Dem Sen. Lujan: We Need ‘More Tools’ ‘to Ensure’ Things Like Carlson’s J6 Broadcast Don’t Happen Like ‘a License That Would Not Allow This’

During a portion of an interview with NPR aired on Thursday’s broadcast of “Morning Edition,” Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) stated that “There should be more tools” to prevent things like Tucker Carlson’s broadcast on January 6 and that, just like “affiliates on the broadcasting side have to get a license that would not allow this,” cable should have to do likewise.

NPR Senior Political Editor and Correspondent Domenico Montanaro said, [relevant exchange begins around 1:40] “The FCC only regulates licensed local broadcast outlets because they use the public’s airwaves. Think of your local news programs, which are affiliates of CBS, NBC, ABC, and Fox. That does not include cable, so essentially, no regulation of MSNBC, CNN, or Fox News. The lack of any control over cable news, allowing episodes like what Tucker Carlson aired, is frustrating for Democratic Sen. Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico. He chairs a key subcommittee with oversight over cable.”

Montanaro then played a clip of Lujan saying, “There should be more tools out there to ensure that nonsense like this is not happening. And just as the affiliates on the broadcasting side have to get a license that would not allow this, why is it that folks on the other side, within the same corporation, are able to do it, all while hurting the American people?”

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