FCC Investigating Audacy's KCBS

[TheBigA]

I don't think anyone would like this if a radio station was giving out the location of local law enforcement officers who were in the middle of a sting or bust

But the fact is that the raid had been over by the time the station reported it. This story happened in January. A week later Carr said this:

"We have sent a letter of inquiry, a formal investigation into that matter, and they have days left to respond to that inquiry and explain how this could possibly be consistent with their public interest obligations," Carr said,

It's now been four months, and we've heard nothing more on this story. So we can gather the station responded, and there was nothing to act on by the FCC. One would think if this was still active, we'd hear about it by now.

 

[davideduardo]

Sounds to me like it should be investigated. I don't think anyone would like this if a radio station was giving out the location of local law enforcement officers who were in the middle of a sting or bust

The issue here is whether that actually happened. Most information points to this being a "media accessible" operation that was not specified to be "confidential until completed".

 

[tall_guy1]

On his (HBO) Max show on May 18th, John Oliver did an in-depth segment about Trump and the press, including Carr's FCC, and his arm-twisting of KCBS over its reporting on ICE raids. Unfortunately, the people who most need to hear this information are unlikely to be watching Last Week Tonight, but it's good to see it get the coverage it deserves, regardless.

Never thought like a decade ago (when Trump came down the escalator) we'd see him actually take blows to the press like this, but it's a perfect storm with press outlets losing viewers and being forced to own up to him. But, makes us wonder how good our press was to begin with.

 

[rparky54]

Never thought like a decade ago (when Trump came down the escalator) we'd see him actually take blows to the press like this, but it's a perfect storm with press outlets losing viewers and being forced to own up to him. But, makes us wonder how good our press was to begin with.

Only as good as their owners allow them to be.

 

[gr8oldies]

Sounds to me like it should be investigated. I don't think anyone would like this if a radio station was giving out the location of local law enforcement officers who were in the middle of a sting or bust

I hear the words "law enforcement activity" pretty regularly, especially if it's blocking traffic

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/19/brendan-carr-fcc-cbs-media-00299588

Politico has a profile on FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr and it includes a part where the FCC Commissioner also goes after NBC News over similar stuff in the same way he is going after Audacy's KCBS San Francisco and to a certain extent its sister stations that run the all-news radio format.

Carr’s appetite to delve into content appears to be growing. On April 16, he slammed Comcast news outlets for how they covered the Salvadoran man at the heart of a Trump administration deportation battle, suggesting they violated the law by misleadingly characterizing facts of a high-profile case. “Comcast knows that federal law requires its licensed operations to serve the public interest,” Carr wrote. “News distortion doesn’t cut it.”
Comcast’s outlets include not just NBC, whose broadcast programming faces some content-related FCC regulation, but also MSNBC, whose cable TV programming has typically fallen outside the agency’s authority.

 

[ted chittenden]

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/19/brendan-carr-fcc-cbs-media-00299588

Politico has a profile on FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr and it includes a part where the FCC Commissioner also goes after NBC News over similar stuff in the same way he is going after Audacy's KCBS San Francisco and to a certain extent its sister stations that run the all-news radio format.

What Mr. Carr, and by extension his boss, are doing is flagrant and dangerous. It's one thing to make multiple appearances on media that favors his viewpoints; but it's quite another to use the authority of his position to go after media that allow people to publicly criticize the U.S. president. The latter is a direct violation of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution for which both he and President Trump should be held accountable.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

FCC Commissioner Gomez: ‘If I’m Fired, It’s Because I Did My Job.’

FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez says based on what has occurred at other federal agencies, it may be a matter of time until President Donald Trump fires her. In the meantime,

www.insideradio.com

Here is more in response with another FCC commissioner responding to the current state of the agency. This time FCC commissioner Gomez comes forward.

 

[davideduardo]

What Mr. Carr, and by extension his boss, are doing is flagrant and dangerous. It's one thing to make multiple appearances on media that favors his viewpoints; but it's quite another to use the authority of his position to go after media that allow people to publicly criticize the U.S. president. The latter is a direct violation of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution for which both he and President Trump should be held accountable.

The issue here is whether KCBS broadcast information about a "secret" operation before it took place and the information was made public.

KCBS says that the policing action had already been completed when they reported, while the Trump administration says they jumped the gun and put at risk the officers and the operation.

