FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez spoke at an hour-long Q&A panel at the NAB Show Monday. Gomez, a Democrat, was critical of recent initiatives introduced under Republican FCC Chairman Brendan Carr.
[Editor's note: This article originally appear in our sister publication, Radio World.]
Gomez noted that she had paid personally to travel to the NAB Show due to a recent executive order banning such spending. (Commissioner Nathan Simington’s previously scheduled appearance was cancelled.)
The panel moderator asked if Gomez was concerned about actions by Carr and President Trump such as an executive order aimed at eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion practices.
“If we are going to get into the business of policing DEI practices, I want to see where in the statute we have authority to do so,” Gomez said. She also criticized the recent shuttering of U.S. international broadcast outlets like Voice of America and Radio Marti.
She also is concerned about investigations of public broadcasters, which she described as “fishing expeditions” to find reasons to defund their operations. She said there was little evidence of wrongdoing and expressed support for public broadcasters.
Also, “If we start permitting consolidation of broadcasters at large, public media will become even more important for coverage of really local community information and news,” she said.
She expressed similar sentiments about the administration’s executive order questioning the independence of several government agencies. She said bodies like the FCC and FTC need to act as experts driven by technological decisions in the public interest, not by a political agenda.
“It’s particularly important for media regulation,” she said.
She said she was not concerned about being the lone Democratic commissioner once Geoffrey Starks departs. She said it is important to continue speaking out. “I cannot allow this to continue without raising alarm bells, and I really hope I’m not alone in doing that.”
She was asked if broadcasters and the NAB itself should be more outspoken, specifically about the FCC’s news distortion proceedings. She said there is a chilling effect.
“These parties all have to operate in this environment, and sticking your neck out is not the easiest thing to do,” she said.
Gomez said she personally works well with Carr but wants to see the FCC avoid actions outside its statutory authority.
“I would really love to see the commission pivot away from these culture wars and focus on our core mission, which we can do on a bipartisan basis,” she said.
More TV Tech coverage of the FCC can be found here; more regulatory coverage from Radio World is available here.
