{"id":2021,"date":"2026-05-28T22:05:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T22:05:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2021"},"modified":"2026-05-28T22:05:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T22:05:10","slug":"abc-stations-call-fccs-early-call-for-license-renewal-unconstitutional","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2021","title":{"rendered":"ABC stations call FCC\u2019s early call for license renewal \u2018unconstitutional\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p><strong>By STEVEN SLOAN<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Local TV stations owned by ABC across the United States blasted the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday for launching an \u201cunlawful, arbitrary and unconstitutional\u201d early review of their broadcast licenses as a dispute between the network and the Trump-controlled agency intensifies.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2019\">Kyle Busch had pneumonia for \u2018days to weeks,\u2019 according to his death certificate<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is an extraordinary demonstration of power and coercion directed at disfavored editorial voices which sends a clear warning to every broadcaster in America,\u201d WABC in New York wrote in an objection that accompanied paperwork filed to comply with the FCC\u2019s demand for early applications to renew licenses.<\/p>\n<p>ABC-owned stations in seven other markets filed similar objections. The FCC didn\u2019t immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<p>The objection is part of a mounting confrontation between the FCC and one of America\u2019s most prominent broadcast networks. Under Chairman Brendan Carr, the agency has launched probes of ABC touching on everything from its diversity practices to the network\u2019s moderation of a 2024 presidential debate to guests booked on \u201cThe View.\u201d President Donald Trump has also repeatedly called for late-night host Jimmy Kimmel to be fired.<\/p>\n<p>But the FCC\u2019s move in April to begin early reviews of the broadcast licenses of ABC-owned stations in eight local markets attracted particularly close attention. The licenses for stations in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, New York, Chicago and Philadelphia as well as Fresno, California, and Durham, North Carolina, were initially slated to come up for renewal between 2028 and 2031.<\/p>\n<p>Commissioner Anna Gomez, the FCC\u2019s sole Democrat, has called the reviews an \u201cegregious assault on the First Amendment.\u201d On Thursday, she said she was glad to see the stations \u201cexpose the FCC\u2019s actions as nothing more than naked political retribution and an unlawful assault on free speech and a free press.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2017\">Calling for \u2018new approach,\u2019 CBS News leader Bari Weiss replaces executive producer at \u201960 Minutes\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<p>In its objection, WABC said the \u201cultimate injury here is not to the station or its parent company.\u201d<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cIt is to the public,\u201d the station said. \u201cWhen a broadcaster must weigh regulatory retaliation before making editorial decisions, the public loses access to journalism that is free from government influence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That reflects a stark shift in ABC\u2019s approach to political scrutiny in Washington. In the weeks before Trump returned to the White House, the network paid a controversial $15 million defamation settlement, a move that did little to quell criticism from Trump and his allies in the coming years.<\/p>\n<p>The network mounted a more robust defense of free speech in a filing last month responding to an FCC review of whether \u201cThe View\u201d was subject to equal time rules. The agency argued that the law encouraged more speech but ABC warned that open political discussion was being chilled by the Trump administration.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Commission\u2019s actions threaten to upend decades of settled law and practice and chill critical protected speech, both with respect to The View and more broadly,\u201d according to a filing on behalf of both KTRK-TV and ABC.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2015\">Orange elections chief asks state to clarify if special election can be held for Uribe\u2019s seat<\/a><\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p><em>Associated Press writer Jocelyn Noveck in New York contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ABC-owned TV stations across the country are criticizing the FCC&#8217;s early renewal call.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2020,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,13,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-politics","category-news","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>ABC stations call FCC\u2019s early call for license renewal \u2018unconstitutional\u2019 - Orlando Relocation Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2021\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ABC stations call FCC\u2019s early call for license renewal \u2018unconstitutional\u2019 - Orlando Relocation Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"ABC-owned TV stations across the country are criticizing the FCC&#039;s early renewal call.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2021\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Orlando Relocation Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-28T22:05:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=2021#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=2021\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8\"},\"headline\":\"ABC stations call FCC\u2019s early call for license renewal \u2018unconstitutional\u2019\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-28T22:05:10+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=2021\"},\"wordCount\":558,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=2021#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/36bd7a8bb0237283ed99b698b7d02496.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"National Politics\",\"News\",\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=2021#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=2021\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=2021\",\"name\":\"ABC stations call FCC\u2019s early call for license renewal \u2018unconstitutional\u2019 - Orlando Relocation Report\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=2021#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=2021#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/36bd7a8bb0237283ed99b698b7d02496.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-28T22:05:10+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=2021#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=2021\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=2021#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/36bd7a8bb0237283ed99b698b7d02496.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/36bd7a8bb0237283ed99b698b7d02496.webp\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":682},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=2021#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"ABC stations call FCC\u2019s early call for license renewal \u2018unconstitutional\u2019\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Orlando Relocation Report\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"ABC stations call FCC\u2019s early call for license renewal \u2018unconstitutional\u2019 - Orlando Relocation Report","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2021","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"ABC stations call FCC\u2019s early call for license renewal \u2018unconstitutional\u2019 - Orlando Relocation Report","og_description":"ABC-owned TV stations across the country are criticizing the FCC's early renewal call.","og_url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2021","og_site_name":"Orlando Relocation Report","article_published_time":"2026-05-28T22:05:10+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2021#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2021"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8"},"headline":"ABC stations call FCC\u2019s early call for license renewal \u2018unconstitutional\u2019","datePublished":"2026-05-28T22:05:10+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2021"},"wordCount":558,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2021#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/36bd7a8bb0237283ed99b698b7d02496.webp","articleSection":["National Politics","News","Politics"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2021#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2021","url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2021","name":"ABC stations call FCC\u2019s early call for license renewal \u2018unconstitutional\u2019 - Orlando Relocation Report","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2021#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2021#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/36bd7a8bb0237283ed99b698b7d02496.webp","datePublished":"2026-05-28T22:05:10+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2021#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2021"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2021#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/36bd7a8bb0237283ed99b698b7d02496.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/36bd7a8bb0237283ed99b698b7d02496.webp","width":1024,"height":682},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2021#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"ABC stations call FCC\u2019s early call for license renewal \u2018unconstitutional\u2019"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/","name":"Orlando Relocation Report","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com"],"url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2021","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2021"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2021\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2020"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}