The FCC recently launched investigations into several media companies, with MSNBC as its latest target of special focus. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has questioned whether certain MSNBC broadcasts serve the “public interest.” Meanwhile, the Writers Guild is making headlines for blocking members from working on a film produced by Martin Scorsese. Kim Masters and Matt Belloni take a closer look.
White noise? As the Trump administration continues to pressure media companies, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr is targeting MSNBC over what he describes as “news distortion.” Could this spark yet another lawsuit from the commander in chief? “The president has extracted money from ABC News, $16 million to settle the George Stephanopoulos case, and the betting is that the President will extract some money from Shari Redstone to settle the 60 Minutes suit,” Belloni explains. “But there isn't a pending legal matter against Comcast, other than this investigation, and we'll see… Is this noise, or is it real?”
Spin city? With Comcast set to spin off several networks into SpinCo, could the FCC’s investigation into MSNBC complicate the process? “That's a little bit different, because it's a transaction that does not involve the transfer of a broadcast license. They're not spinning off NBC, so it's somewhat different.” says Belloni. “But every chance the government has had so far in this administration to screw around with big media companies, they have taken that opportunity. So we're going to see where this plays out.”
Get out? The Writers Guild has barred members against working on a Martin Scorsese-produced film following the announcement of producer Randall Emmett’s involvement. “The LA Times did some amazing reporting on Randall Emmett. He's, let's just say, not the most upstanding member of the Hollywood community by a long shot,” says Masters. “I know the guilds want their members to work, but I really do think that this is something where they should not allow people to be taken advantage of. So it's a call they have to make, and I'm not sure they've been making it as much as they should.”