WASHINGTON, D.C. — It hasn’t been confirmed, but the talk across the Nation’s Capital was convincing enough to generate a vociferous statement of dissent from the lone Democratic Commissioner on the FCC.
The Commission is said to have opened an investigation into ABC daytime talk program “The View.”
What triggered the supposed FCC “probe” into the chat show featuring such commentators as Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg?
An interview with James Talarico, a Texas State Representative seeking to become the next U.S. Senator serving the Lone Star State on Capitol Hill. He’s a rising star in the Democratic Party and seeks to defeat incumbent Republican John Cornyn.
Cornyn serves as Chair of the Senate Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness.
Talarico spoke February 2 on The View and discussed faith, family … and how he opposes redistricting in Texas. Could that trigger an “equal time” opportunity for Cornyn and any other candidate for U.S. Senate in the race?
That’s what Reuters reports, with a source telling the global news organization that the Commission is looking into the interview. Fox News Digital first shares news of the reported investigation into The View on Friday evening.
The look into Talarico’s appearance on The View comes following the release in late January of a four-page FCC memorandum from the Media Bureau, led by Acting Chief Erin Boone, that seeks to remind broadcast television networks of what they are allowed to do under existing regulations.
The advisory, viewable here in full, states that “concerns have been raised that the industry has taken the Media Bureau’s 2006 staff-level decision to mean that the interview portion of all arguably similar entertainment programs— whether late night or daytime—are exempted from the section 315 equal opportunities requirement under a bona fide news exemption. This is not the case.”
In the opinion of the Boone-led Media Bureau, “these decisions are fact specific and the exemptions are limited to the program that was the subject of the request.”
What is perhaps most explosive is the declaration by the Media Bureau that “the FCC has not been presented with any evidence that the interview portion of any late night or daytime television talk show program on air presently would qualify for the bona fide news exemption.” The Media Bureau “encourages all television broadcast stations to ensure that they are making all appropriate equal opportunity filings in accordance with section 73.1943 of the FCC’s rules and as required by agency precedent.”
The communiqué closes by saying it is important that both broadcasters and legally qualified candidates understand the FCC’s equal opportunities regulations and how they can result in broadcasters offering opposing legal qualified candidates comparable time and placement.
Democratic Commissioner Anna M. Gómez derided the FCC’s rumored plans to launch an investigation into The View, stating. “Let’s be clear on what this is. This is government intimidation, not a legitimate investigation. Like many other so-called ‘investigations’ before it, the FCC will announce an investigation but never carry one out, reach a conclusion, or take any meaningful action. The real purpose is to weaponize the FCC’s regulatory authority to intimidate perceived critics of this Administration and chill protected speech. That is not how a free society operates.”
The First Amendment activist noted that this “ protects the right of daytime and late-night programs to cover newsworthy issues and express viewpoints without government interference” and urged broadcasters and their parent networks “to stand strong against these unfounded attacks and continue exercising their constitutional rights without fear or favor.”
