September 13, 2026
“Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right! And here I am – stuck in the middle with you!”
ABC-TV’s clown Jimmy Kimmel took on the FCC’s joker Chairman Brendan Carr in a battle over which candidates We the People are allowed to watch on broadcast TV. It feels like a bad wrestling match where rules are bent and laws ignored. But we can’t change the channel; the stakes are too high. For the sake of Democracy, We can’t afford to take our eyes off it.
Why is this happening? This is a story right out of a clown car. TV’s Jimmy Kimmel did what late night clowns do: he told jokes about the current President - like he told jokes about Biden and Obama before him. Chairman Carr objected to those jokes, presumably on behalf of his boss. That turned into an FCC fishing expedition forcing Disney ABC to provide the FCC thousands of documents on compliance with the Equal Employment Opportunities Act. ABC took clown Kimmel off the air, but soon put him back on.
But then clown Kimmel told another joke. And another. And another. Relentless. Funny.
(Wonk alert: broadcasters report to the real owners of the airwaves -We the People - in our local TV stations’ “Public File.” Find juicy details of money flowing to stations from campaign ads and which candidates have been on radio or TV in your area. Running for office and another candidate received free time? You get free time too! Unless it is on a bonafide news show. But there is no certain definition of that.)
Kimmel keeps clowning so Carr sets a trap: his FCC contacted ABC TV affiliates owned by Sinclair and others all over Texas, warning them to update their public files, but did not contact ABC’s own KTRK in Houston. The joker then called out KTRK because Talarico’s appearance on the View isn’t in their files. ABC pointed out they’d been granted the bonafide news exemption ages ago so it wasn’t required. But the trap was triggered: the Joker called in all 8 ABC local licenses for early renewal. It’s a multi-billion dollar BFD. ABC has since sued the FCC for violating its First Amendment Rights.
Clowns to the left, Jokers to the right. We who actually own the airwaves are stuck in the middle and it’s time We take Our power. This epic battle highlights the problems with this failed governmental scheme to oversee Our air. Are there problems with the Equal Opportunities Rule? So many you could fill that clown car. Kimmel recently transferred his James Talarico interview to You Tube, highlighting the inequities in the FCC Equal Opportunities Rule itself. Indeed, KTRK could lose its license if it didn’t air all 9 other candidates, some not viable.
Is there a villain in this tale? I hope not. In Media Action Center’s recent Comment to the FCC, we agree with the need for Equal Opportunities for candidates - isn’t that what America is really all about? But “A conversation needs to occur to discuss modern day options for Equal Opportunities on our air. Perhaps guidelines that any candidate polling at 15% or more would qualify for an opportunity? Perhaps there are better ideas. But let’s start working on them now.”
We who own the Airwaves can’t let them run this as a circus anymore. That’s why MAC joined Frequency Forward on a Motion to Intervene in the lawsuit ABC filed against the FCC. ABC is so far fighting well – amidst rumors that Kimmel is on his way out. But corporate interests
simply aren’t the same as Ours. What if in the next FCC volley we’re talking about Sinclair instead of ABC? Precedent matters. We the People undeniably must have a seat at our own table.
The Joker is Wild. But it is trumped by We the People.
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