Views on The View
FCC seeks opinions on whether ABC show’s decisions are “based on newsworthiness.”
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr speaks on stage during the Concordia Annual Summit on September 22, 2025 in New York City. Credit: Getty Images | John Lamparski
The Federal Communications Commission is escalating its attack on ABC’s The View with a proceeding that seeks public comment on whether the talk show is a “bona fide news interview program.”
The FCC Media Bureau today issued a public notice seeking opinions on whether The View qualifies for the bona fide news exemption to the equal-time rule, which requires equal time for opposing political candidates on non-news programming. The probe of The View is driven by Chairman Brendan Carr, who has embraced President Trump’s declaration that the FCC is no longer an independent agency and used his chairmanship to open investigations into broadcasters that Trump dislikes.
“Decades ago, Congress made the decision to prevent covered broadcast television programs from being used to advance certain partisan political purposes,” the Media Bureau public notice said. The equal-time rule exists to prevent broadcast television stations “from unfairly putting their thumbs on the scale for one political candidate or set of candidates over another,” and “to ensure that no legally qualified candidate for office is unfairly given less access to the public airwaves than their opponent,” it said.
The FCC notice invited the public to comment on whether The View’s decisions on show format and participants are “based on newsworthiness or on an attempt to oppose or support particular candidates within the meaning of FCC precedent.”
This isn’t the only case of Carr targeting the Disney-owned ABC. Carr threatened ABC station licenses in September 2025, alleging that airing Jimmy Kimmel’s show might violate the rarely enforced news distortion policy. Last month, Carr ordered an unusual review of ABC’s broadcast licenses over allegations that its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices violate anti-discrimination rules.
Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez said the invitation for public comment on The View shows that “the FCC is once again targeting an administration critic by mob rule. Let’s not pretend this FCC hasn’t already made up its mind. All they want is for their pro-censorship partisan allies to nod in agreement. My message to Disney: Don’t flinch. Fight.”
The View won exemption in 2002
The Media Bureau public notice did not mention that the FCC has consistently given bona fide exemptions to entertainment programs for over 40 years. Exemptions were handed out to shows hosted by Phil Donahue, Sally Jessy Raphael, Jerry Springer, Bill Maher, Jay Leno, and Howard Stern.
The View itself won a bona fide news exemption from the FCC in 2002, during President George W. Bush’s first term. Strictly speaking, programs are not required to obtain these exemptions in order to interview political candidates. A program can be exempt from the rule if it meets the qualifications, regardless of whether it seeks a formal decision from the FCC.
The current review of The View‘s exemption was triggered recently when the FCC Media Bureau ordered an ABC station to file a new petition for a declaratory ruling on The View’s status. ABC responded by filing a petition arguing that the FCC is overstepping its authority and violating the First Amendment rights of broadcasters.
ABC’s filing said the FCC has long used a three-part test to determine whether an interview is a bona fide news interview. These factors are “(1) whether the program is regularly scheduled; (2) whether the broadcaster or an independent producer controls the program; and (3) whether the broadcaster’s or independent producer’s decisions on format, content, and participants are based on newsworthiness rather than on an intention to advance or harm an individual’s candidacy,” ABC said.
The FCC’s 2002 determination “has remained unchallenged and unchanged since that time and, to this day, The View remains fully qualified for the exemption under the applicable legal standards,” ABC said.
Today’s FCC Media Bureau public notice described the 2002 ruling as “a letter from an FCC staffer.” The ABC petition said the 2002 letter was “a Declaratory Ruling from the Mass Media Bureau,” which “remains in full force and effect.”
ABC challenges legality of equal-time rule
Besides asking for comment on whether The View is a bona fide news show, the FCC proceeding offers an opportunity for people to comment on whether the equal-time rule itself is constitutional. ABC’s petition argued that the rule “raises profound First Amendment concerns” because of the limits it imposes on editorial decisions about what guests to feature.
“At a minimum, the equal opportunities rule could not survive constitutional scrutiny without the kind of robust bona fide news exemption that the Commission has applied for decades,” ABC said.
The FCC Media Bureau notice responded to ABC’s constitutional argument by asking for public comment on whether “the federal equal opportunities statute pass[es] relevant constitutional scrutiny, either as a general matter or as applied here.”
The docket has already received a few dozen comments today. Most are from people writing that The View is not a real news show, but one commenter said the FCC investigation “is misguided and unfounded, especially as it apparently did not stem from any formal complaint regarding The View violating the equal time provisions or its long-standing status as a bona fide news program.”
The FCC set a June 22 deadline for initial comments, and a July 6 deadline for reply comments.
Jon is a Senior IT Reporter for Ars Technica. He covers the telecom industry, Federal Communications Commission rulemakings, broadband consumer affairs, court cases, and government regulation of the tech industry.
