Disney executives overseeing the ladies at “The View” appeared to have an “uphill climb” on their hands, per the FCC, after hosting a political candidate without offering equal time to his opponent.
“… look at the lineup of guests …”
(Video Credit: Fox Business)
Endemic of the 24-hour news cycle and its desire to keep viewers’ eyes affixed to their screens for “alerts” and “breaking” updates on repeat throughout the day has been the blurring of lines between fact-based reporting and opinion.
Now, amid a probe of ABC’s “The View” conducted by the Federal Communications Commission, it appeared that the daily left-centric coffee klatch was attempting to be counted as a “bona fide news program” in order to escape the consequences of serving up unequal airtime to the Senate campaign of Texas state Rep. James Talarico (D).
“When you look at the lineup of guests that have typically been on ‘The View,’ I think it’s an uphill climb for Disney to make the case that they’re just a straight news program,” said FCC Chairman Brendan Carr during his Friday appearance on Fox Business’ “Mornings with Maria.”
“Long ago, Congress passed a law, and they didn’t want media gatekeepers to be deciding the outcomes of elections by having exclusively one political candidate or one political party on all the time,” he said while indicating that dozens of stations affiliated with Disney had submitted equal-time notices that could lead to Talarico’s Democratic primary opponent, Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett, requesting equal airtime.
As had been reported, the state lawmaker’s appearance on “The View” early in February led to complaints only weeks after Carr had issued regulatory guidance pertaining to equal airtime. “Disney’s ‘The View’ is now asserting to the FCC that they are a bona fide news program. And we started an enforcement action there. We’ve issued letters of inquiry, which are versions of subpoenas.”
ABC’s ‘The View’ facing FCC investigation in ‘equal time’ crackdown https://t.co/uKy1dMlD3M via @BIZPACReview
— BPR based (@DumpstrFireNews) February 7, 2026
Among the factors that the FCC considers to determine if a program is “bona fide news” is the key element pertaining to “The View” regarding “whether decisions on the content, participants, and format are based on newsworthiness, rather than partisan purposes, such as an intention to advance or harm an individual’s candidacy.”
While “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” secured the “bona fide” qualifier for its interview portion in 2006, the FCC reminded that the determination was not blanket approval for any and all interview portions of similar talk shows. Rather, requests were expected for exemptions to the rule.
Crockett’s own 2026 appearance on “The View” had occurred come weeks before Carr’s guidance, reinforcing the need to uphold the policy. At the same time ABC sought the bona fide exemption for its talk show, Talarico leveled his own claims against the FCC on equal time grounds after CBS’s “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” had opted against airing his appearance on television and instead dumped it to streaming on social media.
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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