Media, essential to self-government, need support

By Joy Franklin, Carolina Commentary

An unprecedented assault on the media by a sitting President and a landscape changed by technology continue to erode one of the pillars of self-government and community engagement. President Donald Trump recently endorsed Federal Communications Chair Brendan Carr’s threat to revoke broadcast licenses over news coverage of the U.S. Israeli war in Iran that he doesn’t like. The president wrote on Truth Social, “As I used to say in The Apprentice, FIRED.”

Carr, and presumably the President, know that actually revoking broadcast licenses would take years of legal wrangling and would likely be unsuccessful, but the threats cause harm nonetheless. By making unsupported accusations of network bias, Carr casts doubt on the accuracy of their reporting, especially among supporters of the administration. Such accusations fall into the same category as Trump’s “fake news” charges that have contributed to undermining American’s trust in all news platforms.

According to a Gallup poll conducted in September 2025, Americans who say they have a great deal of trust in the media reached a new low of 28 percent in 2025, down from 31 percent a year earlier. Another 36 percent say they have “not very much” trust in the media, while 34 percent say they have “none at all.” Trust in the media fell from 40% to 32% during the 2016 presidential campaign when Trump frequently tweeted critical or insulting comments about the media. Soon after his election in 2016, he began calling news stories he didn’t like “fake news.” His assault on the media has continued ever since.

Accurate information helps us make decisions about matters that affect our lives. But even if accurate information is available, if we can be convinced to doubt that information, we are far more vulnerable to a charismatic leader like Trump whose bravado convinces them he knows best and is acting in their interest.

The men who ratified our Constitution understood that a free people couldn’t govern themselves without a free press. Here’s the rub. The First Amendment doesn’t guarantee news will be fair or accurate or accountable. That’s why it’s a good idea to read or watch or listen to more than one source. That said, over the years at legacy media companies, thanks in part to national press associations like the American Society of Newspaper Editors, standards for accuracy and fairness evolved. The newsrooms of legacy media companies like ABC, CBS and NBC are committed to getting the facts right and making every attempt to balance the stories they report. There is no greater embarrassment for a reporter than to get the facts wrong or to report them out of context. And when they make mistakes, responsible news organizations run corrections.

Even though revoking licenses presents near insurmountable obstacles, Carr’s threats cause harm besides undermining public trust. The FCC doesn’t actually grant licenses to networks like ABC, NBC and CBS, but it does license the stations the networks own and independent stations that air their programming. Where it does have leverage, as this CNN article points out, is when a station owner wants to transfer a license, as was the case when Nexstar and Sinclair pulled Jimmy Kimmel’s show from their ABC-affiliated stations last fall. At the time, Nexstar needed FCC approval to buy rival company Tegna. The FCC has since approved the $6.2 billion acquisition which closed on March 19. Nexstar and its partners now own 265 television stations that reach about 80% of U.S. households. In the past, FCC rules prohibited any company from reaching more than 39% of U.S. households. These stations contract with the major networks for programming, but some have competing local news operations that will likely be consolidated by Nexstar.

NPR reported that Anna Gomez, a Democratic member of the FCC, condemned the FCC’s approval of the merger. She said it was done behind closed doors without an actual vote.

“Local journalism is under extraordinary strain,” she said. “Across the country newsrooms are being consolidated, reporters laid off and editorial decisions made far from the communities broadcast stations are licensed to serve. The Nexstar-Tegna merger will accelerate exactly that trend, concentrating broadcast power in fewer corporate hands, shrinking independent editorial voices and prioritizing national business interests over local needs.”

The attorneys general of eight states, including North Carolina, filed lawsuits in U.S. District Court in Sacramento, Calif., seeking to block the merger, arguing that it will lead to higher prices for consumers and result in less local journalism. DirecTV, Newsmax and several cable companies have also challenged the merger claiming it will result in higher retransmission costs that will be passed on to consumers. Several other groups have also asked the court to halt the merger until appeals can be heard.

Whatever the outcome, one thing is certain, the media landscape continues to shift. Many areas already feel like local news deserts thanks to newspaper mergers and slashed newsrooms, a result of advertising revenue shifting to online platforms. The FCC shift seems to be driven in part by the fact that streaming services and social media platforms have disrupted the traditional local advertising market for television broadcasters, as well. Regulators have determined that the survival of local broadcasting takes precedence over diversity of local news.

How can those of us who want to keep up with what’s going on in our communities stay informed? We can take New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger’s advice. In an advertisement that ran for the first time in March, which a spokesperson told the Nieman Journalism Lab will run across most New York Times podcasts, Sulzberger urges listeners “to support any news organization that’s dedicated to original reporting. If that’s your local newspaper, terrific — local newspapers in particular need your support. If that’s another national newspaper, that’s great too.”

The good news is that non-profit online news organizations are experiencing tremendous growth across the nation, offsetting the loss of news organizations whose newsrooms have been merged and/or slashed. There are now more than 400 nonprofit online newsrooms across the U.S. They’re typically funded by donations, foundations, memberships and events, not advertising. Most are part of the Institute for Nonprofit News, where you can find a non-profit online newsroom near you.

In addition to local newspapers, news organizations deserving special consideration in North Carolina include non-profits such as local National Public Radio affiliates, Carolina Public Press, Asheville Watchdog, and The Assembly. For most of our history, news organizations relied on advertising revenue to keep their companies afloat. That model no longer holds as it once did. But our need for fair and accurate reporting is, if anything, greater than ever. Our support has become essential.

Joy Franklin is a journalist and writer who served as editorial page editor of the Asheville Citizen-Times for 10 years. Prior to that she served as executive editor of the Times-News in Hendersonville.