OPINION:
Brendan Carr, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, has kicked off an investigation into the widely panned campaign-era CBS News interview of Kamala Harris — you remember, the one where the outlet went out of its way to erase the then-presidential candidate’s word salad responses so as to make her appear sensible and logical, and then, in true propaganda fashion, shoulder-shrugged the accusations of bias that followed and said, “Bias? What bias? We only edited for time!”
Sorry, CBS.
If it walks like a duck, squawks like a duck, then it probably is a CBS squawky duck doing the due diligence corporate media thing to cover up for Democrats’ failings.
Times have changed at ye olde FCC, though, and as President Trump’s appointee Carr put it: The time has come to confirm the truth and answer the question, once and for all: Was CBS simply helping Harris win her White House contest against Trump, or was CBS simply and curiously and coincidentally editing — for time, of course; for time constraints, of course — the very portion of the interview that portrayed her as ignorant and befuddled? It could be a coincidence. It could have been happenstance. Barack Obama could be a lizard person. It may be accidental. It might be totally unintentional. Toys might come to life when nobody’s looking.
“The FCC has had a prohibition against news distortion on our books for 50 years,” said Carr, in an interview with the New York Post. “It applies to broadcasters but not cable. A group brought a non-frivolous complaint [against CBS], so the FCC is taking the next appropriate step in adjudicating the issue.”
Another administration, a previous Biden administration, and the complaint — made by the Center for American Rights — would have fallen on deaf ears and died a quick death. But not now. Not this time. Not with the new administration and the new White House and the new law-and-order type of agenda that’s being pushed back onto the American scene, and oh how thankfully so.
“The complaint stems from two different broadcasts of the same interview aired on CBS’s ‘Face the Nation’ and ’60 Minutes’ on October 5 and 6, 2024. In both broadcasts, the same question was posed to Vice President Kamala Harris regarding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but CBS aired two conflicting responses,” the Center for American Rights wrote on its website in October. “These discrepancies … amount to deliberate distortion — a violation of FCC rules.”
Specifically, Harris was made to appear as if her response was smooth and silky, devoid of the type of word salad mumbo-jumbo that had dinged her every step of her political campaign. Voila, like magic, her rabbit-hole ramblings were disappeared.
The media seemingly did the Democrat a favor.
As CAR President Daniel Suhr said, “This is about the public’s trust in the media.”
So CAR filed a complaint with the FCC. Meanwhile, Trump sued. His attorneys argued, “CBS’s misconduct was unconscionable because it amount[ed] to a brazen attempt to interfere in the 2024 U.S. presidential election.” They demanded $10 billion. Why not?
They also demanded that CBS “publicly release the full unedited transcript of the [interview].”
Seems reasonable. After all, if there’s nothing to hide, why hide the transcript?
Finally, and without apologizing, but rather boldly proclaiming no apology was necessary or forthcoming, CBS released the unedited transcript of the at-issue “60 Minutes” interview. Finally, and only after Carr became head of the FCC, the news outlet turned over the documents.
Did CBS grant Harris political favor in hopes of helping her win against Trump? Public airwaves require equal time for vying political candidates. Depending on what Carr concludes, Trump could have some help of his own with his $10 billion suit.
But what’s clear already is many of the media in this nation have failed to do their duty to the public and report in as non-biased a manner as they pretend. It’s not the media bias that’s the problem. It’s the media’s coverup of their bias that’s problematic — followed by the arrogant, elitist scorn and dismissal of those who see the bias and point out the bias.
Media members who want to serve as spokespeople for the Democrats and pit bulls against Republicans have full First Amendment rights to do so. Just quit lying about it. Just stop pretending to the American people of a non-bias that just isn’t true. Hopefully, this FCC investigation of CBS sets the mainstream media on notice and gives the much-needed face slap this world of anti-MAGA, anti-conservative, anti-Christian and anti-America leftist ideologues has long deserved.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley. Listen to her podcast “Bold and Blunt” by clicking HERE. And never miss her column; subscribe to her newsletter and podcast by clicking HERE. Her latest book, “God-Given Or Bust: Defeating Marxism and Saving America With Biblical Truths,” is available by clicking HERE.
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