The FCC is probing Chicago public radio station WBEZ over on-air sponsorships

is a news writer focused on creative industries, computing, and internet culture. Jess started her career at TechRadar, covering news and hardware reviews. Chicago’s WBEZ is among 13 NPR and PBS member radio stations being investigated by the Federal Communications Commission as the Trump administration looks to tighten its control over public news organizations. The probes launched by FCC Chair Brendan Carr in January focus on whether on-air sponsorships aired by NPR and PBS-affiliated broadcasters comply with regulations around on-air sponsorships, known in media as “underwriting”. Public stations can broadcast nonpromotional announcements acknowledging financial support but are otherwise prohibited from running commercials. The Chicago Sun Times reports that WBEZ received a request for information regarding its underwriting practices from the FCC on February 28th, with a deadline to provide the requested details by the end of March. “We can confirm that we received the letter fr ... Read full article.