ABC daytime talk show The View is reportedly under investigation after failing to adhere to new guidelines set by the FCC. The news comes just days after panelist Whoopi Goldberg pointed out to viewers that she worried their show would be targeted after journalist Don Lemon’s arrest. The View is known for its controversial topics and bashing of anything involving the Trump administration. Several of the panelists have democratic views that they are not afraid to speak out on. What has the talk show facing a probe by the FCC?
The View Facing Probe By FCC
The View is reportedly being probed by the FCC after failing to adhere to guidelines the agency has vowed to enforce. Fox News initially revealed that the talk show is being investigated as the FCC continues to enforce its policies. What policy is the talk show violating?
The Federal Communication Commission recently announced it would be cracking down on shows having equal airtime for political candidates. The new probe into The View comes after panelists interviewed Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico on Monday.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced in January that the agency would be cracking down more on the “statutory equal opportunities requirement.” He cited the Communications Act of 1934, “including their airing of late-night and daytime talk shows.” He also noted that the policy enforcement goes back to the 1950s, and he will not let it slide on his watch.
The probe was announced after James Talarico appeared on the show in a nine-minute segment. His opponent, Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett, had 17 minutes of airtime spread over three segments. It’s important to note that Crockett’s appearance was before the policy push.
There is an exception to the rule, but it’s being questioned whether or not The View qualifies.
What Is The Exception To The Policy?
There is an exception to the rule regarding equal airtime requirements for candidates. However, it’s currently unclear if The View qualifies. There has been a longstanding “bona fide” exception that allows legitimate news sites to not adhere to the equal airtime policy. However, the FCC says there has been “has not been presented with any evidence that the interview portion of any late-night or daytime television talk show program on the air presently would qualify for the ‘bona fide’ news exemption.”
ABC’s parent company, Disney, never filed an equal time request to the FCC. This implicitly indicates to the FCC that Disney believes The View is bona fide news and would be exempt from the policy.
This equal opportunity requirement applies to all candidates regardless of their affiliation with a political party. It even applies to those running against each other in the same political party. This is exactly what happened with the above two candidates.
As of now, there has been no statement made by panelists on The View or ABC and Disney. Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert lashed out after the initial announcement about policy enforcement by the FCC.
What do you think? Should The View be exempt?
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