Media Action Center is a group of of concerned residents throughout the U.S. led by former Emmy-winning broadcaster turned media reformer Sue Wilson. We have successfully influenced policy at the Federal Communications Commission and at local TV and Radio stations throughout the country for more than a decade to ensure We the People are truly served by the publicly owned airwaves. (See the archive of our work under "older posts.") We successfully forced Entercom to give up its $13.5 million license to KDND for killing a woman in a radio water drinking stunt. We have a long-running action to label Alex Jones' radio show as the fiction it is, which has taken Jones' program off dozens of radio stations nationwide. We educated the Supreme Court in FCC v Prometheus Radio on critical information to #SaveLocalNews.

Please see MAC's 2018 Comment to the FCC (below) to learn why these actions are crucial to Democracy. Find full journalistic coverage of the Supreme Court case and our Amicus brief, Sinclair Broadcasting's shell game, Alex Jones, the Strange v Entercom trial and other public interest media issues at SueWilsonReports.com. For background on how we arrived in this era of disinformation and what to do about it, see Wilson's 2009 documentary Broadcast Blues.

Sue Wilson, Media Action Center Comment to FCC re: CBS 60 Minutes News Distortion Complaint

Before the

Federal Communications Commission

Washington, D.C. 20554

In the Matter of                                                           

In re News Distortion Complaint involving

CBS Broadcasting Inc.,                                               

Licensee of WCBS, New York, NY                                MB Docket No. 25-73

March 24, 2025

COMMENTS OF SUE WILSON, MEDIA ACTION CENTER

1.      Introduction

There have been thousands of comments in this docket about the CBS’ “60 Minutes” and “Face the Nation” interviews of then Presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris. As one who has been advocating for more free speech on our publicly owned airwaves for years, I am deeply grateful so many people are paying attention to broadcasting and that the FCC is shining a spotlight on the responsibilities licensed broadcasters have to their listening and viewing public.

It is possible that I may be the only commenter who has produced long-form edited news interviews like the 60 Minutes piece in question. My work was honored at FOX for exposés of wasteful government spending, at CBS for environmental reporting, at NPR for healthcare policy reporting and even a national award for a special program examining the actions and responsibilities of media itself. In addition, I have been advocating for both candidates and the public to demand their rights from broadcasters licensed to serve the public interest.[1]

I will leave the legal arguments to the many attorneys who have commented here. Instead, I will use my expertise as a broadcast professional to thoroughly examine the 60 Minutes interview to determine whether there may be any distortion of what Harris said or how she was portrayed.

2.      Dissecting the 60 Minutes Interview

 The Center for American Rights, which filed the original complaint about 60 Minutes, discovered that Vice President Harris was asked questions about Israel on CBS’ Face the Nation’s promotion of the 60 Minutes’ piece where she gave a lengthy answer. She then was asked the same questions on CBS’ 60 Minutes where she gave a different answer. This rightly raised red flags about the reporting itself: were CBS reporters and staffers purposely altering her answers, perhaps to create a more favorable appearance? It’s a fair question.

Let’s see the differences between the two. Below please find the Face the Nation transcript. Reporter Bob Whitaker’s questions are highlighted in yellow. VP Kamala Harris’ answers are highlighted in red.


[1] https://www.suewilsonreports.com/2018/02/trump-and-cruz-will-somebody-sue-already.html

Let’s see the differences between the two. Below please find the Face the Nation transcript. Reporter Bob Whitaker’s questions are highlighted in yellow. VP Kamala Harris’ answers are highlighted in red.

CLICK HERE TO READ ENTIRE COMMENT. FOLLOW LINK TO FCC CBS REPLY FINAL PDF.  

https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/search/search-filings/filing/103232211815775