Top Gun for First Amendment Defense
FCC Commish Gomez advances speaking tour nationwide
According to CNN, Federal Communications Commissioner Anna Gomez has booked appearances in Illinois and Kentucky as part of her ongoing First Amendment Tour.
Her appearances follow a visit in mid-April to WHYY in Philadelphia and in late April to California State University in Los Angeles.
When she announced the tour last month, she indicated that she would seek a wide audience. The website talkers.com reported that she had appeared with the Center for Democracy and Technology, the Media Institute, and Competitive Enterprise Institute and TechFreedom, a free-market think-tank.
And, as CNN reported, her First Amendment tour is likely to continue through the end of the year. Speculation that the White House would try to fire her has subsided since fellow commissioners Nathan Simington and Geoffrey Starks both resigned as of June 6. Only Gomez and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr remain, not enough for a quorum. Meanwhile, Olivia Trusty’s nomination is stuck in the Senate.
As Chairman Carr continues to create space for the White House’s punishing stance against the media, Gomez is taking her case to the American people.
“We all need to understand what is happening, and we need people to speak up and to push back. Because the only way to beat a bully, is to punch the bully back, and we need that to happen with this administration before it continues to erode our freedoms.”
The White House continues to float its political trial balloons with the New York Post, recently suggesting that the president would settle his lawsuit against CBS and Paramount for free ads. Carr has held up the FCC’s approval of a merger with Skydance as the president pursues CBS. The California Attorney General recently announced an investigation into Paramount and its settlement talks, and the Freedom of the Press Foundation has said it will sue if they settle.
Gomez’s staff sent out a press release in advance of her appearance in Los Angeles, but as of this weekend, her webpage offered no details for the upcoming appearances in the Midwest. Still, the web page has more resources than it did a few weeks ago, including buttons to request media interviews or the commissioner’s appearance.
Gomez’s strategy—getting loud about a government job that’s usually not in the public eye—suggests she understands the critical role the FCC plays as press freedom, and political dissent, are under siege.
Political commentator Thom Hartmann recently wrote about the “shadow cabinet” concept at length, highlighting the British tradition of counter weights and measures that can stabilize democracy for the long run.
Breaking News from NFCB in Salt Lake City
Stations that were awarded grants under the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program are learning that some funds, previously frozen, are set to be released following legal action and political pressure. These and other disaster-related grant programs help pay for disaster mitigation and recovery. Stop work orders remain in place.
Announcement:
FCC Actions Alert is taking a 10-day hiatus. Look for CMAP at the National Federation of Community Broadcasters conference in Utah this week. We will return after the Juneteenth holiday.
This FCC Actions Alert is produced by the volunteers at the Community Media Assistance Project under the direction of CMAP Executive Director, Betty McArdle. We monitor many sources of information about the Federal Communications Commission, federal communications law, and community developments important to your station and your community. The information provided in this newsletter is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered as financial or legal advice. Always consult with a qualified professional before making any decisions based on the content herein. If you have a news tip, please email us at betty@c-map.org.
Communications Act of 1934, Sect. 326.
Nothing in this Act shall be understood or construed to give the Commission the power of censorship over the radio communications or signals transmitted by any radio station, and no regulation or condition shall be promulgated or fixed by the Commission which shall interfere with the right of free speech by means of radio communication.