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Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr put the record straight this week, pushing back hard against late-night outrage and the predictable chorus claiming censorship. Carr explained on The Ingraham Angle that the equal-time rule exists to prevent legacy broadcasters from picking winners and losers in elections, and that CBS’s move was rooted in legal caution, not government muzzling.
The dust-up began when Stephen Colbert said CBS lawyers told him not to air an interview with Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico, citing fears the segment could trigger equal-time obligations; Colbert then posted the interview to YouTube and raised a hullabaloo. CBS has countered that the show received legal guidance about how equal-time might apply and offered options for compliance, while Colbert accused the network of issuing a statement without consulting him.
Carr was blunt: this was manufactured victimhood by a candidate and entertainers hoping to score political points and clicks, and the media rushed in like lemmings. He’s opened an inquiry into other programs that appear to flout the rules, warning networks that the days of treating broadcast airwaves like partisan stages are over.
Conservative Americans should welcome an FCC chair who actually enforces longstanding law instead of letting self-anointed elites run elections from late-night couches. For years the media elite have operated under the assumption that talk-show virtue signaling was exempt from neutral standards, and hosts have publicly attacked the commission for daring to restore some balance.
Don’t be fooled by the theatrical indignation; Colbert’s “FCC you” shtick and celebrity tantrums are a distraction from a basic principle: broadcasters use public airwaves and must play by rules that protect fairness. If networks want to promote a candidate, fine—do it transparently and accept the political consequences rather than hiding behind hand-wringing about “censorship.”
We need regulators who will call out media double standards and hold powerful outlets accountable when they try to tilt primaries with manufactured outrage. Brendan Carr is signaling that the era of broadcasters picking political favorites on public frequencies will face consequences, and hardworking Americans should support restoring fairness to the airwaves rather than applauding another elite tantrum.
