For years, ABC’s The View has operated under the comfortable assumption that daytime talk shows can play partisan favorites without consequences. That assumption just ran headfirst into the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC has now opened a formal investigation into the show after it featured a Democratic Senate candidate, raising serious questions about whether the network violated long standing equal time requirements baked into federal law.
According to sources inside the agency, the investigation was triggered by Monday’s appearance of Texas Democrat James Talarico on The View. Timing matters here. Talarico became one of the first political candidates to appear on a daytime talk show after the FCC publicly announced it would begin aggressively enforcing the equal opportunities rule under the Communications Act of 1934. That rule requires broadcast networks to provide equal airtime to legally qualified candidates when one is featured.
For decades, networks have hidden behind the so called bona fide news exemption. That exemption allows actual news programs to interview candidates without handing out equal airtime to every opponent on the ballot. The problem is that the FCC recently made clear it has not been presented with evidence that late night or daytime talk shows automatically qualify as bona fide news. Translation, laughing couches and partisan applause do not magically turn entertainment into journalism.
The situation got worse for ABC when it became clear that Disney, the network’s parent company, did not submit an equal time filing after Talarico’s appearance. Filing that paperwork would have signaled ABC believes The View is legitimate news programming and therefore exempt. Without it, the FCC is now reviewing whether the segment triggered an obligation to offer comparable airtime to other candidates.
That obligation cuts wider than some might like. Equal time would apply not only to Republican candidates like incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, but also to other Democrats in the race. That includes Rep. Jasmine Crockett, who previously received roughly 17 minutes of airtime across multiple segments, and even lesser known candidates like Ahmad Hassan.
An FCC source pointed out the disparity, noting that Talarico alone received around nine minutes in a single segment. Crockett’s appearance happened before the FCC announced its renewed enforcement push, but it still highlights how casually the rules have been treated.
The message from the FCC was blunt. “Fake news is not getting a free pass anymore,” the source said. That sentiment was echoed by FCC Chair Brendan Carr, who openly questioned whether The View should even be considered a legitimate news program during an interview on a podcast hosted by Scott Jennings.
Carr said it was worthwhile for the FCC to examine whether shows like The View still qualify for exemptions Congress intended for actual journalism. That question has been overdue for years. The View is not a neutral forum, it is a partisan platform that rarely pretends otherwise.
If the FCC determines ABC crossed the line, the network could be required to provide equivalent airtime to Talarico’s opponents. That alone would be a shock to a media culture accustomed to promoting Democrats without consequence.
This investigation is not about censorship. It is about enforcing rules that have been ignored while one side enjoyed a permanent media advantage. For the first time in a long while, the referees are looking at the scoreboard, and the networks are suddenly very nervous.
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