If KCBS indeed reported the activity too soon, that violates all manner of journalistic standards. It would be a miniature version of Ally media reporting on the Normandy Invasion before the ships and planes took off from England.

All indications, though, are that KCBS proceeded appropriately and only reported after the police action was completed.

 

[TheBigA]

The issue here is whether KCBS broadcast information about a "secret" operation before it took place and the information was made public.

All of that has been addressed at length. If the government wants to prosecute someone, they should go after the mayor of San Jose or the representative of the community group that the station interviewed. They were the ones who gave the information. =

Carr himself identified the reason why they're going after KCBS. It's because of the station's ownership situation.

 

[secondchoice]

I wonder if ANYONE will try to finance a bankrupt broadcaster out of receivership after this?

 

[umfan]

The issue here is whether KCBS broadcast information about a "secret" operation before it took place and the information was made public.

KCBS says that the policing action had already been completed when they reported, while the Trump administration says they jumped the gun and put at risk the officers and the operation.

If KCBS indeed reported the activity too soon, that violates all manner of journalistic standards. It would be a miniature version of Ally media reporting on the Normandy Invasion before the ships and planes took off from England.

All indications, though, are that KCBS proceeded appropriately and only reported after the police action was completed.

The investigation should bear out exactly what happened.

 

[Mark Roberts]

Mike Hagerty's mention of technical problems at KCBS today led me to search for news articles about the station, whereupon I found this Los Angeles Times article from last month that I haven't seen mentioned anywhere. It appears to be based on Associated Press coverage, with some additional work by the Times. It summarizes the aftermath of Carr's threats to the station. The main conclusion is that Carr's threats worked, in the sense that KCBS backed off from political coverage, telling staffers to emphasize human-interest stories instead. The story also reports damage to a couple of careers: political reporter Doug Sovern, who retired in April (Sovern says his retirement was not related to Carr's threats), and Bret Burkhart, who, according to the article, was demoted and later left the station.

Pull quote:

By targeting KCBS, Carr revealed his willingness to expand the Republican administration’s offensive on perceived media foes beyond major broadcasters like ABC, CBS and NPR. In KCBS’ case, the radio station took steps to mitigate the potential of drawing further attention from conservative influencers or Carr, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, according to eight current and former station employees who insisted on anonymity out of fear of reprisal.

KCBS demoted a well-liked anchor and dialed back on political programming, people said. For months, reporters were dissuaded from pursuing political or controversial topics and instead encouraged to focus on human interest stories, according to the current and former staffers.

When journalists were given permission to pursue politics or Trump administration policies, some of the staffers said, the tone of the stories was heavily scrutinized.

Doug Sovern, a veteran political journalist at the station, said he was sidelined after Carr announced his investigation.

“‘Chilling effect’ does not begin to describe the neutering of our political coverage,” said Sovern, who retired in April. He said his retirement was not related to the controversy.

Regarding Burkhart:

Bret Burkhart, who first read the report on the immigration action over the air, was demoted from his anchor position to a less prestigious reporting gig. After a few months, he left the station for a new job, according to current and former staffers. Burkhart was a well-regarded Bay Area radio personality, with more than a dozen top journalism awards over the course of his long career.

Burkhart’s colleagues were perplexed that the station would discipline anyone for reporting on the raids, especially because the federal agents were not operating undercover and the information they based the report on came from several local politicians.

The article said that KCBS news director Jennifer Seelig was asked for comment but did not respond. It's not clear whether it was the AP or the Times that asked for that response.

I didn't encounter a paywall for this article, which was accessed via a news.google.com result. Link: Why did a Bay Area radio station known for pioneering news retreat from political coverage?

I have long admired KCBS and was a frequent listener during my quarter-century in the Bay Area. To see a station of its stature and reputation fail to stand up to this obvious attempt at intimidation is heartbreaking.

 

[Bongwater]

It just crushes me to see a Big Radio conglomerate wimp out like that. Audacy would have every civil liberties lawyer in their defense if they only stood up to Carr and said "No". Historically, the courts have almost always sided with the press in these matters. In light of everything in Minneapolis last week, it would be hopelessly irresponsible not to alert the public of ICE's presence in the area

Simple, responsible and most of all professional moves like that might have deterred the Whatever In Chief from starting escalations in other areas while it's still fresh in his mind.

