Disney Claims 'The View' is 'Bona Fide News' in Effort to Skirt FCC's Equal Time Rule

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By Thomas Stevenson

ABC's parent company Disney has submitted a petition to the Federal Communications Commission asking the agency to allow “The View” to be exempt from the equal time rule.

In its petition, Disney, which owns ABC, claimed "'The View' qualifies" as a "bona fide" news show under the law and drew comparisons to established Sunday political programs like "Meet The Press" or "Face The Nation."

FCC Chair Brendan Carr responded on social media, announcing the commission would open the matter to public input and posing the question, "Is The View a 'bona fide news interview program'?"
 "Under FCC case law, tv shows do not qualify as 'bona fide news' if their decisions are based on partisan purposes, such as an intention to advance or harm an individual's candidacy," Carr wrote, noting that the equal opportunities statute was originally enacted by Congress to stop powerful media companies from influencing electoral outcomes.

“As the Public Notice observes, Congress originally passed the equal opportunities law to prevent media gatekeepers from deciding the outcome of elections. The law, even when it applies, does not prohibit anyone from having any candidate appear on any show. Rather, Congress intended it to empower voters with more information and encourage more speech,” he added.

The move from Disney comes after the FCC launched a probe into “The View” after the hosts had on Texas Democratic US Senate candidate James Talarico, which may violate “equal time” rules for the network. The equal time rule comes from the New Deal-era Communications Act of 1934, which states that a TV show hosting a candidate must allow the opponent to come on the show for the same length of time.

In February, the FCC said that it would also include late-night and daytime talk shows in the same rule. However, news shows are exempt from equal time rules, the reason behind “The View” pushing to be seen as a “bona fide” news show.

The left-wing program with has an all-female panel consisting of Whoopi Goldberg, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin, Alyssa Farah Griffin, and Ana Navarro, has used the airwaves to slam Republicans and Trump consistently.

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