CHICAGO, Oct. 19, 2017 — The American Bar Association updated its web-based ABA Legal Fact Check today with a look at the legal framework involving renewals of broadcast licenses. This comes in the wake of the tweeted suggestion by President Donald Trump that NBC’s broadcast license should be challenged because of its reporting on his administration.
October 19, 2017
ABA Legal Fact Check explores legal issues underlying threats to revoke broadcast licenses
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), an independent agency, serves as the chief regulator of local broadcast and radio stations and has adopted an extremely high bar for the process of reviewing broadcast licenses, particularly as it pertains to news content. In the past, the FCC has acted chiefly in cases related to obscene or indecent speech, on grounds of “character qualifications” of owners or when approved licenses remain dormant.
ABA Legal Fact Check debuted in August and is the first fact check website focusing exclusively on legal matters. The project is one of several initiatives launched by Hilarie Bass, who became ABA president on Aug. 15 at the close of the ABA Annual Meeting in New York.
ABA Legal Fact Check seeks to help the public find dependable answers and explanations to swirling and sometimes confusing legal questions. The URL for the new site is www.abalegalfactcheck.com. Follow us on twitter @ABAFactCheck.
Click here for a biography of President Bass.
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