Chris Ruddy’s Paean to TV Regulation

President Trump's job is not easy, especially when his friend Chris Ruddygeneral manager Newsmaxtrying to undermine the administration's deregulatory program. It's a difficult place to be, which the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission Brendan Carr finds itself in a situation where it is trying to loosen outdated restrictions on TV ownership.

Over the weekend, the president slammed the deregulation on social media. “If this also allowed radical leftist networks to 'expand,' I would not be happy,” he wrote. “NO EXPANDING FAKE NEWS NETWORKS. If anything, make them SMALLER! President DJT.” Did Mr. Ruddy feed him this fake news?

This summer, the Federal Communications Commission proposed revising a regulation that bars broadcasters from owning stations that collectively reach more than 39% of U.S. households. Imagine if no more than 39% of Americans could access YouTube or Netflix. Ownership restrictions arose in the 1940s, when there was little competition in broadcasting and other media.

That doesn't make sense today, when Americans get most of their news from sources other than broadcast television and, increasingly, from social media. Broadcasters, for some reason, argue that the cap prevents them from teaming up to increase leverage over advertisers and the cable and streaming providers with whom they negotiate to distribute their stations.