The censorship permeating American culture will be "important" for the House Committee for Energy and Commerce to investigate, Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., told Newsmax on Tuesday.
A member Energy and Commerce, Walberg predicted the censorship issues Newsmax and other conservative media are facing will be "probably one of the key agenda items we'll be looking at . . ."
AT&T's DirecTV deplatformed Newsmax two weeks ago, the second conservative channel deplatformed by the service in the past year, with OAN canceled in April.
"We got to make sure that there isn't intentional alteration of what's going on; censorship . . . that can't be part of the American experience," Walberg told Newsmax's Bob Sellers on "American Agenda."
Walberg suggested the country is better served by more news sources, not less, saying he "wants to make sure that we have plenty of competition out there."
"Newsmax has supplied an opportunity for people out there to hear conservative news, let's say even better than that, to hear news as it happens," he said. "The reality of the news, to tell the truth about it, I think that's why Newsmax has done well."
DirecTV customers call toll free at 877-763-9762 to cancel/complain
The congressman was commenting in the aftermath of AT&T's DirecTV decision to remove Newsmax from its systems Jan. 24, denying 13 million subscriber homes the channel.
Newsmax is the 4th highest-rated cable news channel reaching 25 million Americans, according to Nielsen.
AT&T has come under fierce criticism for removing Newsmax, the second conservative channel in the past year it has deplatformed, with OAN leaving last April.
DirecTV claimed both Newsmax and OAN were removed as "cost-cutting" measures.
At the same time the service continues to carry 22 left-leaning news channels, many with much lower ratings than Newsmax. And all of those channels get license fees.
This week DirecTV claimed Newsmax was demanding "excessive fees" that would cost them in the "tens of millions" of dollars.
Newsmax has denied these claims, saying it was seeking a fee of about $1 per cable subscriber per year, among the lowest fees asked for in cable, and that total amount of the deal was a fraction of "tens of millions."
"This was never about the fees being excessive," Christopher Ruddy, CEO of Newsmax, said. "DirecTV's position has always been that Newsmax of all cable news channels should never get any cable fee whatsoever, not one penny. "
DirecTV has issued a statement it wants Newsmax back on its service, but only on its terms.
Ruddy said there has been no real negotiation and no flexibility by DirecTV in its refusal to pay any carriage fees to the network.
Actions to Take Now
1. DirecTV customers call toll free at 877-763-9762 to cancel/complain.
2. AT&T customers call toll free at 888-855-2338 to cancel/complain for U-verse, cellular and wireless services.
3. Call your congressman or senator at 202-224-3121 and demand they stop AT&T/DirecTV's censorship of NEWSMAX — ask them to give you a date on the hearings!
4. Go to our online petition and get more info: iWantNewsmax.com.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.