The FCC Shelves Newsroom Study – For Now

In response to Charles Krauthammer Recommends Congress Defund FCC’s Outrageous Newsroom Study:

In response to an overwhelmingly negative conservative media backlash, the Federal Communications Commission announced Friday that it was putting on hold its controversial newsroom study. This comes after yesterday’s announcement that the study was being “amended” in order to placate critics.

Fox News reported:

FCC spokeswoman Shannon Gilson said Chairman Tom Wheeler agreed with critics that some of the study’s proposed questions for reporters and news directors “overstepped the bounds of what is required.” 

The agency announced that a proposed pilot study in South Carolina will now be shelved, at least until a “new study design” is finalized. But the agency made clear that this and any future studies will not involve interviews with “media owners, news directors or reporters.” 

This retreat marks a victory for the defenders of the First Amendment who made their voices heard on the FCC’s newsroom study. But it’s important to stay vigilant because the forces of totalitarianism never quit. They will be back, as promised with a “new study design” which may not be any better than the old design.