The president of the Arizona State Senate is asking the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to investigate Arizona’s PBS station, KAET, for what he calls “viewpoint discrimination” during the state’s heated 2022 governor’s race.
Senate President Warren Petersen wrote a letter to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, saying, “Recently uncovered documents show that Arizona PBS violated rules, contracts, and long-standing traditions to improperly influence the outcome of the 2022 Arizona governor’s race.”
The race was between Republican Kari Lake and Democrat Katie Hobbs. In 2022, Hobbs refused to debate Lake, saying she believed it would turn into a repeat of the Republican primary debate and help spread false claims that the 2020 election was rigged. Lake, a former TV news anchor, had said she feared Democrats would cheat in the 2022 election.
Instead of a debate, both candidates took part in a separate town hall hosted by the Arizona Chamber of Commerce, where they were questioned individually.
Petersen claims that Arizona PBS gave Hobbs a special 30-minute interview but canceled Lake’s planned solo interview just hours before it was supposed to happen on October 12, 2022. According to AZ Central, the Arizona Citizens Clean Election Commission pulled out of the event with PBS after learning the station had agreed to Hobbs’ separate interview.
Petersen also pointed to internal emails from Arizona State University, which operates the PBS station. In the emails, university officials seemed to believe Hobbs would win and discussed Lake’s stance on election integrity. Petersen said it took the university over two years to release these emails.
He argues that Arizona PBS acted in a partisan way, favoring Hobbs and discriminating against Lake, which he says is against the station’s duty to serve the public interest. Petersen wants the FCC to consider revoking KAET’s broadcast license.
Arizona State University responded by saying that debates are not the only way to inform the public about elections. They explained that when Hobbs refused to debate, PBS planned to offer both candidates interviews. Hobbs accepted, but Lake declined.
This request for an FCC investigation comes shortly after Congress voted to stop taxpayer funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which supports PBS and NPR.
