Headline Roundup • March 15th, 2026
FCC Head Carr Says News Broadcasters Could Lose Licenses if They Don't 'Correct Course'
Media Industry,Freedom Of The Press,Free Speech,FCC,Trump Administration,Donald Trump,Iran,Middle East,Media Bias,Television
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chair Brendan Carr has threatened not to renew several news broadcasters' licenses unless they "correct course" on their coverage of the Iran war.
Key Quotes: President Trump took issue with mainstream reporting that Iranian forces had hit five American planes and wrote in a Truth Social post, "The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal (in particular), and other Lowlife 'Papers' and Media actually want us to lose the War. Their terrible reporting is the exact opposite of the actual facts!" Carr shared Trump's post and wrote, "Broadcasters that are running hoaxes and news distortions β also known as the fake news β have a chance now to correct course before their license renewals come up. The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not."
For Context: Carr, who was appointed by Trump in 2017 and served as one of the FCC's Republican commissioners during the Biden administration, was made chairman by Trump after his 2024 election victory. Days before the election, Carr criticized NBC for including Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris on Saturday Night Live and not giving Trump, the Republican nominee, airtime under the FCC's "Equal Time" rule. Last month, the FCC pushed back against allegations of censorship after late-night host Stephen Colbert claimed CBS News (Lean Left) wouldn't air an interview he did with Democratic Texas Senate candidate Rep. James Talarico (D-TX).Β
How The Media Covered It: The story was widely covered by the left and center. The only outlet from the right AllSides found coverage from was The Epoch Times (Lean Right).
Written by the AllSides staff (of humans).Β Learn more.Β Support our mission. Suggest an improvement to this summary.
Featured Coverage of this Story
Eric Lee for The New York Times
Brendan Carr, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, threatened on Saturday to revoke broadcasters' licenses over their coverage of the war with Iran, his latest move in a campaign to stomp out what he sees as liberal bias in broadcasts.
As the war entered its third week, Mr. Carr accused broadcasters of "running hoaxes and news distortions" in a social media post and warned them to "correct course before their license renewals come up."
The Trump Administration again criticized the media on Saturday over its war coverage. Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr took to social media Saturday evening threatening to revoke FCC licenses.
"Broadcasters that are running hoaxes and news distortions β also known as the fake news β have a chance now to correct course before their license renewals come up. The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not," he posted.
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr on March 14 threatened to revoke licenses of U.S. broadcasters, accusing them of publishing "fake news" amid the ongoing war with Iran.
Broadcasters that are running what Carr referred to as "news distortions" must now "correct course before their license renewals come up," the FCC chairman wrote on social media.
"The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not."
