Jimmy Kimmel's suspension spotlights FCC's regulation of the airwaves

Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension over his comments on the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk has put a fresh spotlight on the Federal Communications Commission’s power in regulating broadcast airwaves, and the media's response...

ABC yanked the comic off the air indefinitely Wednesday after he made several comments that suggested President Donald Trump’s response to the assassination was glib, and some of his supporters were attempting to "capitalize" on the killing and assign a political motive prematurely.

Condemnation of the monologue was swift. Brendan Carr, chairman of the FCC, said on a podcast that Kimmel’s comments were "some of the sickest conduct possible." He said that actions could be taken against licensed broadcasters.

On Thursday, Trump told reporters the FCC should consider revoking the broadcast licenses of outlets that only provide him "bad publicity."

Nexstar Communications Group, which owns or manages over 200 stations nationally, said it would halt the show. Sinclair, which includes roughly 180 TV stations that the company owns and/or administers, would air "a special in remembrance of Charlie Kirk" Friday in place of Kimmel’s show. It also requested that Kimmel apologize to Kirk’s family and provide a monetary donation to Turning Point USA, Kirk’s organization.

He re are answers to questions about the FCC, its relationship with broadcast affiliates nationwide, and questions about how far the agency can go before threatening or pressuring broadcasters violate the 1st Amendment.

What is the FCC?

Created under the Communications Act of 1934, the federal agency is tasked with regulating "interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable" in the United States and its territories, according to the FCC website.

The commission is required to operate within a public interest standard, which typically means that "it must air programming that is responsive to the needs and problems of its local community of license," according to a manual from the commission.

However, different presidential administrations can encourage more or less regulation, according to a report from the Congressional Research Service.

The report recommends that commission members, appointed by the president to five-year terms, should belong to a mix of political parties.

Steven Miller, director of the department of journalism and media studies at Rutgers University, said the FCC should be nonpartisan but has never worked that way.

"People who are, you know, commenting now about how the chairman is doing things that people haven't done before or haven't studied their history because the FCC has for many, many years wandered into political territory and political disputes and leans on the side of the party that has put them in power," Miller said in a phone interview.

What role do broadcast affiliates play?

Miller said that their local station is owned by a major network like ABC or CBS, but that is not often the case. 

He said many affiliates have been asking networks to be more responsive for years as part of their contracts. He added that the power to keep the networks going lies substantially within the affiliates, which get a significant source of revenue from local programming and commercials.

So when the Nexstar Communications Group says it’s not going to run a program, he said, "that is what sends shivers up and down the spine of the network."

What are the First Amendment implications?

Media experts tell Newsday that the recent actions by the Trump administration appear to amount to censorship.

"You've got the government criticizing, you know, a bad joke, and they're criticizing it because it was political, and they're looking for ways to exert power," Roy Gutterman, professor of communications law and director of Tully Center for Free Speech at Syracuse University, said in a phone interview.

The administration’s actions could also have a chilling effect: journalists, comedians or others in the news or entertainment media reluctant to speak truth to power out of fear of retribution, said Jonathan Sanders, a professor at Stony Brook University's School of Communication and Journalism, whose work has focused on free speech.

"It means that local newsrooms who see the example of how the national entities give in to the bully, will be less inclined to speak out, to cite wrongs, especially if there are wrongdoings by people who are in a local area, big and powerful and have a lot of money," he added in a phone interview.

Gutterman did warn that the landscape can shift to one in which conservative political voices are censored in a few years. He argues that some conservative voices feel that way already.

"The pendulum might swing back one day, and I hope the other side isn't as aggressive in reining in opponents or bad comedians," he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

By Tiffany Cusaac-Smith

tiffany.cusaac-smith@newsday.com@T_Cusaac

Tiffany Cusaac-Smith is a general assignment reporter for Newsday. She previously worked at USA TODAY and is an alum of Howard University.