ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
Here's what comedian Jimmy Kimmel said the other night that got his show suspended from TV.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!")
JIMMY KIMMEL: We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.
SHAPIRO: ABC's decision to take his show off the air came after a warning from the head of the federal agency that has a major role in regulating broadcasters. That would be the Federal Communications Commission. To talk about it and the power of its chairman, we are joined by NPR's Jaclyn Diaz here in the studio. Hi there.
JACLYN DIAZ, BYLINE: Hi.
SHAPIRO: What was the warning from the head of the FCC that seems to have gotten this whole ball rolling?
DIAZ: Yeah, so this is the moment that started it all. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr appeared on right-winger Benny Johnson - excuse me, Benny Johnson's podcast interview where he urged the television broadcasters that run Kimmel's show to do something about the comedian.
(SOUNDBITE OF PODCAST, "THE BENNY SHOW")
BRENDAN CARR: Frankly, when you see stuff like this - I mean, look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct to take action on Kimmel or, you know, there's going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.
DIAZ: And it was shortly after Carr's statements on the podcast that broadcasters that run Kimmel's show said they were going to take it off the air. These broadcasters are huge companies, like Nexstar, which operates 32 ABC stations around the country, and then Sinclair Broadcasting Group (ph). And finally, ABC said it would suspend the show.
SHAPIRO: What kind of power does Carr and does the FCC actually have over these companies like Nexstar, Sinclair and ABC?
DIAZ: As a chairman, Carr is in charge of the agency that has power over radio and television stations. And like he said on that podcast, the agency has the power to grant, renew and revoke a broadcaster's license for local TV and radio. ABC, Nexstar and Sinclair have a lot between all of them, and that's where the second problem comes in. FCC also has the power to stop major broadcasting mergers, and that's something Nexstar is particularly sensitive to right now. It's in the middle of seeking FCC approval for a $6.2 billion merger with Tegna. If this goes through, this would create a huge company, with 265 stations in 44 states. Nexstar owns a lot of local stations that are ABC affiliates, so in turn, it has a lot of influence over ABC and its parent company, Disney.
SHAPIRO: Is it normal for the head of the FCC to get involved in a media company's work?
DIAZ: That's a good question. So I put that to experts like Charles Elson. He's the founding director of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware. He says that the last time he can remember an FCC chairman criticizing the media goes back to the 1960s. That's when then-FCC Chair Newt Minow called TV a vast wasteland. And Carr, in a Senate hearing in 2018, when he was then just a member of the FCC, said himself that his job was to act consistent with the First Amendment rights of the media, and he committed to doing that. But in this podcast this week, he said it was past time to tackle what he termed news distortion.
SHAPIRO: Well, what are you hearing from communications experts watching this play out?
DIAZ: Well Elson, who comes from the business side of things, says it's well within ABC and the other broadcasters' rights to punish Kimmel for his comments. There's a business side to consider. But Jameel Jaffer says Carr put an inappropriate level of pressure on the broadcasters to do what the Trump administration wants. Jaffer is the executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University.
JAMEEL JAFFER: That's the whole point to the First Amendment, is to keep those kind of decisions out of the hands of government and leave them in the hands of private organizations.
DIAZ: And he's really worried. NPR reached out to the FCC for comment, and it hasn't responded.
SHAPIRO: NPR's Jaclyn Diaz, thank you.
DIAZ: Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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