Media aren’t the enemy, FCC chief says
WASHINGTON — The news media are not the enemy of the American people, the new head of the Federal Communications Commission said after dodging the question at a Senate hearing this month.
“A free media is vital to our democracy,” FCC Chairman Ajit Pai wrote last week to Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., who released the letter Monday.
“That is why during my time at the commission I have consistently opposed any effort to infringe upon the freedom of the press and have fought to eliminate regulations that impede the gathering and dissemination of news,” said Pai, a Republican who has served as a commissioner since 2012.
His views are important because the FCC has oversight over many federal regulations covering the news media, including access to public airwaves and limits on ownership of broadcast stations and newspapers in the same market. The agency also often must decide whether to approve major media mergers.
Pai was criticized by Democrats and public interest advocates for not taking a position at a March 8 Senate Commerce Committee hearing on comments by President Donald Trump that were highly critical of many news organizations.
In a March 10 letter also signed by his 12 Democratic colleagues on the committee, Nelson asked Pai directly if he believed the media to be the enemy of the people, as Trump has stated.
Pai responded with a simple no.
But Pai prefaced his response by writing that “the president has made clear that he was referring to ‘fake news’ ” as the enemy of the people.
In response to a series of yes-or-no questions in the letter, Pai said he would not do anything that “stifles or penalizes free speech by electronic media, directly or indirectly, even if requested by the administration.” He also committed to operating independently of the White House and to inform the committee of any attempt by the administration to influence his decisions.