ABC demands FCC drop its ‘punitive’ early license renewal of its stations

ABC 要求 FCC 撤销对其广播电台“惩罚性”的提前执照续期要求

ABC filed its formal opposition to the Federal Communications Commission’s effort to force it to submit to an early renewal of its broadcast station licenses, calling it an effort to chill the speech of broadcasters across the country. ABC 已正式向联邦通信委员会（FCC）提交反对意见，抗议该机构强迫其提前进行广播电台执照续期的行为，并称此举旨在压制全国广播公司的言论自由。

In a new filing with the FCC, ABC charges that the agency’s willingness to pursue the early renewal of eight of its licenses far before they expire is “extraordinary and unprecedented.” The company alleges the FCC “has spent the last 18 months searching for some pretext for revoking the Stations’ licenses,” but charges that the agency’s real motivations for pursuing these licenses are clear: “Each is owned by ABC, and the Administration has openly and repeatedly called for the revocation of ABC’s licenses, because it dislikes the content and viewpoints expressed on ABC network programs.” The FCC did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 在提交给 FCC 的一份新文件中，ABC 指责该机构在八个执照远未到期的情况下就强行要求提前续期，这种做法是“非同寻常且史无前例的”。该公司声称，FCC “在过去 18 个月里一直在寻找撤销这些电台执照的借口”，并指出该机构采取行动的真实动机显而易见：“这些电台均由 ABC 拥有，而政府已公开且多次呼吁撤销 ABC 的执照，原因仅仅是政府不喜欢 ABC 网络节目中所表达的内容和观点。” FCC 未立即回应置评请求。

The FCC ordered ABC to file for early license renewal for the stations in April, noting that it had been investigating the company for potential violations of the law and FCC rules, “including the agency’s prohibition on unlawful discrimination,” an apparent reference to its probe into ABC and owner Disney’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs. FCC 于今年 4 月下令 ABC 为这些电台申请提前执照续期，并指出该机构一直在调查该公司是否存在潜在的违法及违反 FCC 规则的行为，其中包括“该机构关于禁止非法歧视的规定”——这显然是指 FCC 对 ABC 及其母公司迪士尼的多元化、公平与包容（DEI）项目所进行的调查。

The station license fight has led to an outpouring of support for ABC, including from viewers it urged with on-air ads to file public comments. More than 153,000 comments have been left on the FCC docket, including from a bipartisan group of former FCC chairs and officials who slammed the agency’s action as part of a “broader pattern” in a “campaign to punish speech disfavored by the Trump administration.” 这场电台执照之争引发了公众对 ABC 的广泛支持，包括那些在 ABC 播出广告呼吁后提交公众意见的观众。FCC 的备案系统中已收到超过 153,000 条评论，其中包括来自两党的前 FCC 主席和官员的意见，他们抨击该机构的行为是“特朗普政府惩罚不受欢迎言论运动”中“更广泛模式”的一部分。

The FCC under Republican Chair Brendan Carr has repeatedly targeted ABC for actions he claims violate their obligation as a publicly licensed broadcaster to serve the public interest. That included threatening the company’s licenses over a joke late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel made on air after conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s killing, and attempting to penalize “The View”节目 for platforming a Democratic candidate, positing it could be subject to equal time rules the agency previously ruled it was exempt from. Some of these actions have earned Carr criticism even from administration allies like Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who likened the chair to a “mafioso” over his threat over the Kimmel comments. 在共和党籍主席布伦丹·卡尔（Brendan Carr）的领导下，FCC 多次针对 ABC，声称其行为违反了作为公共执照广播公司服务公共利益的义务。这些行动包括因深夜脱口秀主持人吉米·坎摩尔（Jimmy Kimmel）在保守派活动人士查理·柯克（Charlie Kirk）遇害后发表的笑话而威胁吊销公司执照，以及试图惩罚《The View》节目，理由是该节目为民主党候选人提供了平台，并称其可能受到该机构此前已裁定豁免的“平等时间规则”的约束。这些行为甚至招致了政府盟友的批评，例如得克萨斯州共和党参议员泰德·克鲁兹（Ted Cruz）就因卡尔对坎摩尔言论的威胁，将其比作“黑手党成员”。

“The retaliation against ABC is a signal to every media company in the country: accommodate the Administration’s view of what news coverage should look like or pay the price,” ABC wrote in its latest filing. “The tools vary; the objective does not: a media industry too fearful of official reprisal to report the news freely.” “针对 ABC 的报复行为向全国每一家媒体公司发出了一个信号：要么顺应政府对新闻报道应有样貌的看法，要么付出代价，” ABC 在其最新文件中写道。“手段各异，但目标一致：让媒体行业因恐惧官方报复而不敢自由报道新闻。”