Body
ABC on Friday accused the Federal Communications Commission of threatening to chill constitutionally protected free speech in its legal dispute over “The View,” the long-running ABC morning talk show that mixes entertainment with political interviews and commentary.
In a strongly worded FCC filing made public Friday, ABC said the Trump administration was trying to hinder open political discussion tied to the program, arguing that “The View” had been operating for more than two decades under what ABC described as a “bona fide news” exemption from the FCC’s equal-time framework for political candidates.
ABC said the FCC’s approach would “upend decades of settled law and practice and chill critical protected speech,” and it argued that the FCC’s longtime equal-time doctrine is not designed for today’s media environment. The company pointed to how audiences can access political commentary through platforms that fall outside the broadcast equal-opportunities rule, including podcasts, cable, social media, and streaming on phones, computers and connected television.
The dispute centers on whether “The View” should be treated as a news program subject to exemption treatment, or instead treated in a way that would require equal airtime for competing political candidates. ABC said narrowing the FCC’s “bona fide news” exemption would risk restricting political discourse “exactly when it is needed most.”
The filing stemmed from a dispute involving ABC station KTRK-TV in Houston, but ABC’s language indicated it was preparing for a broader fight with the administration over how the FCC applies the equal-time doctrine. The FCC’s reply, in a statement emailed to The Associated Press, said the equal-time law “encourages more speech and empowers voters to decide the outcome of elections.”
The FCC said it would review Disney’s assertion that “The View” is a “bona fide news program” and thus exempt from the political equal-time rules. It indicated it would revisit the question of whether “The View” qualifies as a news program for equal-time purposes, a key issue because the equal-time rules are designed to require broadcasters to grant airtime to competing candidates for office.
In the filing, ABC argued that “The View” has been broadcasting under a bona fide news exemption “more than twenty years ago,” consistent with what it described as longstanding FCC interpretations aimed at minimizing First Amendment problems inherent in the “equal time regime.” ABC also said the equal-opportunities rule does not apply to many other ways people get political information, even as political discussion opportunities have expanded.
The dispute also comes amid a wider series of tensions between the White House and news media. The AP report noted that Trump has criticized outlets whose reporting runs counter to his agenda and sensibilities.
The filing further ties the FCC dispute to the administration’s criticism of “The View,” and it also references Trump’s displeasure with late-night hosts who criticize him, including ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel. The report said Donald and Melania Trump recently called for ABC to fire Kimmel for a joke about the first lady’s age difference that Kimmel described as a light roast.
ABC included a footnote in the FCC filing saying “The View” has long featured a panel including women of different backgrounds to discuss issues of the day. ABC said that “The View” has consistently prioritized a panel of women from different backgrounds to facilitate discussion and the exchange of divergent perspectives.