Last Saturday, Brendan Carr — the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission and the nation’s chief broadcast regulator — was at Mar-a-Lago when he picked up his phone and posted a warning directed at every TV broadcaster in America.
“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.”
The trigger was a dispute over war reporting. The Wall Street Journal had reported that five U.S. Air Force refueling planes were struck during an Iranian missile strike on the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. The president called the coverage “intentionally misleading” and accused the Times, the Journal, and other outlets of “terrible reporting.” Carr, at the same resort as the president that day, echoed the complaint with a threat.
The president then endorsed Car…
