Transcript [00:00] America's First Amendment guarantees [00:02] freedom of belief and freedom of the [00:04] press. Our next guest sits at the nexus [00:06] of both. He's here to discuss freedom of [00:09] speech in the media and how changes in [00:11] technology and policy are reshaping how [00:13] Americans get their news and [00:15] information. Troy Miller is the [00:17] president and CEO of the National [00:18] Religious Broadcasters Group and he's [00:20] here with us in studio. Troy, great to [00:22] see you. [00:23] >> Great to be here. Thanks for having me. [00:24] >> Yeah, been too long. Troy, a lot to get [00:27] to. So, you guys are doing great work at [00:29] uh at NRB. Want to get there uh [00:31] eventually. But I think the big news, we [00:33] know President Trump is threatening to [00:35] sue the BBC for a billion dollars. They [00:38] edited his January 6 speech in such a [00:40] way that made it seem like they he was [00:42] inciting violence. Now, I like to listen [00:45] to the news on the radio on my way to [00:47] work and uh one story, it framed this as [00:50] an attack on freedom of speech and that [00:52] the BBC should stand up to President [00:55] Trump on this issue. Now, you represent [00:56] broadcasters, not the BBC, but [00:58] broadcasters uh generally here in the in [01:01] the United States. How do you see this [01:03] issue? [01:04] >> Yeah, we do. We represent over 1,600 [01:06] broadcasters here in the US. Look, this [01:08] issue, we we are a staunch defender of [01:11] freedom of speech, freedom of religion, [01:12] free exercise thereof, and freedom of [01:15] the press because we have a number of [01:16] Christian entities that produce news. [01:19] But you can't distort the news. Um [01:21] that's pretty clear even in the FCC [01:23] regulations uh that you can't purposely [01:26] take the news and distort it for uh uh [01:29] reasons for for unobjective reasons or [01:32] to target somebody. So look, the BBC was [01:34] wrong here. I hear they apologized [01:36] today. That's a good first step. Uh but [01:39] the president's right. He this was [01:40] defamation. [01:42] >> It wouldn't be the first if Trump were [01:44] to win this uh case against the BBC if [01:46] it goes ahead. It wouldn't be the first [01:47] one he's won in recent times. Are you [01:50] seeing uh major changes broadly in the [01:53] media landscape since Trump got back [01:55] into power? [01:56] >> Well, I think the media knows that they [01:57] can't uh push their propaganda as much [02:00] as they uh used to. And they're going to [02:02] have to report. Look, you can have [02:04] opinion pieces in the news, right? You [02:06] can have opinions, you could do opeds, [02:07] you could do all of those things, but [02:09] again, you can't distort the news in [02:11] such a way that you defame a person or [02:14] that person's character. So hopefully [02:16] we're going to see the mainstream media [02:18] bring that ethic back up to the, you [02:20] know, Walter Kronhite days where uh a [02:22] lot of people didn't know how liberal he [02:24] was because he simply reported the news. [02:27] >> Incredible. Yeah, we hoped for that to [02:29] come back again. Troy, like I mentioned, [02:31] I enjoy listening to the FM radio in my [02:33] car on the way to work. It's I connect [02:36] with the people on the other side of the [02:37] airwaves in a way that digital just [02:40] doesn't allow me to do. But it seems [02:42] like in the newer cars with the new [02:44] technology, I may not be able to to get [02:46] FM radio anymore. Tesla, I believe, in [02:49] the new models are not going to have a [02:50] radio. [02:51] >> That's right. So, it started with AM [02:53] radio and the car manufacturer said, [02:55] "We're going to take AM radio out. AM [02:57] radio is antiquated. It's interfering [02:59] with the electrical cars." And uh we [03:02] said, "No, no, it's really not about AM [03:04] radio being antiquated or interfering. [03:06] There's just a it's a very small part to [03:08] take care of that." And we've said all [03:10] along this is about who's going to [03:11] control the information in the dashboard [03:14] of of the car. It's called the connected [03:16] dash. Uh it's not about uh AM radio. And [03:18] then certainly Tesla comes along and [03:20] says, "Hey, now we're going to take out [03:22] FM radio uh out of all the new models. [03:25] So we won't have FM radio." So now there [03:26] is no choice to get free overtheair [03:29] broadcasting in your Tesla vehicle. [03:31] Well, we've seen that other [03:33] manufacturers, you know, Ford followed [03:35] that and we had a big argument with them [03:36] to keep AM radio in. And now GM says, [03:40] "We're going to take out CarPlay and [03:42] we're going to take out Android Auto. [03:44] That way they can control the dash." So [03:46] we're fighting to say that there ought [03:48] to be a choice in the car for free [03:50] overthe-air broadcasting. [03:52] >> And obviously because a big part of our [03:54] viewership comes from broadcasting as [03:56] well. Broad over the air broadcast is a [03:58] big part of our viewership. Our [04:00] broadcasters coming to you, they're [04:02] worried about these technologies not [04:04] being maintained and and being unable to [04:06] reach these people. Yeah, look, Congress [04:09] when they established the initial [04:11] broadcasting regulations and codes, they [04:14] they recognized that there was a public [04:16] interest obligation there to have free [04:19] over-the-air broadcasting. And so the [04:22] that the people of all economic groups, [04:25] of all racial groups, anybody could [04:27] access that information. And we're [04:29] seeing a real move now with everything [04:31] going to this subscription service that [04:34] we're going to disenfranchise and really [04:36] limit a a large number of society from [04:38] being able to get to information simply [04:40] because they can't afford it. [04:42] >> So then Troy, how do you balance uh [04:44] ensuring this happens with businesses [04:46] right to operate their businesses as [04:48] they see fit? [04:49] >> We do