2026年3月14日 / 美国东部时间晚上9:35 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
作者：克里斯汀·布朗、威利·詹姆斯·英曼
在周六接受哥伦比亚广播公司新闻的独家采访中，联邦通信委员会主席布伦丹·卡尔再次强调警告称，鉴于特朗普总统对媒体报道伊朗战争的批评，广播牌照可能被吊销。
卡尔在接受哥伦比亚广播公司新闻采访时表示：”人们已经习惯了这样一种观念，即牌照是某种财产权，无论你做什么都不会导致牌照被吊销。我试图帮助人们重新认识到，事实并非如此，因为广播行业有公共利益的考量，这与其他行业不同。”
周六早些时候，卡尔在X平台（原推特）发文称：”那些传播假新闻和歪曲事实的广播公司——也就是所谓的’假新闻’——在其牌照续期之际有机会纠正错误。法律明确规定，广播公司必须以公共利益为导向运营，如果不这样做，将失去牌照。”
卡尔发布这条消息是为了回应特朗普在Truth Social平台上对美国媒体报道沙特阿拉伯美军加油机遇袭事件的抨击。
特朗普写道：”五架飞机中有四架几乎没有受损，并且已经重新投入使用。正如假新闻在标题中所说的那样，没有一架飞机被摧毁，也没有接近被摧毁的情况。”
在他的帖子中，特朗普特别批评了《华尔街日报》和《纽约时报》等报纸媒体，但总统经常批评广播电视新闻机构，声称他们的报道带有负面倾向，并暗示这些机构的牌照可能被吊销。
批评者立即对卡尔周六发布的帖子展开抨击。
马萨诸塞州民主党参议员伊丽莎白·沃伦在社交媒体上回应称：”宪法101：政府审查其不喜欢的、关于特朗普伊朗战争的言论是非法的。”
康涅狄格州民主党参议员克里斯·墨菲表示：”这是联邦政府告诉新闻电视台提供对战争有利的报道，否则将吊销其牌照。这真是一个非同寻常的时刻。”
卡尔告诉哥伦比亚广播公司新闻：”只要不参与’新闻歪曲’，所有广播公司都应该能够完全自由地进行报道。”
“所有遵守牌照条款的人都应该感到非常安心，”卡尔说，”如果有人不喜欢牌照的使用范围，他们可以选择转向有线电视或流媒体服务，或者交回牌照并以其他方式运营。但广播电视频道有其独特性。”
联邦通信委员会作为独立机构，向各广播电台颁发有效期为八年的牌照，许多电视台由电视网络所有并运营。但该委员会并不为哥伦比亚广播公司（CBS）、全国广播公司（NBC）、美国广播公司（ABC）或福克斯（Fox）等电视网络颁发牌照。
联邦通信委员会对内容标准的监管仅限于电视和广播的空中信号传输，而不适用于其他形式的节目，如有线电视网络或流媒体平台。
联邦通信委员会官网指出：”地方电视台和广播电台的空中广播受特定言论限制，但有线电视或卫星电视系统传输的言论通常不受此类限制。联邦通信委员会不监管在线内容。”
卡尔补充说，目前没有即将进行的重新评估广播牌照的行动，但他指出正在进行的调查可能成为提前要求牌照续期的理由。具体而言，卡尔举了两个例子，包括联邦通信委员会正在调查美国广播公司（ABC）的《观点》节目是否违反了平等时间规则，以及对康卡斯特及其子公司全国广播环球公司（NBC Universal）在多元化、公平和包容性政策方面的调查。
上个月，哥伦比亚广播公司《晚间秀》主持人斯蒂芬·科尔伯特批评该网络，称他与美国参议院候选人詹姆斯·塔拉利科的采访因担心违反平等时间规则而被禁止播出。该采访虽然未播出，但在网上发布。
哥伦比亚广播公司在一份声明中反驳称，《晚间秀》并非被禁止播出采访，而是”该节目收到法律建议称，播出可能会触发联邦通信委员会的平等时间规则（涉及另外两位候选人，包括众议员贾斯敏·克罗克特），并提出了满足其他候选人平等时间要求的方案。《晚间秀》决定通过其YouTube频道播出该采访，并在广播中进行宣传，而不是提供平等时间选项。”
根据平等时间规则，获得联邦通信委员会牌照的广播公司如果允许政治候选人在其频道播出内容，就必须向所有竞选同一职位的其他候选人提供”平等机会”。
联邦通信委员会在今年1月发布通知称，日间脱口秀和深夜节目将受平等时间规则约束，这与之前的政策有所不同。
根据联邦通信委员会官网信息，部分州的广播电视牌照最早将于2028年6月到期，此后续期日期将持续到2031年8月。
特朗普政府还将考虑大型并购案，这可能重塑电视行业格局。上个月，特朗普似乎支持Nexstar Media Group以62亿美元收购Tegna公司。随着联邦通信委员会即将对该并购案进行评估，卡尔也表示支持这一交易。
联邦通信委员会和司法部还将考虑派拉蒙Skydance（CBS新闻母公司）以1100亿美元收购华纳兄弟探索公司（Warner Bros. Discovery）。
卡尔称赞特朗普”从根本上重塑了整个媒体格局”，但同时表示”还有更多变革需要发生”。
他对哥伦比亚广播公司新闻表示：”过去，地方电视台和全国性节目之间保持着良好的平衡。如果全国性节目播出了地方电视台认为不符合社区利益的内容，他们会选择预放其他节目或提出异议。”
卡尔继续说道：”而这种平衡现在已经消失了。现在，电视台实际上只是来自好莱坞和纽约的节目内容的传声筒——没有不尊重的意思。”
