clear line: The government cannot threaten the press for doing its job.
Send a message to Congress to demand the initiation of impeachment proceedings against FCC Chair Brendan Carr now.
When a federal official implies that coverage decisions could trigger punitive action, it creates a chilling effect that distorts journalism at its core — pressuring editors, producers, and reporters to weigh government retaliation against truthful reporting.
We are already seeing the consequences. News organizations are pulling back and softening coverage. CBS canceled Stephen Colbert’s show, ABC temporarily suspended Jimmy Kimmel, and CBS News, now under the direction of Trump acolyte Bari Weiss, initially spiked (though it later aired) a segment on Venezuelan deportees Trump shipped off to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison.
Now, referring to Paramount Skydance’s bid to take over Warner Bros Discovery, which owns CNN, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says “The sooner [Trump ally] David Ellison takes over that network, the better."
This is what happens in authoritarian states. You put a political hack in charge of the key agency regulating the media, who then greases the wheels for regime cronies to seize control of the major platforms that decide what Americans see, hear, and read every day.
Freedom of the press is a crucial xxxxxx against Trump’s authoritarianism. Tell Congress to begin impeachment proceedings against FCC Chair Brendan Carr now.
Thank you for taking action to protect our constitutional First Amendment right.
Robert Reich
Inequality Media Civic Action
