The FCC's battle with CBS over its Harris interview is raising red flags

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Source: CNN

The FCC’s battle with CBS over its Harris interview is raising red flags

By Brian Stelter, CNN
5 minute read
Published 3:17 PM EST, Mon February 3, 2025

(CNN) — The Trump administration’s request for the raw material of a “60 Minutes” segment is raising red flags across the media industry.

The segment in question is last October’s interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris. President Trump sued CBS in a federal court alleging that the interview was deceptively “doctored” to help Harris beat Trump. CBS insisted that it was not doctored.

A pro-Trump group also lodged a formal “news distortion” complaint about the “60 Minutes” segment with the Federal Communications Commission, the government agency that licenses local TV stations. That’s what prompted new FCC Chairman Brendan Carr to send a “letter of inquiry” to CBS, asking the network to hand over the unedited tapes and transcript.

Lawyers and researchers who follow the FCC closely raised First Amendment concerns over the inquiry, pointing out that the agency’s inquiries to stations usually involve technical matters, not news coverage.

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Read more: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/03/media/fcc-cbs-brendan-carr/index.html