2025年9月17日，卡尔在一次采访中批评深夜脱口秀主持人吉米·坎摩尔关于保守派活动家查理·柯克遇刺的言论是”最病态的行为”，并表示”存在暂停其节目播出的可能性”，这引发了一系列争议。
他当时表示：”联邦通信委员会将考虑相关补救措施。”
当天晚些时候，美国广播公司宣布无限期暂停该节目，而媒体巨头Nexstar和Sinclair表示将停播该节目。
坎摩尔在六天后重返节目，Nexstar和Sinclair也随后恢复了该节目的播出。
艾米丽·梅·扎乔尔、克里·布林、乔·沃尔什和法里斯·塔尼奥斯对本报道亦有贡献。
FCC Chair Brendan Carr says broadcast licenses are not a “property right,” as Trump bemoans coverage of Iran war
March 14, 2026 / 9:35 PM EDT / CBS News
By Kristin Brown, Willie James Inman
In an exclusive interview with CBS News Saturday, Federal Communications Chair Brendan Carr doubled down on his warning that broadcast licenses could be revoked amid President Trump’s criticisms of media coverage of the war in Iran.
“People have gotten used to the idea that, you know, licenses are some sort of property right, and there’s nothing you can do that can result in losing their license,” Carr told CBS News. “I try to sort of help reorient people that, no, there is a public interest, and broadcast is different.”
Earlier Saturday, Carr wrote in an X post that “broadcasters that are running hoaxes and news distortions – also known as the fake news – have a chance now to correct course before their license renewals come up. The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not.”
Carr posted the message in response to Mr. Trump’s Truth Social post slamming media coverage of an attack on U.S. air tankers in Saudi Arabia.
“Four of the five had virtually no damage, and are already back in service,” Mr. Trump wrote. “None were destroyed, or close to that, as the Fake News said in headlines.”
In his post, Mr. Trump specifically criticized newspaper outlets The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, but the president has often criticized broadcast TV news outlets, claiming negative coverage and suggesting some have their licenses revoked.
Critics immediately pounced on Carr’s post from Saturday.
“Constitutional law 101: it’s illegal for the government to censor free speech it just doesn’t like about Trump’s Iran war,” Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts wrote on social media in response.
