OMAHA, Neb (KMTV) — In the wake of Jimmy Kimmel Live being pre-empted by his network, and two station ownership groups, Nebraska-based experts are raising concerns about potential government influence on broadcast content. Recent comments by President Trump suggested negative coverage could be grounds for revoking broadcast licenses.
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Paul McGreal, a constitutional law professor at Creighton University, warns that government pressure on broadcasters could violate First Amendment protections.
"You can absolutely make an argument — and a strong argument — that in these contexts that the government is violating the First Amendment," McGreal said.
The concerns stem from Trump's comments suggesting that negative coverage of him could be illegal and cause for license revocation.
Talking to reporters in the Oval Office he said, in part, "They'll take a great story and they'll make it bad. See, I think that's really illegal personally. You can't take, you can't have a free airwaves..."
KMTV asked Republican Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, a former TV journalist in Cedar Rapids, if she had concerns politicians could use the power of government to influence broadcast media.
"I would say it actually comes down to, are you following the spirit of the license that you get as a broadcast entity? And I think there's a big difference between satire, political speech and misinformation and lying on the air," Hinson said while visiting a farm in Pottawattamie County on Monday.
Comedy content — including satire and exaggeration — is protected speech as long as a reasonable viewer can understand it's not news, according to University of Nebraska Professor Emeritus of Journalism John Bender.
"They recognize humor when they see it," he said.
Bender explained that agencies like the FCC are legally required in the Administrative Procedures Act to make decisions that aren't "arbitrary" and "capricious."
"And if they do, then whatever action they've taken can be overturned by the court," Bender said.
McGreal said government pressure to express a specific viewpoint is especially worrying.
"And that type of pressure is actually what the Supreme Court would say — the worst type of pressure on the First Amendment. It's viewpoint discrimination," McGreal said.
The FCC took no regulatory action in this case and Bender noted that license revocations are extremely rare.
While ABC has reinstated the show in question, two of the nation's largest local TV station owners, Nexstar and Sinclair, are still pre-empting it.
"I mean, that all raises some real questions about the viability of free speech in the country," Bender said.
McGreal cautioned that government influence over free speech affects all political perspectives, which may explain why conservatives like Sen. Ted Cruz have spoken out about potential FCC overreach.
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