Trumps FCC pick sends stern letter to Bob Iger ripping Disney-owned ABC News for role in erosion in public trust

President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to head the Federal Communications Commission reportedly took a shot across the bow at Disney CEO Bob Iger and the Mouse House-owned ABC News over the “erosion in public trust” when it comes to the news media.Incoming FCC chair Brendan Carr fired off a letter to Iger on Monday — 10 days after he agreed to settle a defamation lawsuit brought by Trump — saying, “Americans no longer trust the national news media to report fully, accurately, and fairly,” according to CNN,Carr went on to cite polling data and added: “ABC’s own conduct has certainly contributed to this erosion in public trust.

For instance, ABC News recently agreed to pay $15 million to President Trump’s future presidential foundation and museum and an additional $1 million in attorney fees to settle a defamation case.”Carr’s stern letter also suggested that ABC was taking a heavy-handed approach in negotiations with with its local affiliates.“The fact that a massive trust divide has emerged between local news outlets and national programmers like ABC only increases the importance of retransmission consent revenues remaining available for local broadcast TV stations to invest in their local news operations and content that serves their communities,” Carr wrote in the letter, which was obtained by CNN.Local TV stations, which are licensed by the FCC, are more trusted than national networks, Carr said, adding that he supports more local programming.

Carr expressed “concerns” over how ABC strikes affiliation agreements with local stations that carry ABC shows.“My understanding is that ABC is attempting to extract onerous financial and operational concessions from local broadcast TV stations under the threat of terminating long-held affiliations, which could result in blackouts and other harms to local consumers of broadcast news and content,” Carr wrote.He also flagged how Disney is prioritizing its global streaming services at the e...