ABC challenges FCC review of The View's news status
ABC says an FCC inquiry into The View threatens editorial independence and could force broadcasters to air candidates they did not choose to book.
By Hana Yoshida · Markets Reporter
2 min read
ABC is pushing back against a Federal Communications Commission inquiry into whether The View should keep its protected status as a news program. In a Tuesday filing with the FCC, ABC said the review threatens newsroom independence because it lets regulators decide which programs count as legitimate news.
The dispute centers on the FCC’s “bona fide” news exemption, which can shield qualifying programs from the equal time rule. According to the First Amendment Encyclopedia cited in reporting on the filing, that rule requires broadcasters to offer comparable airtime to candidates running for the same office.
ABC told the FCC that the agency is focusing on shows it sees as hostile to the current administration. The company said the inquiry risks putting the government in the role of an editor by judging program choices and potentially requiring broadcasters to hand airtime to guests they did not select.
FCC Chair Brendan Carr confirmed in February that the agency was reexamining The View’s status after the program interviewed Rep. James Talarico, a Texas Democrat who is running for the Senate, according to The Verge. That review could affect whether the show remains exempt from equal time obligations tied to candidate appearances.
ABC said the FCC had already classified The View as a bona fide news program in 2002. In its filing, the network argued that the show itself has not materially changed since that decision, while the political environment around it has.
The network also said the commission has directed attention toward both daytime and late-night television. The Wrap earlier reported on ABC’s formal reply to the FCC review.
ABC’s argument frames the FCC action as a First Amendment issue rather than a technical dispute over broadcast rules. The company said regulators should not decide which editorial formats qualify as news or penalize programs because of how their political coverage is perceived.
The filing places The View, a daytime talk show that regularly covers politics, in the middle of a broader fight over how federal broadcast rules apply to candidate interviews on news and opinion programs. The immediate question before the FCC is whether the show’s classification should continue to protect it from equal time claims after political guests appear on air.
This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.