Chicken Little is a minor leaguer compared to the fear-mongering voices over President-elect Trump’s appointment of Brendan Carr as Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.
Carr is despised by various establishment media outlets and media activist groups, along with center-left politicians and pundits. However, among the various appointments made by the incoming president, Carr stands out as a highly qualified and experienced appointee.
While some of Trump’s appointments may be interesting, Carr has an outstanding track record for the position he will hold.
Still, claims that Carr was trying to trample on the First Amendment did not stop outrage. The progressive news outlet Mother Jones claimed in a headline that Carr “wants to threaten broadcasters” and is “anti-media.” The left-leaning New Republic published a barrage of sharp headlines calling Carr a “horrible turn” on Trump’s “war on the media.” There are fears Carr will allow more media integration, promote misinformation on social media platforms, quash dissent in the media sphere and punish media outlets for content he does not approve of.
Much of the criticism of Carr stems from his writing for Project 2025, a policy blueprint created by the Heritage Foundation. While many political activists typically rant about Project 2025, Carr’s contributions to the media industry amount to nothing more than boilerplate Republican positions. There’s nothing new or particularly surprising about Carr’s plan to scrutinize the power of Big Tech, ensure broadcasters serve the public interest and reassess net neutrality.
Unlike some of Trump’s appointees who would assume arbitrary and disruptive roles, Carr is uniquely qualified to chair the FCC. He has already served on the commission for seven years, previously serving as the FCC’s general counsel under Chairman Ajit Pai. Carr previously worked in the private sector as an attorney specializing in telecommunications policy and litigation at the prestigious law firm of Wiley Rein. He also clerked for a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals.
Carr was appointed by Trump to his first term at the FCC, but was renominated by President Biden in 2023 and confirmed by the Democratic-controlled Senate. So he came to the chairmanship with a history of at least some bipartisan support. And if past is prologue, the newly formed FCC will conduct its business like a regular regulator. The FCC during the Trump-controlled Pie era was not particularly controversial or aggressive, even though Carr served as chief counsel and had a seat on the commission itself.
Carr is too savvy to step into the bog of straw floated by his shrill detractors. He certainly won’t seek revenge against Trump’s big media opponents over their journalistic content. He knows the media outlet will run to the nearest federal judge and win under the First Amendment.
The reality is that the FCC has no means of enforcing severe retaliation against journalists who are Trump’s enemies. Print, broadcast networks, and Internet news sources do not have content monitored by the FCC. Local over-the-air broadcasters licensed by the FCC frankly renew their licenses all the time, and journalistic content is rarely a consideration.
Carr will, and should, raise critical eyebrows when he sees bad media behavior, as he did during the presidential campaign. When NBC initially appeared to be violating the FCC’s Broadcasters Equal Opportunity Policy guidelines by giving Kamala Harris free entertaining airtime during Saturday Night Live, Carr was quick to point out the error. NBC eventually resolved the issue by giving Trump similar time.
More media company mergers and consolidations may occur under the Carr FCC, but it’s likely they will happen regardless of who eventually chairs the commission. Anyway, the bigger player in that space is actually the Federal Trade Commission.
There is no doubt that big tech companies will come under a lot of scrutiny if Carr takes over as chairman. The issue has been on Carr’s mind for some time. Most Americans agree that big tech platforms should be challenged on transparency and censorship practices. Citizens will cheer Carr on fighting what he calls a “censorship cartel.”
Reform of the media landscape is needed, and Carr deserves the opportunity to put his stamp on the FCC as it carries out those reforms. Critics should remember that there will be two Democrats on the five-member FCC to monitor Carr’s agenda. Carr’s critics should not dismiss him simply because he is Trump’s choice or because he believes in public interest standards that hold the media industry accountable.
Carr believes in the FCC’s role as the traffic police, not only in making markets work, but in having the commission monitor the media world on behalf of ordinary citizens.
Jeffrey M. McCallHe is a media critic and professor of communication at DePauw University. He has worked as a radio news director, newspaper reporter, and political media consultant.
