{"id":362,"date":"2026-09-01T18:56:19","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T18:56:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/morningpost.news\/?p=362"},"modified":"2026-09-01T18:56:19","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T18:56:19","slug":"fcc-chairman-puts-the-view-on-notice-over-equal-time-requirement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/morningpost.news\/?p=362","title":{"rendered":"FCC Chairman Puts \u2018The View\u2019 On Notice Over \u2018Equal Time\u2019 Requirement"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A new social media post from the nation\u2019s top communications regulator has intensified scrutiny surrounding one of television\u2019s most recognizable daytime programs.<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-3\"><\/div>\n<p>The move comes as federal officials continue reviewing whether ABC\u2019s daytime left-wing political gabfest \u201cThe View\u201d still qualifies for an important exemption under longstanding broadcast regulations.<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-3\"><\/div>\n<p>The development has renewed debate over the line between news programming and political commentary, a distinction that could prove significant as federal regulators examine the case.<\/p>\n<p>While no final decision has been reached, the latest public comments suggest the review remains active.<\/p>\n<p>Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr this week shared a montage of political commentary on the show, where its co-hosts were decisively pushing Democrats and left-wing politics and policies exclusively, as the agency considers whether the program qualifies for an exemption to the FCC\u2019s political equal time requirements.<\/p>\n<p>In a post on X, Carr said Disney, the parent company of ABC, has argued to the FCC that The View should be treated as a \u201cbona fide news program,\u201d a designation that can exempt certain broadcasts from equal time obligations under federal law.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDisney is arguing to the FCC that its ABC show The View is a \u2018bona fide news program,\u2019\u201d Carr wrote.<\/p>\n<p>He added that Disney has argued its editorial decisions are based on \u201cnewsworthiness\u201d rather than partisan motivations and therefore qualify for the exemption provided under the FCC\u2019s rules.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-364 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/morningpost.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/grok-image-0cd4abc3-b5df-4f9b-a916-52ffd265e610-735x400-1-300x163.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"707\" height=\"384\" srcset=\"https:\/\/morningpost.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/grok-image-0cd4abc3-b5df-4f9b-a916-52ffd265e610-735x400-1-300x163.jpg 300w, https:\/\/morningpost.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/grok-image-0cd4abc3-b5df-4f9b-a916-52ffd265e610-735x400-1.jpg 735w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 707px) 100vw, 707px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDisney claims that its decisions are based on \u2018newsworthiness\u2019\u2014rather than partisan purposes\u2014and thus exempt from political equal time rules,\u201d Carr wrote.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe FCC will make its decision based on all relevant evidence and precedents,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>The montage Carr posted included clips of panelists on the show discussing elections, criticizing Republican politicians, and expressing support for Democratic candidates and policies, which Carr highlighted as part of the ongoing review.<\/p>\n<p>The FCC has not announced a final decision regarding the matter, and Carr\u2019s post did not indicate when the agency expects to conclude its review.<\/p>\n<p>The equal time rule generally requires broadcasters to provide legally qualified political candidates with comparable opportunities to use a broadcast station when one candidate is given airtime, although federal law includes several exemptions for bona fide news programming, news interviews, documentaries, and on-the-spot coverage of news events.<\/p>\n<p>Whether the show qualifies for that exemption is among the issues being examined by the commission.<\/p>\n<p>Despite drawing attention to the matter, Carr has also emphasized that he does not believe the FCC should function as a regulator of political speech.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking on POLITICO\u2019s \u201cThe Conversation\u201d podcast with Dasha Burns, Carr said the commission\u2019s responsibility is to enforce laws enacted by Congress rather than police viewpoints expressed by broadcasters.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t view the FCC as the speech police,\u201d Carr said.<\/p>\n<p>He argued, however, that broadcasters operate under a regulatory framework requiring them to serve the public interest and suggested the agency has stepped back from enforcing some aspects of that framework over the past several decades.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think in the media space in particular, the FCC over the last 20 or 30 years really backed away from the regulatory framework that Congress put in place,\u201d Carr said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s been a good thing, either in terms of our job of administering the law or the outcome that we\u2019re seeing across the media sector,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Carr also pointed to declining public confidence in the news media, arguing that trust in journalism has fallen dramatically over time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFifteen percent of people would eat gas station sushi,\u201d Carr said. \u201cOnly 8 percent of people say they have a great deal of trust\u201d in the media, Breitbart News\u00a0reported.<\/p>\n<p>The FCC has not indicated when it expects to issue a decision regarding ABC\u2019s arguments, but the review could help clarify how federal regulators distinguish between news programming and opinion-based shows under the agency\u2019s longstanding equal time rules.<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-1\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"post-share\">\n<div class=\"post-share-icons cf\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-363 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/morningpost.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/grok-image-f2faab2f-a5a2-4551-a1e8-d6873d733da3-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1369\" height=\"771\" srcset=\"https:\/\/morningpost.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/grok-image-f2faab2f-a5a2-4551-a1e8-d6873d733da3-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/morningpost.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/grok-image-f2faab2f-a5a2-4551-a1e8-d6873d733da3-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/morningpost.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/grok-image-f2faab2f-a5a2-4551-a1e8-d6873d733da3-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/morningpost.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/grok-image-f2faab2f-a5a2-4551-a1e8-d6873d733da3-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/morningpost.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/grok-image-f2faab2f-a5a2-4551-a1e8-d6873d733da3.jpg 1792w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1369px) 100vw, 1369px\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new social media post from the nation\u2019s top communications regulator has intensified scrutiny surrounding one of television\u2019s most recognizable daytime programs. The move comes as federal officials continue reviewing whether ABC\u2019s daytime left-wing political gabfest \u201cThe View\u201d still qualifies for an important exemption under longstanding broadcast regulations. The development has renewed debate over the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":363,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-362","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-politic"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/morningpost.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/morningpost.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/morningpost.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/morningpost.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/morningpost.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=362"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/morningpost.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":365,"href":"https:\/\/morningpost.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362\/revisions\/365"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/morningpost.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/morningpost.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/morningpost.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=362"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/morningpost.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}