WASHINGTON—In the wake of the controversy over the Jimmy Kimmel show, the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) is “reaffirming freedom of speech as the cornerstone of American democracy” and urging the FCC “to ensure that ‘broadcasting in the public interest’ is defined in a way consistent with the First Amendment.”
In a statement, Troy A. Miller, NRB president and CEO stressed that “the strength of our democratic republic lies in its openness to diverse voices in the public square, and the government is responsible for allowing space for civil disagreement. When one voice is suppressed, all voices are at risk. If viewpoint-based suppression can be directed at mainstream broadcasters today, it could be directed at faith-based broadcasters tomorrow.”
The statement dovetails with complaints by some conservatives who have argued that FCC Chair Brendan Carr is violating free speech First Amendment rights by threatening to yank broadcast licenses of stations who show bias in their news coverage. The FCC is currently investigating ABC, CBS and NBC stations for potential violations of “public interest” rules as a result of coverage that was critical of the Trump administration.
Those efforts have drawn criticism from Democrats, former FCC Commissioners, and some Republicans like Sen. Ted Cruz and Sen. Mitch McConnell.
“Ultimately, it is the FCC’s job to ensure that ‘broadcasting in the public interest’ is defined in a way consistent with the First Amendment,” argued Michael Farris, NRB general counsel in a statement. “Imbalance alone should never serve as grounds for silencing a broadcaster. If that were the standard, Christian radio and television would be at risk, as they rightly take strong positions without providing equal time to opposing viewpoints. The role of government is to safeguard speech, not restrict it.”
Along with those statements, NRB also affirmed “its commitment to working constructively with the FCC to ensure regulations are applied fairly and without political bias. NRB encourages the FCC to uphold its standards consistently for all broadcasters and communicators. The Commission has the opportunity to maintain an environment where disagreement can exist without coercion,” the group said in a press release.
