Latest news with #CenterforAmericanRights
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
CBS's 60 Minutes Urged to Release Transcripts for Future Political Interviews
(Bloomberg) -- CBS News should be required to proactively release all transcripts from future political interviews on its broadcast program 60 Minutes, according to a media watchdog group. They Built a Secret Apartment in a Mall. Now the Mall Is Dying. Chicago Transit Faces 'Doomsday Scenario,' Regional Agency Says LA Faces $1 Billion Budget Hole, Warns of Thousands of Layoffs New York Subway Ditches MetroCard After 32 Years for Tap-And-Go Libraries Warn They Could Be 'Cut off at the Knees' by DOGE The Center for American Rights, a nonprofit, public-interest law firm with ties to conservative groups, said the Federal Communications Commission should require CBS to 'promptly release complete transcripts of all interviews with sitting public officials and candidates,' as it has done selectively in the past. Doing so would provide the opportunity to ensure 'transparency and accountability to the public interest,' the group said in comments to be filed to the FCC on Monday. The move would also align with the practices of CBS' Face the Nation, the group said. The center filed a complaint with the FCC in October over the network's treatment of an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris, concerning two apparently different answers she gave to the same question. Then-FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel dismissed the complaint during one of her last days at the agency under the Biden administration. The new chairman, Brendan Carr, revived the accusations. Carr has said he'd probe CBS's editing of the interview in the context of CBS parent company Paramount Global's proposed merger with Skydance Media, which must receive FCC approval. The FCC probe is also taking place against the backdrop of a $20 billion-lawsuit President Donald Trump has filed against CBS over the Harris interview. CBS and Trump's lawyers are engaged in settlement talks. In the forthcoming filing, as part of the public comment period, the Center for American Rights argues that the First Amendment can't act as a broad shield for networks that willfully take news content out of context, meaning it would be appropriate for the FCC to intervene in the CBS case. As part of the Skydance-Paramount merger conditions, the center has also suggested CBS add executive 'viewpoint diversity,' hire a nonpartisan ombudsman to handle news bias complaints, and recruit employees from 'a broader range of diverse backgrounds, including people from rural communities, people of faith, and conservatives.' A New 'China Shock' Is Destroying Jobs Around the World How TD Became America's Most Convenient Bank for Money Launderers Tesla's Gamble on MAGA Customers Won't Work One Man's Crypto Windfall Is Funding a $1 Billion Space Station Dream The Richest Americans Kept the Economy Booming. What Happens When They Stop Spending? ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Bloomberg
24-03-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
CBS's 60 Minutes Urged to Release Transcripts for Future Political Interviews
CBS News should be required to proactively release all transcripts from future political interviews on its broadcast program 60 Minutes, according to a media watchdog group. The Center for American Rights, a nonprofit, public-interest law firm with ties to conservative groups, said the Federal Communications Commission should require CBS to 'promptly release complete transcripts of all interviews with sitting public officials and candidates,' as it has done selectively in the past. Doing so would provide the opportunity to ensure 'transparency and accountability to the public interest,' the group said in comments to be filed to the FCC on Monday. The move would also align with the practices of CBS' Face the Nation, the group said.
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
CBS hits back at FCC over probe into '60 Minutes' edits
CBS has asked the Federal Communications Commission to end its investigation into edits of its "60 Minutes" Kamala Harris interview, arguing that the federal government risks becoming "a roving censor" trampling on free speech rights. President Trump was furious over last October's "60 Minutes" interview with then-Vice President Harris in the closing weeks of the campaign. The president and other conservatives chided CBS after it was revealed that "60 Minutes" producers had edited Harris' jumbled response to a question about the Biden administration's handling of the Israel-Hamas war. Trump sued CBS for $20 billion, claiming the edits amounted to election interference. The president has demanded "a lot" of money to settle the case, which many 1st Amendment experts call "frivolous." The controversy over the "60 Minutes" edits wound up before the FCC last fall when a conservative nonprofit group, the Center for American Rights, filed a news distortion complaint against CBS and its flagship television station, WCBS-TV Channel 2, in New York. Read more: Paramount says Trump's CBS '60 Minutes' lawsuit seeks to 'punish' network "The complaint filed against CBS for 'news distortion' envisions a less free world in which the federal government becomes a roving censor — one that second guesses and even punishes specific editorial decisions that are an essential part of producing news programming," the Paramount Global-owned network argued Monday in its response to the FCC inquiry. The Center for American Rights lodged its FCC complaint in mid-October, ahead of Trump filing his lawsuit against CBS in federal court in Texas. The lawsuit is still pending. CBS has asked a judge to dismiss the matter or move the case to New York, where CBS is based. The two sides also have agreed to the judge's request that they present their arguments to a mediator. Late last year, the Democratic former FCC chairwoman threw out complaints filed against CBS, ABC, NBC and Fox. But Trump's pick to lead the agency, Brendan Carr, quickly revived the CBS, NBC and ABC complaints. Read more: '60 Minutes,' the Associated Press, an Iowa newspaper: Trump's attacks on the media reach new heights First Amendment experts sounded alarms, saying the FCC was wading into treacherous territory in reviewing debate formats and decisions made by news producers. Carr demanded that CBS turn over the raw transcript and unedited interview, which it did. Video of the unedited interview, released last month by the FCC and separately by CBS, confirmed the network's account. But the release also highlighted that Harris' convoluted answer had been clipped to its most succinct and cogent sentence. "The essence of the Complaint — that CBS somehow broke the law by airing a portion, but not all, of a candidate's answer to a question in a news magazine program — is fatally flawed," CBS