A weekly newsletter on power and the press Good Morning. Early in Barack Obama’s administration, conservative media figures stoked fears that the president might seek to constrain political discourse on the airwaves — despite his public opposition to reinstating the Fairness Doctrine. The Fairness Doctrine was an FCC policy requiring broadcasters to offer contrasting viewpoints on the airwaves. The Reagan-era FCC formally abolished the doctrine in 1987, helping pave the way for the rise of right-wing talk radio. The following year, Rush Limbaugh launched his nationally syndicated radio show. While some Democratic lawmakers and commentators mused about reviving the Fairness Doctrine in 2009, there was never any serious effort to reinstate it — even as Democrats controlled the White House and held large majorities in the House and Senate. And yet Sean Hannity and company sounded the alarm, propelling the topic into the political conversation. As a media reporter at Politico, I was thrust into the talk-radio drama, and spoke with then-Indiana Rep. Mike Pence about how he felt Congress should “reject any hearings on the Fairness Doctrine or any form of censorship of the American press.” Pence, a former radio host himself, told me: “Whether Rachel Maddow or Rush Limbaugh is your cup of tea, every American cherishes a free and independent press.” How things have changed. These days, Republican lawmakers and conservative media hosts have been largely silent about press freedom as Donald Trump and his allies take efforts to curb speech — from pursuing federal charges against Don Lemon after he reported on a protest, to Trump’s FCC probing “The View” and creating a chilling effect that led “Late Show” host Stephen Colbert to move an interview with Texas Senate candidate James Talarico to YouTube. “FAKE NEWS” — ON FULL DISPLAY,” Fox News host Laura Ingraham declared on X promoting her interview with FCC chair Brendan Carr. Ingraham described the CBS-Colbert clash as a “fake controversy” and “full-blown authoritarian fever dream” before turning to Carr, who said that “people have more trust and faith in gas station sushi than they do in the legacy news media.” Carr framed the matter as CBS simply advising Colbert that he could run the interview with Talarico but “may have to comply with equal time” by also booking Democratic rival Jasmine Crockett. Despite Carr framing the matter as a reasonable ask, it’s hard to ignore that the FCC chair is suddenly targeting daytime and late-night shows, which for decades have been seen as airing “bona fide news interviews” and exempt from equal time rules. Colbert said this was the first time CBS had asked him to abide by equal time rules during his “Late Show” career. And the FCC’s focus on late night also comes as Trump has called for the firing of Jimmy Kimmel and Seth Meyers. Meanwhile, Carr isn’t looking to enforce the same provision for radio, thereby sparing conservative talk shows. “There wasn’t a relevant precedent that we saw that was being misconstrued on the radio side,” he said when asked last month. Trump’s FCC is making its priorities clear — and they happen to align with his interests. Michael Calderone 
Trump bump 2.0Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico estimated Thursday on “Morning Joe” that “many millions more” people watched his “Late Show” interview on YouTube than likely would have if it had aired on CBS. Talarico also raised millions of dollars in the aftermath of Stephen Colbert revealing on Monday night how new FCC guidance had rattled CBS executives and drove the candidate interview to YouTube, where it’s received more than 8 million views, dwarfing previous “Late Show” clips on the platform. The president’s tumultuous first term led... 
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