From Variety · Todd Spangler · · 1m 20s
FCC chair calls Talarico's Kimmel sit-down a hoax
Brendan Carr says a Texas Senate candidate staged an interview fight for clicks, after ABC quietly moved it to YouTube.
In brief
Brendan Carr says a Texas Senate candidate staged an interview fight for clicks, after ABC quietly moved it to YouTube. ABC pushed a late-night interview to YouTube rather than risk a broadcast fight with the FCC, and the FCC chairman says that fear is manufactured. Originally reported by Variety.
A chairman picks a fight
Brendan Carr, the Trump-aligned Republican who chairs the FCC, went after Texas Democrat James Talarico over a Jimmy Kimmel interview.
The charge is a hoax
Carr said Talarico manufactured the whole episode to pull in attention and campaign money, not because any real regulatory threat existed.
“just running the same hoax he did a few months ago on Colbert”
ABC chose YouTube instead
The network did not air the Kimmel interview on broadcast TV. It put the segment on YouTube, sidestepping a possible collision with the FCC.
He says it is a rerun
Carr framed the Kimmel booking as a repeat of a stunt Talarico ran on Colbert a few months earlier, same script, same payoff.
Clicks and donations
The accusation is about incentives. Carr claims the candidate profits from the appearance of censorship whether or not the FCC ever acts.
“for the purpose of getting clicks and donations”
Betting on confusion
Carr's sharpest line says voters do not know what the statute actually allows, and that the campaign is counting on it.
“he's banking on people not understanding the statute or operating as partisan lemmings”
What matters most
ABC pushed a late-night interview to YouTube rather than risk a broadcast fight with the FCC, and the FCC chairman says that fear is manufactured.