I'm sorry to say this, but we are literally dealing with an 80 year old man with the mind of a delinquent 13 year old. With whiskey and car keys. If we don't start acting like grown ups, who will we turn to if this 80 year old juvenile delinquent notices the Prius in the driveway?

It can get worse if nobody stands up to it.

 

[cc333]

I know it's not quite relevant, but:

Anyone heard the recent story where people are finding that anti-ICE or anti-Trump videos are conspicuously unable to be posted on TikTok, while most other videos post fine? I heard on the radio today that they're blaming it on a server error. If that story is true, it's very strange to me that it's specifically affecting these anti-* videos and apparently nothing else.

c

 

[TheBigA]

The main conclusion is that Carr's threats worked, in the sense that KCBS backed off from political coverage, telling staffers to emphasize human-interest stories instead.

That's not exactly true. They continue to report news about ICE in Minneapolis and other areas. However we have already talked about Brett Burkhart relocating to a news station in San Diego. That happened a while ago.

The bigger picture that is very much related is the government is going after a major investor in Audacy. He was part of the reason why this incident and this station was singled out among many other stations that reported the exact same story with many of the same quotes. I've linked that story below. Al Capone found out that when the government wants to get you, they end up getting you. If not for one thing, it's another. AFAIK, this investigation hasn't been closed. It's still on-going. Carr has been questioned about his one-sided investigations by congress. It's not over. Companies licensed by the government have no freedom. The government controls their ability to be in business. The only recourse is either individual lawsuits or other branches of government.

DOJ official directs prosecutors to prepare probes of George Soros' foundation

Top prosecutors have received a directive to prepare to launch probes into the Open Society Foundations, a group funded by Democratic donor George Soros, sources say.

abcnews.go.com

 

[kevtronics]

In light of everything in Minneapolis last week, it would be hopelessly irresponsible not to alert the public of ICE's presence in the area

The KCBS news item in question wasn't even "alerting the public of ICE's presence in the area". It was a report of an ICE raid that had already taken place.

People are now using whistles to alert the public of ICE's presence in the area. The whistleblowers are literally blowing whistles.

 

[Mark Roberts]

That's not exactly true. They continue to report news about ICE in Minneapolis and other areas.

What we'll never know, though, is what didn't get covered and who wasn't interviewed for that or other related stories. It's hard to disambiguate routine editorial judgment from decisions not to cover certain things or talk to certain people for fear of repercussions. Modern censorship is not the heavy-handed stuff that you saw behind the Iron Curtain or in the Iberian dictatorships. It's more subtle and harder to detect.

The funny thing is, it doesn't matter, as we've seen in Minneapolis. Even when presented with clear video evidence of what happened with the murder of the two protesters there, along with extensive reporting and analysis, the administration instantly and shamelessly lied about those murders, attempting to smear the reputations of the two victims repeatedly. Fox News mostly soft-pedaled the video of the killings, too.

However we have already talked about Brett Burkhart relocating to a news station in San Diego. That happened a while ago.

This was the first reporting that I've seen that explicitly connected Burkhart's departure to Carr's complaint.

 

[TheBigA]

This was the first reporting that I've seen that explicitly connected Burkhart's departure to Carr's complaint.

Lance reported the story in September, and we discussed it in other threads:

Bret Burkhart Joins KOGO Morning News

iHeartMedia News/Talk 600 KOGO San Diego has tabbed Bret Burkhart as the new co-anchor of the "KOGO Morning News" joining

radioinsight.com

We don't have any proof that it was in response to Carr's complaint. Maybe it was, but nobody's talking. Which is the smart thing to do.

As others have said, the first amendment is only protected if the courts support you. That's sort of 50/50 right now. We can't assume that this administration will abide by the constitution. We have to tread carefully for a while.

 

[TheBigA]

Fox News mostly soft-pedaled the video of the killings, too.

They're pushing a different narrative, which is that these protesters are "agitators" and they're putting themselves in harm's way. Nobody seems to be demanding that they follow the AP stylebook, and the FCC isn't investigating them for "news distortion."

The speech police: Chairman Brendan Carr and the FCC’s news distortion policy

FCC invokes 1960s-era policy to punish media after decades of minimal enforcement.

arstechnica.com

https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/14/us/word-of-week-agitator-cec

This is the new reality for anyone in the media. As Spiro Agnew & Archie Bunker used to say, love it or leave it.