That’s Entertainment!

Trump's incoming FCC chair already putting TV networks on noticed they'll be punished for coverage Trump doesn't like. Trump use already violated his oath in term 1 by using public power to punish coverage he didn't like. Even more open now. https://t.co/hYVW4DnHwc

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) November 24, 2024

Broadcast licenses are not sacred cows.

These media companies are required by law to operate in the public interest. If they don’t, they are going to be held accountable, as the Communications Act requires. https://t.co/d4WBKLV3fy

— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) November 24, 2024

The First Amendment has entered the chat.

Not to mention “the public interest” is a legally defined term (via case law), and it doesn’t align with the personal opinions of the sitting POTUS.

Major media corporations have lawyers. Much better lawyers than Trump has; or will have in the DOJ, if he has his way. The good lawyers there, if they aren’t sacked already, will tell Trump and Carr even the effort to punish broadcast systems will fail and leave the government open to sanctions (reputational if not judicial).

Fucking with individuals is one thing. Fucking with corporations (only some of them. Delta at least expects a repeal of Biden era regulations so they can go back to screwing passengers for profit), is entertainment. I don’t want the airlines screwing passengers. I don’t want FoxNews spewing lies. But FoxNews is cable, not broadcast. And “60 Minutes” is not Hannity or Ingram or any of the crap on Fox. And I’m far more upset about Trump favoring greedy airlines than about him hassling uber-rich corporations with powers he only imagines he has.

Trump is going to waste tax dollars he’s supposed to be so concerned with wasting, and the broadcast companies (all owned by bigger, richer corporations) are going to pay a lot of lawyers to tell the FCC to pound sand. And the courts are going to do the same.

And in four years we’ll all have forgotten all about it.  Do you remember what Trump did before to “punish coverage he didn’t like”?  Issue tweets, I imagine.

Some of this nonsense is going to be entertaining.