US Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr on Wednesday praised CBS under the new leadership of David Ellison and Bari Weiss.
“I think they’re doing a great job,” Carr said at Semafor’s Restoring Trust in Media event Wednesday, adding that he appreciates the network is “trying to do something different” and experimenting with new formats.
Ellison took over at Paramount CEO last year following its merger with Skydance, and made several changes seen as friendly to conservatives, including buying The Free Press, Weiss’ “contrarian outlet that courts controversy, often by attacking liberal and left-wing ideas and causes,” as The Washington Post characterized it.
Carr has previously said he was pleased that CBS News “agreed to return to more fact-based, unbiased reporting.”
Carr, who has been an FCC commissioner since 2017 and took over as chair last year, has repeatedly clashed with media and entertainment figures during his tenure, including late-night hosts like Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel, who have been openly critical of Trump.
Carr has wielded long-dormant rules requiring broadcast TV stations to offer equal time to opposing candidates as a means of pressuring networks. Trump has suggested the FCC could revoke some television broadcast licenses.
Colbert last week said his network, CBS, blocked an interview with a Democratic Senate candidate from Texas because of fear of FCC blowback. (CBS denied it spiked the interview.)
Carr said at the Semafor event that he doesn’t regret going after Kimmel for comments the host made in the wake of conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s death: Carr’s threats led to a swell of support for Kimmel, who was suspended but returned to the air.
“I think I’m the reason Jimmy Kimmel didn’t get fired,” Carr quipped. “He didn’t send me a Christmas card at the end of all that.”