said in its petition. News organizations routinely edit interviews, removing extraneous words and redundant phrases. The practice has long been accepted as long as the edits don't change the context or meaning. "The First Amendment would not permit the government to substitute its judgment for that of a broadcaster (or other speaker) as to the specific footage from an interview to be aired," CBS said, adding that the U.S. Supreme Court has never "recognized a sweeping right by the government to second guess editorial decision-making." Read more: Not just CBS. How Trump 2.0 is already changing Hollywood and media Finding against CBS could "open the door to regular and repeated second guessing of broadcasters' editorial judgments across the ideological spectrum," CBS argued. The "60 Minutes" case has sparked clashes within Paramount. Journalists have called on the company to defend its flagship broadcast and journalists' 1st Amendment rights. Paramount's controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, has agitated for the Trump lawsuit to be settled to clear the way for her sale of the company to David Ellison's Skydance Media. The $8-billion transaction requires the approval of the FCC. Read more: FCC launches effort to 'root out' DEI programs, beginning with Comcast Lawyers say that Trump would have had a difficult time arguing the "60 Minutes" interview harmed him because the question did not reference him. Instead, it was about the Biden administration. Trump has said he thinks certain TV stations should lose their FCC licenses. The "60 Minutes" did not appear to diminish Trump's standing among voters; he was elected president a month later. Sign up for our Wide Shot newsletter to get the latest entertainment business news, analysis and insights. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
10-03-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
CBS hits back at FCC over probe into '60 Minutes' edits
CBS has asked the Federal Communications Commission to end its investigation into edits of its '60 Minutes' Kamala Harris interview, arguing that the federal government risks becoming 'a roving censor' trampling on free speech rights. President Trump was furious over last October's '60 Minutes' interview with then-Vice President Harris in the closing weeks of the campaign. The president and other conservatives chided CBS after it was revealed that '60 Minutes' producers had edited Harris' jumbled response to a question about the Biden administration's handling of the Israel-Hamas war. Trump sued CBS for $20 billion, claiming the edits amounted to election interference. The president has demanded 'a lot' of money to settle the case, which many 1st Amendment experts call 'frivolous.' The controversy over the '60 Minutes' edits wound up before the FCC last fall when a conservative nonprofit group, the Center for American Rights, filed a news distortion complaint against CBS and its flagship television station, WCBS-TV Channel 2, in New York. 'The complaint filed against CBS for 'news distortion' envisions a less free world in which the federal government becomes a roving censor — one that second guesses and even punishes specific editorial decisions that are an essential part of producing news programming,' the Paramount Global-owned network argued Monday in its response to the FCC inquiry. The Center for American Rights lodged its FCC complaint in mid-October, ahead of Trump filing his lawsuit against CBS in federal court in Texas. The lawsuit is still pending. CBS has asked a judge to dismiss the matter or move the case to New York, where CBS is based. The two sides also have agreed to the judge's request that they present their arguments to a mediator. Late last year, the Democratic former FCC chairwoman threw out complaints filed against CBS, ABC, NBC and Fox. But Trump's pick to lead the agency, Brendan Carr, quickly revived the CBS, NBC and ABC complaints. First Amendment experts sounded alarms, saying the FCC was wading into treacherous territory in reviewing debate formats and decisions made by news producers. Carr demanded that CBS turn over the raw transcript and unedited interview, which it did. Video of the unedited interview, released last month by the FCC and separately by CBS, confirmed the network's account. But the release also highlighted that Harris' convoluted answer had been clipped to its most succinct and cogent sentence. 'The essence of the Complaint — that CBS somehow broke the law by airing a portion, but not all, of a candidate's answer to a question in a news magazine program — is fatally flawed,' CBS said in its petition. News organizations routinely edit interviews, removing extraneous words and redundant phrases. The practice has long been accepted as long as the edits don't change the context or meaning. 'The First Amendment would not permit the government to substitute its judgment for that of a broadcaster (or other speaker) as to the specific footage from an interview to be aired,' CBS said, adding that the U.S. Supreme Court has never 'recognized a sweeping right by the government to second guess editorial decision-making.' Finding against CBS could 'open the door to regular and repeated second guessing of broadcasters' editorial judgments across the ideological spectrum,' CBS argued. The '60 Minutes' case has sparked clashes within Paramount. Journalists have called on the company to defend its flagship broadcast and journalists' 1st Amendment rights. Paramount's controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, has agitated for the Trump lawsuit to be settled to clear the way for her sale of the company to David Ellison's Skydance Media. The $8-billion transaction requires the approval of the FCC. Lawyers say that Trump would have had a difficult time arguing the '60 Minutes' interview harmed him because the question did not reference him. Instead, it was about the Biden administration. Trump has said he thinks certain TV stations should lose their FCC licenses. The '60 Minutes' did not appear to diminish Trump's standing among voters; he was elected president a month later.
Washington Post
05-02-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
CBS releases transcripts and internal videos of Kamala Harris interview
CBS on Wednesday took the unusual step of releasing internal video footage and transcripts of a '60 Minutes' interview conducted with then-Vice President Kamala Harris in October. The behind-the-scenes materials are of interest in a Federal Communications Commission review of a complaint filed in the fall by the Center for American Rights, a conservative legal organization, which had accused the network of news distortion by airing two different portions of a response Harris gave to a question about U.S. policy toward Israel. The segment is also at the center of a lawsuit filed against CBS by President Donald Trump.
