Should ultra-progressive talk show “The View” be considered news?
That peculiar question is at the heart of a roiling feud between the show’s parent network and company (ABC and Disney respectively) and the Federal Communications Commission.
According to CBS News, the ABC and FCC are in a war of words over the actual classification status of “The View” and whether or not the show had broken any rules pertaining to the equal time rule.
That rule effectively requires broadcast stations that interview one political candidate to give equal airtime to all other candidates for the same office.
Given that such a rule could prove burdensome for news stations beholden to strict airtime constraints, Congress ultimately decided decades ago that certain “bona fide” news stations could apply for and receive exemptions from this equal-time rule.
“The View has been broadcasting under a bona fide news exemption granted to it more than twenty years ago, consistent with longstanding Commission interpretations,” ABC wrote in its petition to the FCC.
The issue now, however, is that the FCC is effectively asking ABC and “The View” to prove that the divisive talk show is a “bona fide” news program to even qualify for such an exemption.
And as Fox News reports, the bona fides are in serious doubt.
“Ron Burgundy has a stronger claim of being ‘bona fide news’ than Whoopi Goldberg,” one government insider told the outlet.
One of the major flashpoints in this drama appears to have been Texas Democrat and senatorial candidate James Talarico‘s appearance on “The View” from early February.
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“Until now, it has never been disputed that The View qualifies as a bona fide news interview program,” ABC claimed in its petition.
The network added: “The View continues to qualify as a bona fide news interview program because it continues to meet all of the legal requirements set forth by Congress and the Commission. Specifically, (1) The View is a regularly scheduled program, (2) The View is fully controlled by ABC, which produces the show for broadcast by the ABC Television Network, and (3) decisions concerning The View’s format, content, and participants are based on newsworthiness rather than on an intention to advance or harm an individual’s candidacy.
“With respect to whether a broadcaster’s programming decisions are based on newsworthiness, the Commission has long recognized that it was Congress’s intent that the Commission respect the good faith news judgments of broadcast licensees.”
The FCC, for its part, appears willing to give “The View” a fair assessment when it comes to the show’s classification as news.
“Decades ago, Congress passed a law that generally prohibits broadcast television programs from putting a thumb on the scale in favor of one political candidate over another,” an FCC representative told Fox News. “Specifically, Congress put protections in place to ensure that covered programs offer legally qualified candidates for office (both Republican and Democrat) equal time on the public airwaves.
“The equal time law encourages more speech and empowers voters to decide the outcome of elections. The FCC will review Disney’s assertion that ‘The View’ is a ‘bona fide news program’ and thus exempt from the political equal time rules.”
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