Disney Asks FCC To Declare 'The View' A News Show, Exempt From Equal Time Rule

Authored by Jill McLaughlin via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Disney is asking the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to declare the daytime talk show "The View" a "bona fide news" program to bypass the federal equal opportunities law, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr announced May 22.

The show, co-hosted by Joy Behar, Alyssa Farah Griffin, Whoopi Goldberg, Sarah Haines, Sunny Hostin, and Ana Navarro, has come under scrutiny in recent years for its programming that heavily favored progressive guests and commentary.

In February, Carr told reporters the agency was investigating whether the show violated the federal "equal time" requirements for political candidates.

The equal time rule requires broadcast radio and television stations to give comparable airtime to legally qualified political candidates.

In May, Disney-owned TV stations KTRK-TV, Houston, Texas, and American Broadcasting Companies (ABC) filed a request with the agency to exempt the show.

"The companies ... suggest in their Petition that they believe the federal equal opportunities statute itself would not survive First Amendment scrutiny today or at least if it is applied today to 'The View' would not survive any such review," the FCC stated in a public notice issued May 22. "The companies also point to a letter from an FCC staffer from 2002 in support of their argument that 'The View' qualifies as bona fide news."

If FCC commissioners exempt "The View" from the equal time rule, the program would be allowed to continue having almost exclusively left-leaning politicians and guests on to discuss political issues.

"Disney argues that The View qualifies as 'bona fide news' under the law, comparing itself to Meet The Press or Face The Nation," Carr posted on X. "Therefore, Disney argues, it can have one partisan candidate for office on The View while denying equal opportunities to all others."

Under the law, television shows don't qualify as news shows if their content is based on partisan purposes, such as if they intend to harm someone's candidacy for office, Carr said.

The FCC has opened public comment on the request, allowing written comments until June 22, before commissioners consider the request.

Stations can petition the FCC to seek exemptions from the rule for bona fide news programming.

Congress created exemptions for two news programs, "Meet the Press" and "Face The Nation," in 1959 by passing an amendment to the Communications Act of 1934, because of the traditional question-and-answer formats used.

Congress passed the equal time rule to prevent media gatekeepers from deciding the outcomes of elections, Carr said.

"The law, even when it applies, does not prohibit anyone from having any candidate appear on any show," Carr said. "Rather, Congress intended it to empower voters with more information and encourage more speech."

In April, the FCC ordered an early review of license renewals for Disney's ABC television stations as part of an ongoing investigation into whether the company and its stations were following federal communications laws and rules.