President Trump threatens to review of licences of NBC and CNN

President Trump threatens to review of licences of NBC and CNN

President Trump threatens to review of licences of NBC and CNN

 

Once again, U.S. President Donald Trump blasted CNN and NBC News in a tweet criticising NBC’s handling of a story on movie producer, Harvey Weinstein and suggesting a “look at their license”.

NBC FAKE NEWS, which is under intense scrutiny over their killing the Harvey Weinstein story, is now fumbling around making excuses for their probably highly unethical conduct. I have long criticized NBC and their journalistic standards-worse than even CNN. Look at their license?

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 4, 2018

Trump has frequently criticised the U.S. news media for what he has said is unfair coverage of him. “I have long criticised NBC and their journalistic standards-worse than even CNN. Look at their license?” he tweeted.

Trump blasted NBC and other TV networks last October, calling their news “Fake” and suggesting he would “challenge” their licenses. Democratic FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel responded to Trump’s most recent tweet by posting the FCC rules on licensing. “One more time…this is not how it works,” she wrote on Twitter.

The FCC, an independent agency, does not issue licenses to individual networks but to local stations, including those directly owned by broadcasters such as Comcast through NBC.  The agency has said the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution “expressly prohibits the commission from censoring broadcast matter” and that its role “in overseeing program content is very limited.”