A Path Forward for the First Amendment

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has been in the national spotlight this year for its attempts to use regulatory procedures that may weaken First Amendment protections for broadcasting news agencies. 

The FCC's Chairman has suggested that broadcasters' news coverage decisions might be considered in their license renewal proceedings. He launched a "news distortion" inquiry into a news program's editing of an interview with a presidential candidate and criticized late-night host Jimmy Kimmel's remarks about Charlie Kirk's killing; Kimmel's show was temporarily suspended. These moves may significantly affect free speech. 

FCC Commissioner Anna M. Gomez has been an outspoken critic of these decisions. In a fireside chat as part of her “First Amendment Tour,” hosted by the Silha Center for the Study of Media Ethics and Law and the University of Minnesota Law School, Commissioner Gomez will discuss why and how these actions may impede free speech and what the path forward could be for our democracy.