FCC/MEDIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump on Wednesday [10-11-17] suggested that NBC’s broadcast license should be pulled as punishment after NBC News published a report stating that the president sought a dramatic increase in the nation’s nuclear arsenal…
It is the second time in as many weeks that Trump has felt compelled to attack NBC News, which reported last week that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson came close to resigning last summer and called the president a ‘moron’ following a meeting with members of the national security team and members of the cabinet. It was at that meeting, NBC News reported Wednesday, that Trump said he wanted a nearly tenfold increase in the U.S. nuclear stockpile…
The president’s stated willingness to potentially challenge the broadcast licenses of networks whose coverage he objects to opens a new front on Trump’s long-running battle with the press. The president has regularly complained about coverage he views as unfairly critical, labeling stories, reporters and entire outlets ‘fake news.’
The FCC, an independent federal agency, issues broadcast licenses to stations and oversees license holders. It does not license networks. NBC is owned by Comcast, which holds broadcast licenses for several stations. NBC also airs on affiliate stations owned by other companies.
The FCC did not immediately comment on Trump’s tweet.”
-Louis Nelson and Margret Harding McGill, “Trump suggests challenging NBC’s broadcast license,” Politico, Oct. 11, 2017 11:02am