Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr, known for using his power to suppress free speech, will be a guest at this year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner on April 25.
Carr was asked to attend the event by Paramount, the parent company of CBS, which is headed by Republican donor David Ellison.
CBS News also reportedly invited Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and senior White House adviser Stephen Miller. All three have frequently attacked dissenting speech throughout their careers, particularly since joining the Trump administration.
Donald Trump is also slated to attend the dinner—which is hosted by the White House Correspondents’ Association—for the first time since becoming president.
Carr is not a fan of free speech, especially if it’s critical of Trump or the Republican Party. Carr used his position at the FCC last year to pressure TV stations and ABC parent company Disney to censor late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, who was falsely accused of mocking the death of racist right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.
Carr is also spearheading an effort to reinterpret FCC rules and guidelines in a way that would force comedy shows to provide equal time for conservative guests, even if their views do not reflect the host’s position or programming choices.
More recently, after Trump launched a war in Iran, Carr threatened to withhold the renewal of TV networks’ broadcast licenses if news divisions were critical of the wildly unpopular war.
The decision to invite Carr to the Correspondents’ Dinner undermines Ellison’s previous claim that CBS would operate without bias. Already at CBS News, conservative activist Bari Weiss was installed to run the newsroom and has spiked stories considered unfriendly toward Trump while airing pro-Trump propaganda.
Often the subject of controversy, the Correspondents’ Dinner is receiving extra scrutiny this year thanks to the involvement of the notoriously anti-speech Trump administration.
A coalition of more than 250 journalists—including notable figures like Dan Rather and Sam Donaldson—recently sent an open letter to the Correspondents’ Association calling for Trump to be confronted during the dinner for his attacks on the press.
“We believe the White House Correspondents’ Association should take stronger action by issuing—from the podium—a forceful defense of freedom of the press and condemnation of those who threaten that freedom, followed by a standing toast to the First Amendment and a pledge to continue upholding such a critical cornerstone of our democracy,” the letter said.The mainstream media already has a significant credibility problem with the public at large. Breaking bread with anti-free speech warriors like Trump and Carr will just add more fuel to the fire.
Daily Kos relies on small donations to make ends meet
Ad revenue can’t support Daily Kos operations—and it hasn’t been able to for more than a decade. Digital ad revenue has declined everywhere, especially for news organizations for whom it was once their lifeblood. Companies are spending less money on ads, and Amazon, Facebook and Google are gobbling up an ever-greater share of what remains. This has left almost nothing for places like Daily Kos. The only reason we’ve been able to survive is because of the support of readers like you. That’s why we’re asking: Can you take one minute right now to donate $5 or more to Daily Kos? It would mean so much to us.
Source:
www.dailykos.com
