Free Press Calls on the Trump FCC to Dismiss Meritless News-Distortion Complaint Against CBS

WASHINGTON — On Friday, Free Press filed comments in response to a “consumer complaint” accusing local broadcaster WCBS-TV of “news distortion” in its handling of a 60 Minutes interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris. In its filing at the FCC, Free Press disputes the validity of the complaint and situates the agency’s decision to consider it within FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s broader portfolio of speech-restrictive actions.

The complaint, brought by the Center for American Rights, asked the FCC to direct CBS to release the unedited transcript of the interview, claiming that 60 Minutes’ editing misled viewers. The Free Press filing explains that there is no distortion here: “The complaint at issue involves the basic journalistic practice of shortening an interview response. The Commission has denied requests alleging much worse, and it should do the same here.”

In the comment, Free Press dissects 60 Minutes’ edit to Harris’ October interview and explains that it is a standard editing practice common to news outlets. Free Press calls on the agency to dismiss the complaint for mootness, since CBS submitted the full transcript of the interview to the FCC, and thereby satisfied the only request the complaint even makes. “It is not proper for the Commission to read into the complaint anything that is not actually there. By opening a docket on a request that is now moot, this Commission invites suspicion that it is impermissibly acting on political motivations. Closing the docket would end that speculation.”

The Free Press comment walks the complaint through the FCC’s news-distortion test, and demonstrates that it fails at every step.

Free Press Legal Director Yanni Chen said: 

“Before the election, both FCC Chairman Carr and Commissioner Simington stated that the release of CBS’ unedited transcript would end this inquiry at the FCC. CBS has released that transcript and the raw footage from the interview. So what is the Commission doing by creating this docket and asking for public comment? At best, this docket seems to be an appeal to President Trump’s interests. At worst, it’s a shakedown on his behalf, as Trump pursues his absurd $20 billion lawsuit over the same broadcast.

“The complaint at the heart of this docket describes very basic editing techniques that journalists have to use to effectively do their jobs. This is not news distortion, but the type of editorial choice that the Constitution and a properly functioning FCC are meant to protect. If the agency goes any further with this inquiry, it will stoke fear among journalists that acting within their professional discretion to edit raw footage is worthy of government scrutiny. And perhaps that’s the FCC’s goal.

“Even putting aside the baseless allegations, the complaint is threadbare and cannot meet its burden to establish a recognizable claim. The Center for American Rights’ allegations are utterly without merit. And the group fails to offer any evidence to support its dubious claim that the segment’s producers or the network intended to distort the news by trimming Harris’ interview response. 

“Any agency intervention here risks running afoul of the First Amendment. Brendan Carr should know as much: The Constitution affords the FCC some latitude to regulate broadcasters based on content, but there are clearly delineated limits. Those limits are reached when government involvement runs roughshod over broadcasters’ free-speech rights to exercise journalistic discretion, with the obvious and intended goal of chilling any press outlet that questions President Trump and his anti-democratic agenda. This complaint presents that type of case.”