New CEI paper: FCC should stop regulating news content
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The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has long used its role in licensing spectrum to broadcast television and radio stations to regulate those outlets under the Communications Act’s public interest obligation. The agency invokes the public interest when it justifies regulating the news content of broadcast radio and television programs, claiming such moves create more “balanced coverage.”
Recently, the FCC became the focus of controversy for threatening the broadcast licenses of ABC affiliates for airing The Jimmy Kimmel Show in the wake of controversial comments the late-night host made about the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
However, according to a new study from the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), rather than improving “balance,” the FCC’s attempts to regulate news content inhibit TV and radio stations from airing important and controversial topics. While the FCC has stopped regulating news content under some regulatory schemes, like the Fairness Doctrine, it still utilizes the “news distortion standard.”
In the modern news environment, FCC attempts to regulate licensees’ content tilt the regulatory playing field, where millions of Americans get their news from outlets like cable news channels, newspapers, social media, streaming platforms, and podcasts that are not regulated. Americans now watch more streaming on television sets than cable and network television programming combined. An August 2025 Nielsen report found that streaming reached a new high in total television usage, accounting for 46.4 percent of viewership, while broadcast and cable combined represented 41.6 percent of viewership.
“The bottom line is that FCC attempts to regulate news content infringe on the First Amendment rights of broadcast TV and radio stations, often inhibiting broadcasters from airing segments on controversial topics,” said paper author and CEI adjunct fellow Brian Rankin. “Add in the fact that most Americans now get their news from outlets not subject to FCC regulations, and you have a tilted regulatory field that is poorly serving the public. The FCC should abolish the news distortion standard and stop regulating news content altogether.”