FCC Tosses News Bias Complaint Over Harris 60 Minutes Clip
(Bloomberg) -- In one of her final acts as head of the US Federal Communications Commission, Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel dismissed four complaints and petitions that she said seek to penalize broadcast networks’ editorial decisions, making a case for defending press freedom before Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Most Read from Bloomberg
NYC Commuters Get New Way to Dodge Traffic: $95 Helicopter Rides
Chicago Agency Pitches $1.5 Billion Plan to Fix Transit Woes
Scaramucci, Ackman Donate to Whitney Tilson’s NYC Mayoral Run
Rosenworcel, who will step down Jan. 20, warned about polarizing efforts to curtail free speech and to pressure broadcasters over how they present political content.
“This threat to the First Amendment has taken on new forms, as the incoming president has called on the Federal Communications Commission to revoke licenses for broadcast television stations because he disagrees with their content and coverage,” Rosenworcel said in a statement. “These stations remain a vital source of local and national news. And there is nothing antiquated about the idea that the FCC has a duty to respect the Constitution.”
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, Trump’s pick to lead the agency next, has already said he may reconsider the decisions.
Three of the complaints were filed by the Center for American Rights and take aim at the three major broadcast TV networks.
In October, the Center asked the FCC to investigate CBS, alleging that in two versions of the same 60 Minutes interview, Vice President Kamala Harris can be heard giving “two conflicting responses” to a question about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The group had asked the FCC to compel CBS to release the full interview transcript.
“The Commission does not — and cannot and will not — act as a self-appointed, free-roving arbiter of truth in journalism,” Rosenworcel wrote in a response. “Moreover, as has been noted, a newsroom’s decision about what stories to cover and how to frame them should be beyond the reach of any government official, not targeted by them.”
The commission also shot down complaints from the same group alleging that an appearance by Harris and Virginia Senator Tim Kaine on NBC’s Saturday Night Live violated agency rules by not giving other candidates equal airtime, and that ABC’s hosting of the presidential debate in September showed favortism to Harris.
The FCC said no foul play occurred on the SNL episode. After it ran, “legally qualified candidates had the right to ask for equal opportunities” for airtime, leading to free ads for Trump after NASCAR and Sunday Night Football programming and spots for Kaine opponent Hung Cao during The Voice and an SNL election special.
Regarding the ABC debates, the FCC said the allegations of favortism didn’t meet the agency’s high bar “of what constitutes ‘intentional’ or ‘deliberate’ falsification.”
“We are disappointed by the rulings the FCC made today, just days before the new Administration takes office,” said Patrick Hughes, founder and chairman of the Center for American Rights. “The Chairman’s statement was political and self-serving, as was the decision to rule now.”
The moves in Rosenworcel’s final days at the agency aim to preempt what could have become political flash points, and may still. Speaking to reporters Thursday, Carr suggested he could revive the complaints once he’s chairman. Carr amplified the NBC equal-time criticisms and suggested he would examine the alleged CBS broadcast editing in the context of a merger involving CBS’ parent company, Paramount Global.
“We’ll see what happens with those dismissals, but they’re not beyond the reach of the FCC starting next week,” he said.
The fourth complaint, filed by the Media and Democracy project, sought to have the FCC remove the license of a Fox-owned television station in Philadelphia for the character shortcomings of its corporate parent. The petition cited a court decision that found Fox aired “false narratives” about Dominion Voting Systems Inc. machines. The agency said the alleged behavior falls outside its scope for misconduct.
The group said it plans to appeal the decision to the full commission.
“The facts and legal circumstances in each of these cases are different,” Rosenworcel said. “But what they share is that they seek to weaponize the licensing authority of the FCC in a way that is fundamentally at odds with the First Amendment.”
Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
©2025 Bloomberg L.P.