“This is the federal government telling news stations to provide favorable coverage of the war or their licenses will be revoked. A truly extraordinary moment,” Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut wrote.
“All broadcasters should, you know, feel entirely free to do all of their reporting,” Carr told CBS News, as long as they’re not engaging in “news distortion.”
“Everyone that complies with the terms of the licenses should feel, you know, very comfortable,” Carr said. “Anyone that doesn’t like, you know, the contours of the licenses, they’re fine to take it to cable or to a streaming service, or to turn the license in and do it a different way. But, you know, there is something unique about being on the broadcast airwaves.”
The FCC, an independent agency, issues eight-year licenses to individual broadcast stations, many of which are owned and operated by television networks. It does not license TV networks such as CBS, NBC, ABC or Fox.
The FCC’s authority over content standards is limited to over-the-air broadcasts on television and radio, but not other forms of programming, such as cable networks or streaming platforms.
“Over-the-air broadcasts by local TV and radio stations are subject to certain speech restraints, but speech transmitted by cable or satellite TV systems generally is not,” the FCC’s website states. “The FCC does not regulate online content.”
Carr added there was no imminent effort to reassess broadcast licenses, but pointed to ongoing investigations which could serve as a reason to call for early license renewal. Specifically, Carr gave two examples, including an FCC investigation into ABC’s “The View” over the equal time rule, and a probe into Comcast and its subsidiary, NBC Universal, over diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
Last month, Stephen Colbert, host of “The Late Show” on CBS, criticized the network, alleging an interview he conducted with U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico was blocked from airing over fears it violated the equal time rule. The interview was not broadcast, but was posted online.
In a statement, CBS countered that the Late Show “was not prohibited by CBS from broadcasting the interview, but that “the show was provided legal guidance that the broadcast could trigger the FCC equal-time rule for two other candidates, including Rep. Jasmine Crockett, and presented options for how the equal time for other candidates could be fulfilled. THE LATE SHOW decided to present the interview through its YouTube channel with on-air promotion on the broadcast rather than potentially providing the equal-time options.”
Under the equal-time rule, an FCC-licensed broadcaster that lets a political candidate appear on its airwaves must also offer “equal opportunities” to all other candidates running for the same office.
The FCC issued a notice in January that daytime talk shows and late-night programs were subject to the equal-time rule, a reversal from previous policy.
Broadcast TV licenses are up for renewal as early as June 2028 in a handful of states, with rolling dates thereafter through August 2031, according to the FCC’s website.
The Trump administration is also set to consider mega mergers that will likely reshape the television industry. Last month, Mr. Trump appeared to support the $6.2 billion purchase of Tegna by the Nexstar Media Group. Carr has also signaled his support for the deal as the FCC moves closer to weighing in on the merger.
The FCC and the Justice Department will also have to consider the $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery by CBS News parent company Paramount Skydance.
Mr. Carr praised Mr. Trump for “fundamentally reshaping the entire media landscape,” but “at the same time, there’s more change that needs to happen.”
“It used to be there was a good balance between the local TV stations and the national programs,” he told CBS News. “So if there was some stuff that the national programs were running that the local TV stations didn’t think was a good fit for the community, they would pre-empt, they would push back.”
Carr went on: “And it’s just been lost. And now, it’s just, basically, the license TV stations are effectively just mouthpieces for the programming coming from, no disrespect, Hollywood and New York.”
Carr kickstarted a cascade of controversy on Sept. 17, 2025, when in an interview he criticized remarks made by late-night host Jimmy Kimmel about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk as “some of the sickest conduct possible,” and said there was a “path forward for suspension over this.”
“The FCC is going to have remedies we could look at,” he said at the time.
Later that same day, ABC announced it had suspended the show “indefinitely,” while media giants Nexstar and Sinclair said they were pulling the show.
Kimmel eventually returned to the air six days later, and both Nexstar and Sinclair also soon after restored the show to their stations.
Emily Mae Czachor, Kerry Breen, Joe Walsh and Faris Tanyos contributed to this report.
