If you’ve spent any time scrolling social media since ABC News and NBC News declined to air President Trump’s speech on Thursday night, you’ve probably run into this argument: “You don’t have to believe the president’s speech. That’s your choice. Not broadcasting it takes that choice away. That’s what communists do.”
I’d push back against that. Hard. The argument actually gets things backward. Communists mandate that state-run media broadcast the president’s every word, and suggesting otherwise is asinine.
There’s a firm difference between being angry that networks skipped the speech and believing they should be legally required to air it. The fact that we’re even having this conversation feels absurd to me. Prominent conservative media figures and Republican lawmakers have argued that ABC, CBS, and NBC should lose their broadcast licenses over the decision, and that call keeps gaining traction online.
A Dangerous Standard
Should the federal government dictate what broadcast news outlets cover? Think about that question for more than half a second, and you’ll see why that’s a bad idea. That’s also not how FCC licenses actually work. ABC doesn’t hold a broadcast license — its affiliate stations do. Sure, ABC (and CBS, and NBC, to boot) have owned-and-operated stations, but that’s not nearly the intended effect pundits are clamoring for. And CNN doesn’t have a license to revoke at all! Anyone who doesn’t know that probably shouldn’t be weighing in on license revocation in the first place.
Cable news operates under an entirely different regulatory framework than broadcast television, and conflating the two only muddies an already messy debate. MS NOW and other cable outlets face zero FCC oversight over their programming decisions, full stop. Networks have skipped presidential addresses before, and the sky didn’t fall then, either. So why does it feel like the end of the world now?
Context matters here, too. Broadcasters make judgment calls on political programming constantly, weighing news value against repetition, campaign-style messaging, and equal-time obligations. Thursday’s decision wasn’t some unprecedented act of defiance. It was an editorial call, the kind newsrooms make every single day. And should continue to be allowed to make!
I understand the moment we’re living in. Everything feels hyper-politicized, and if you believe ABC News, CNN, MS NOW, or NBC News failed their duty on Thursday night, you’re entitled to that opinion. Don’t watch those networks, then. Change the channel. Vote with your remote, and let ratings and advertisers sort out whether the decision was smart business.
The Difference Between Public Interest And Government Mandate
Someone will inevitably respond that broadcast networks carry a duty to serve the public interest, and that’s a fair point worth raising. But there’s a real difference between a viewer reaching that conclusion on their own and the FCC or federal government reaching it for them. One approach respects the marketplace of ideas. The other tramples the First Amendment and hands regulators a weapon they should never hold.
There are very few issues where I think everyone should land on the same side, but this is one of them. Once government officials get to decide which speeches deserve mandatory airtime, they’ll eventually decide which ones don’t. That precedent doesn’t discriminate by party, and it won’t stay contained to one administration.
Calling for punishment of broadcast networks over a skipped speech reeks of authoritarianism, whether the call comes from the left or the right. I don’t want authoritarianism creeping into how we talk about media accountability, and you shouldn’t want it, either. Criticize the networks all you want. Just don’t ask Washington to do it for you.
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Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing daily news stories, features, and opinion columns. He joined Barrett Media in 2022 after a decade leading several radio brands in several formats, as well as a 5-year stint working in local television. In addition to his work with Barrett Media, he is a radio and TV play-by-play broadcaster. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.