The chairman of the Federal Communications Committee said Friday that he had opened a research on Disney’s diversity, equality and integration into Trump’s latest attempt to stop such efforts.
In a letter to Robert A. Iger, Disney Managing Director Brendan Carr, president, said that the company’s programs to increase diversity in hiring and promoting breeding groups based on breeds appeared to violate the regulations themselves.
“I want to ensure that Disney is ending all the initiatives that introduce discrimination in substance, not just the name,” Mr Carr told the letter, which was sent on Thursday. “For another, I want to determine if Disney’s actions – whether ongoing or recently expired – have complied at any time with the applicable FCC regulations.”
A Disney spokesman said the company reviewed the FCC letter. “We look forward to dealing with the committee to answer her questions.”
Mr Carr, a veteran Republican regulator, began his term as president of FCC in January, launching a sweeping campaign to control the media, trying to eliminate the allegations of left -wing bias and policies.
Last month, a similar research on the diversity and integration into Comcast, the NBCUNiversal parent company, began. Mr Carr also said that the revisions of the mergers undertaken by the Agency will now include research on companies DEI programs.
Investigations are followed by an executive mandate of President Trump on his first day in the office prohibiting the “illegal and immoral” Dei programs in the federal government. The day later, Mr Carr announced that he would end any promotion of diversity and equality in the strategic plan, budget and financial reports of FCC.
It is not clear whether FCC, which usually issues licenses for television and radio stations and plays the role of watchdog for cable television, has the power to punish a media company for diversity initiatives. Mr Carr argued that the Agency can implement a wide standard of “public interest” for the examination of companies such as Disney, which owns ABC and ESPN, as well as television stations across the nation.
Mr Carr’s investigations could be disputed in court, FCC experts said.
“This is about bullying and bullying,” said Andrew Schwartzman, a senior adviser to the Benton & Society Benton Institute. Mr Carr’s most powerful tool is his vote for the committee to approve mergers and acquisitions, he said.
Mr Carr, who was appointed by Mr Trump, began investigations since he took over the president in many news organizations, including PBS and NPR, accusing them of left -wing political bias. He examined an interview that CBS “60 minutes” was conducted with former Vice President Kamala Harris and announced a survey of KCBs, a San Francisco radio station, to cover immigration enforcement actions.
Mr Carr has publicly agreed with the promises of the administration to reduce the regulation, move forward after large technology and punish television networks for political bias. Mr Carr removing the independent service, expanding his mandate and authorizing the right to the right, said lawyers and telecommunications analysts.
Brooks Barnes References from Los Angeles contribute.
