FCC Asks Americans Whether ‘The View’ Is a News Program or a ‘Partisan’ Show

The Federal Communications Commission wants to know if Americans think ABC’s “The View” should be considered a “bona fide news program” and thus exempt from the agency’s equal time rule, and is seeking public comments on the issue.In a post on X on Friday, the chairman of the FCC, Brendan Carr, wrote that FCC case law states TV shows do not qualify for the exemption if “their decisions are based on partisan purposes, such as an intention to advance or harm an individual’s candidacy.”The post and request for public comments come as the FCC has been investigating “The View” for an alleged equal time rule violation involving a February interview with a Democrat running for the U.S. Senate in Texas, James Talarico. The equal time rule requires that broadcast radio and TV stations provide legally qualified candidates an equal opportunity for airtime if one of their opponents uses the station’s facilities. Mr. Talarico’s primary opponent, Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, had previously made several appearances on “The View,” including in January. But Mr. Talarico’s February appearance came roughly four weeks ahead of the closely-watched primary as Democrats hope to finally flip a Senate seat in Texas blue, and as the FCC stepped up scrutiny of late-night and daytime talk shows amid longstanding complaints from conservatives that they were being used to boost the hosts’ preferred candidates. For years, the FCC has not subjected late-night or daytime talk shows to equal time requirements. Earlier this year, Mr. Carr said he was considering applying the rule to those programs. ABC’s parent company, Disney, submitted a petition asking that “The View” be labeled a “bona fide” news program.The notice from the agency asks, “Does The View qualify as a bona fide news interview program? Does the federal equal opportunities statute pass relevant constitutional scrutiny, either as a general matter or as applied here? Are the relevant decisions on The View, including on format and participants, based on newsworthiness or on an attempt to oppose or support particular candidates within the meaning of FCC precedent?”Mr. Carr has not explicitly said whether or not he believes “The View” would qualify for the “bona fide news” exemption, saying there will be a process to answer the question. But in February, he told reporters, “If you’re a partisan political actor under the case law, then you’re likely not going to qualify under the bona fide news exception.”Conservatives have long accused “The View” of pushing an anti-Trump agenda. Earlier this week, Nicholas Fondacaro, an associate editor for the conservative media watchdog, Newsbusters, highlighted a clip from the show in which co-host Ana Navarro said, “If Americans want this to end, want the abuses of power checked, they have got to vote Democrats in in November, period.”Mr. Fondacaro wrote on X, “Hey @BrendanCarrFCC ABC News is literally endorsing a party for the midterms.”ABC has pushed back on the FCC’s investigation, saying it is “unprecedented, beyond the Commission’s authority, and counterproductive to the Commission’s stated goal of encouraging free speech and open political discussion.” The network accused the agency of trying to “chill protected speech.”

FCC Asks Americans Whether ‘The View’ Is a News Program or a ‘Partisan’ Show

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