Commission Opens Docket on CBS News Distortion Complaint; Harris Transcript Released
The FCC opened a docket on the news distortion complaint against CBS, and both the FCC and CBS have released the unedited transcript of the 60 Minutes interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris. Editing of the interview is also the subject of a suit that President Donald Trump brought against the network.
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CBS provided the transcript to the FCC on Monday and didn’t request confidential treatment, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said in a post on X Wednesday. “The FCC has concluded that establishing a docket and seeking comment on the issues raised in the complaint would serve the public interest,” he said. “The people will have a chance to weigh in.” FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez said Wednesday the released transcript shows that no FCC rules were violated. The proceeding "sets a dangerous precedent that threatens to undermine trust in the FCC’s role as an impartial regulator," she said. Comments on the complaint are due in docket 25-73 by March 7, replies March 24.
The news distortion complaint from the Center for American Rights focuses on Harris’ answer to a question about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. When the interview was aired on CBS' Face the Nation, the answer was edited differently from when it ran on 60 Minutes, but the transcript shows that all the footage was part of the same lengthy answer to a single question. “We broadcast a longer portion of the vice president's answer on Face the Nation and broadcast a shorter excerpt from the same answer on 60 Minutes the next day,” said CBS in a post on the transcript Wednesday.
“In reporting the news, journalists regularly edit interviews -- for time, space or clarity,” CBS said. “In making these edits, 60 Minutes is always guided by the truth and what we believe will be most informative to the viewing public -- all while working within the constraints of broadcast television.” Said Seth Stern, advocacy director for the Freedom of the Press Foundation, “Obviously, 60 Minutes has been editing interviews forever. It is 60 minutes long. It needs to edit interviews.” The public interest “doesn’t give government officials a seat at the editor’s desk.”
Added Gomez, “Having now seen these materials, I see no reason to continue pursuing this investigation.” She continued, “It is unprecedented and reckless for the FCC to disclose the status of an active investigation and publicly share materials before its conclusion, and before they’ve been shared with other members of this independent body.” The Enforcement Bureau generally treats highly sensitive matters with confidentiality because of potential market impacts, Gomez noted. “The FCC should stop trying to keep up with this Administration’s focus on partisan culture wars.”