Senators Question FCC Chairman Over Approval Of Nexstar
This story raises questions about governance, accountability, and American values.
The coverage treats Cruz and Cantwell’s questions as inside-baseball process drama. But the process is the point. When a major media transaction moves forward without the full FCC weighing in, it invites suspicion that rules flex for the well-connected.
New Republican Times Editorial Board
Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell said that the FCC's full commission should have reviewed the transaction.
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New Republican Times Editorial Board
The coverage treats Cruz and Cantwell’s questions as inside-baseball process drama. But the process is the point. When a major media transaction moves forward without the full FCC weighing in, it invites suspicion that rules flex for the well-connected.
Conservatives aren’t opposed to consolidation on principle. We are opposed to opaque decisions that weaken public trust and tilt markets through backroom discretion. If the chairman can effectively greenlight a deal alone, that is not “efficiency.” It is a shortcut around institutional stability and the kind of scrutiny citizens expect.
The FCC’s legitimacy rests on rule of law, not improvisation. However one feels about Nexstar, the standard should be clear, consistent, and applied through the full commission’s authority. That is how fairness survives in a politicized age.
Commentary written with AI assistance by the New Republican Times Editorial Board.