TJ Walker argues the FCC under Brendan Carr is retaliating against ABC and The View as Trump's approval drops to 30%. The agency is questioning whether The View qualifies for news exemptions and scrutinizing ABC stations over Disney's DEI practices, Walker says, creating a chilling effect on broadcasters.
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Ultimize. ABC is not just fighting Brendan Carr's FCC. ABC is telling America, look at what your government is doing in broad daylight. The FCC is reviewing whether The View is really a news program and threatening ABC-owned local station licenses while Trump's numbers are collapsing. A new American Research Group poll has Trump at just 30% approval and 66% disapproval. On the economy, only 26% approve and 70% disapprove. So spare me the civics class fairy tale that this is neutral regulation. When a weak president facing economic pain uses federal power against a network that criticizes him, that's not oversight. That is cancel culture with a badge, a seal, and a broadcast license review. ABC has now launched an on-air campaign urging, urging viewers to defend The View and its local stations from the FCC. That sounds strange because normally when we hear TV stations begging viewers to call somebody, it's over a cable carriage dispute. Call your cable company before you lose Channel 7. Annoying but familiar. This is different. This is not a fight over whether Spectrum pays Disney another few cents per subscriber. This is the federal government looking at one of the country's biggest broadcast networks and saying, nice local station you have there, shame if something happens to the license. The FCC under Chairman Brendan Carr is questioning whether The View and shows like it should continue to qualify as bona fide news programs exempt from equal time rules. The spark was an appearance by Texas Senate candidate James Talarico. ABC points out that The View has been treated this way for decades, and the show even booked Vice President J.D. Vance last week. But apparently that's not enough. Apparently the government now wants to inspect the guest list like a nervous assistant principal standing outside the school dance. There's a second front too. ABC-owned stations are facing license scrutiny tied to Disney's so-called DEI practices. ABC filed its license renewals under protest and called this an extraordinary demonstration of power and coercion directed at disfavored editorial voices. That's the phrase that matters— disfavored editorial voices. Because let's be adults here, this is not really about DEI. This is not really about equal time. This is not really about the sacred regulatory distinction between Face the Nation and 4 women at a table arguing before lunch. This is about intimidation, and the timing matters. The American Research Group poll released June 22nd shows Trump in terrible shape. Overall, 30% approval of his job performance— that's horrible— and 66% disapprove. On the economy, the numbers are even uglier. A mere 26% of American voters approve of his performance, and 70% disapprove. Among independents, only 25% approve of his overall job performance, and only 20% approve of his handling of the economy. This is not a mandate. This is not a movement. This is a man looking at the fire alarm and blaming the person who said I smell smoke. The economic numbers are devastating. 73% of Americans say the national economy is getting worse. 75% say it will be worse a year from now. 65% believe the economy is already in recession. Only 10% rate the national economy as excellent, very good, or good, while 82% rate it bad, very bad, or terrible. And it is personal. Only 3% of Americans say their own household financial situation is getting better. 73% say it's getting worse. Looking a year ahead, only 6% think their household finances will be better, while 68% think they will be worse. That's the real backdrop. People are not sitting around the kitchen table saying, honey, I'm worried the view may not be properly classified under the FCC's bona fide news exception. Oh no, they're saying, can we afford groceries? Can we afford gas? Are we going to be able to pay for the rent? Can we afford the deductible? Can we afford another month of this? Would you like to be the sort of successful person who is dominating news, at least in your industry? Well, if so, it's time to up your skills. At ultimize.com, I've created online courses to help you do that. Now, here's the thing. No obligation. You can get a free course on communication skills, a free course on how to build better habits. All you have to do is go to ultimize.com. That's ultimize.com. No obligation. Go there now. So when the administration's allies turn the FCC into a pressure campaign against ABC, don't treat it as a boring regulatory footnote. Treat it as a political panic attack. Conservatives spent years telling us cancel culture was the greatest threat to Western civilization. A college student yelled at a speaker, "Oh, cancel culture!" A comedian lost a booking, "Cancel culture!" A billionaire got criticized on Twitter, "Send him thoughts and prayers!" But now the federal government is threatening broadcast licenses. Not a student club, not a mean hashtag, not 3 angry people on Blue Sky. The federal government, the agency that can decide whether your local ABC station gets to keep broadcasting. Suddenly, the free speech warriors are not standing on chairs waving pocket constitutions any longer. They're checking to see if the punishment paperwork is in triplicate. This is the hypocrisy at the center of the modern right-wing free speech racket. They don't want free speech. They want speech they control. They don't oppose cancel culture. They simply oppose being canceled. When they have power, they want to cancel harder, faster, and with a government letterhead. And let's not pretend this is subtle. ABC's local spots are designed to make viewers understand the stakes. WABC in New York has served the area for more than 75 years. Other ABC-owned stations in Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Houston, San Francisco, Raleigh-Durham, and Fresno are part of this fight too. These are not obscure campus newsletters. These are local stations people rely on for weather, emergencies, elections, traffic, school closings, and yes, news politicians may not like. That's why this matters beyond ABC. If the FCC can put a major network through this because its programming displeases the administration, every broadcaster gets the message: be careful, pull your punches, maybe don't book that critic, maybe don't ask that question, maybe don't air that panel, maybe don't irritate the man with 30% approval and 70% economic disapproval. That's how imitation works. You don't have to shut down everyone. You make one example loud enough that everyone else starts editing themselves. The First Amendment is not needed when presidents are popular and journalists are flattering them. The First Amendment is needed when presidents are weak, angry, unpopular, and looking for someone to blame. And that's exactly where we are. Trump is not winning the argument with the public. The poll shows Americans think the economy is getting worse, their household finances are getting worse, and next year may be worse still. So instead of solving that, his regulators are picking fights with ABC. This is the old authoritarian magic trick. Don't look at your bills, look at your enemies. Don't look at the economy, look at The View. Don't ask why only 26% approve of Trump's handling of the economy. Ask whether Joy Behar counts as a bona fide news program. Please. If Brendan Carr wants to improve public trust in broadcasting, he could start by not acting like the FCC is the customer service desk for Trump's hurt feelings. The job of the FCC is not to protect protect presidents from criticism. It's not to punish networks for guests the White House doesn't like. It's not to make broadcasters wonder whether their licenses depend on political obedience. ABC is right to go public. Viewers should know when their government is trying to pressure the media they watch, and every other broadcaster should pay attention too, because today it's The View, Tomorrow it's your local investigative reporter. Next week it's the station that airs a debate clip Trump doesn't like. After that, it's anyone with a camera, a microphone, and a spine. This is not regulation. This is retaliation dressed up in a government suit. And when a president with 30% approval and 70% economic disapproval starts using federal power to menace broadcasters The question is not whether ABC is being too dramatic. The question is whether the rest of the media is being dramatic enough. I'm TJ Walker. This is Filtered. Ultimize.
