ABC has enlisted the help of its audience to defend The View and Jimmy Kimmel against attacks from the Federal Communications Commission. On this week’s On the Media, hear about the MAGA movement trying to shift television to the right. Plus, the legal theory that the FCC is using to put pressure on the networks.

[01:00] Host Brooke Gladstone speaks with  Jim Rutenberg, writer-at-large for the New York Times, about how Trump’s FCC is reviving a nearly century-old rule to crack down on late-night talk shows. Rutenberg explains why MAGA’s embrace of the FCC’s regulatory powers to go after “liberal bias” in the media signals a shift within the Republican party.

[26:47] Brooke sits down with Daniel Suhr, the president of a legal advocacy group called the Center for American Rights and the architect behind the legal theory that the FCC is using to put pressure on TV networks. They discuss his goal to make network TV look more like the AM radio band.

Further reading:

• “How a Century-Old Rule Is Scrambling Late-Night TV,” by Jim Rutenberg
• “The MAGA Plan to Take Over TV Is Just Beginning,” by Jim Rutenberg
• “The FCC’s Public Notice on ‘Bona Fide News,’” by Daniel Suhr
• “The end of an agency,” by Daniel Suhr
• “Straight Talk on FCC 'Jawboning'” by Daniel Suhr

On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today (https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm). Follow our show on Instagram, Bluesky, TikTok and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

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In August of 2023, police raided a small local newspaper in rural Kansas, seizing computers and cellphones. Later, the paper’s publisher would discover there was no legal basis for the search. On this week’s On the Media, find out who was behind the raid, and what the saga reveals about the plight of local journalism today.

[01:00] On a Friday morning in a small, rural town in Kansas, the publisher of the local newspaper opens his door to see the police. They have a search warrant in hand, and within minutes, they’re searching his home. He finds out that at the same time, officers are combing through his newsroom, seizing computers and cellphones. All of this comes as a massive surprise – no warning, no subpoena, and, as he later finds out, no legal right.

This week, we’re airing an episode of KCRW’s Question Everything, hosted by Brian Reed, which digs into why this violent raid occurred, who’s behind it, and the long-lasting, tragic ramifications.

On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today (https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm). Follow our show on Instagram, Bluesky, TikTok and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

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The Department of Justice collected more than 6 million pages of the Epstein Files, and released about 3 million under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. A few months ago, Brooke visited an art installation called the Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Memorial Reading Room to behold the files... at least those we’ve been authorized to see. Plus, Andrea Sterling, an online content creator and a survivor of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse, shares how to felt to see the files in real life.

On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today (https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm). Follow our show on Instagram, Bluesky, TikTok and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

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