balance it there, but you know the [04:51] government's always had a regulatory [04:53] role. Now, we're a very limited [04:55] government uh uh entity, but you have to [04:58] look at that role when when the [05:00] businesses really disenfranchise so many [05:03] people. There is a role for the [05:04] government to step in. The AM for every [05:07] uh car bill has a 10-year sunset in it [05:10] in order for the manufacturers and the [05:13] AM industry to work out how that [05:15] transition is going to go. [05:16] Uh shifting gears a little bit, uh Troy, [05:19] we had recently Senator Jim Jordan, [05:21] Congressman Jim Jordan, he came out and [05:23] he said that YouTube has agreed to [05:26] reinstate uh any any channels which had [05:30] been banned for sharing information [05:31] about COVID or fraud during the 2020 [05:34] election. Uh this was seen as a big win. [05:37] um the YouTube and Facebook, they came [05:39] out and they said that the previous [05:41] administration had pressured them into [05:43] censorship. Since uh Jim Jordan's [05:46] announcement, are you seeing any [05:47] tangible changes in how people are [05:49] allowed to share their information [05:50] freely on these platforms? [05:52] >> Well, we're hopeful that that's going to [05:54] get implemented, but we haven't really [05:56] seen any changes at this point. you [05:58] know, uh, thanks for the senator and [06:00] thankful for the administration who [06:02] really did in the weaponization of the [06:04] government against particularly [06:06] Christian content and Christian content [06:08] creators. So, we're happy that Pam Bondi [06:11] is leading up uh, our attorney general [06:13] is leading up a group into that uh, [06:15] investigating that. So, we hope that [06:16] goes, but there's still a lot of work. [06:18] There's still algorithms out there that [06:20] show a lot of bias against Christian [06:23] programming. Especially if you're going [06:25] to talk about pro-life, pro- family, or [06:27] talk about there's only two genders, [06:29] male and female, you're probably going [06:31] to get pushed down in the search engine [06:33] or not found altogether. [06:35] >> So, in the past, this was described as a [06:37] conspiracy theory. There's no censorship [06:39] of this type of content. But you're [06:41] saying not only was it happening then, [06:43] but even after these announcements, [06:44] you're seeing examples of it still [06:46] happening now. We're still seeing it in [06:48] on the algorithms. We're still getting [06:50] ministries reporting to us uh that their [06:52] content is getting uh suppressed or or [06:56] they've gotten removed altogether off of [06:58] the platforms. Incredible. Um Troy, you [07:02] guys have a very interesting and I think [07:05] valuable uh initiative starting. Uh you [07:07] want to connect veterans back with the [07:10] church again. What inspired uh the NRB [07:12] to start this and what positions you [07:14] guys as a as a group of broadcasters to [07:16] actually execute this? Well, [07:18] >> well, a couple of things. First, I'm a [07:19] Navy veteran myself, and so veterans are [07:22] very near and dear to me. But look, [07:24] we're losing 17 veterans a day to [07:26] suicide, drug overdose. They have the [07:29] highest rates of depression, some of the [07:30] highest rates of of divorce, uh that are [07:33] going on, and they feel lonely. 60% of [07:36] veterans say it's very hard to integrate [07:38] back into society. And so we as the [07:41] church have always been the most [07:42] charitable organization across the [07:44] country. So we're calling on churches to [07:46] reach out to veterans to give veterans a [07:49] home, a place to to feel involved, to [07:52] have a mission, to feel a purpose. Uh [07:54] the gospel provides all of those things [07:56] for that. Plus, churches have the [07:59] resources to come alongside these [08:00] people. Look, the government's doing a [08:02] great job of that, but we need to step [08:04] up and do a job as well. So we've [08:06] launched this initiative. You can go to [08:08] nrb.org org/veterans [08:10] and we'll help connect you to hundreds [08:13] of veterans organizations across the [08:15] country so you don't have to do it alone [08:17] in your church. That's interesting you [08:19] said it, Troy. The the government is [08:20] doing a great job on it, but us the [08:23] private citizens. I think more chatter I [08:25] hear recently since the government [08:27] shutdown that Americans need to get back [08:29] to this idea of self-reliance and doing [08:31] things themselves. But finally, NRB. Why [08:34] NRB? What gives you guys the tools and [08:36] the resources to execute this? [08:38] >> Well, because we have a very large [08:39] voice. Our members reach 94 million [08:43] households every month across the [08:45] country. Uh we have hundreds of churches [08:48] that are involved with us and [08:49] denominations. So we're using that [08:51] voice, that large voice of ours to help [08:54] veterans across this country. [08:56] >> Finally, uh you guys represent so many [08:58] broadcasters. We have the new [08:59] administration's been in power what, [09:01] eight months or so now, nine months. Um [09:03] what policies or what do you want to see [09:05] happen over the next three years? [09:07] >> First of all, we we're the FCC has done [09:10] an outstanding job. Chairman Carr has [09:12] really helped deregulate and take a lot [09:15] of burdens off of broadcasters. We'd [09:18] love to see that continue that [09:19] deregulation to make it easier uh [09:22] friendlier business environment for us [09:24] to do. Plus, we want to see where this [09:26] is technology moves and where the public [09:29] interest programming is going to fall [09:30] out. There's a lot of things going on in [09:32] commercial programming, but where's the [09:34] nonprofit public interest programming [09:37] gonna have its place in this new digital [09:40] streaming world? [09:41] >> Big question. Troy Miller with the [09:43] National Religious Broadcasters. Thank [09:44] you Troy. [09:45] >> Thanks for having me.
