The Federal Communications Commission said Wednesday that network talk shows are required to give equal airtime to all candidates intending to run for the same public office, changing course on a decades-old ruling and again raising free speech concerns over the Trump administration’s approach to media regulation.
The “equal time” rule is set out in Section 315 of the Communications Act, though it provides exemptions for “bona fide” news programs or interviews. In 2006, the FCC determined that the “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” qualified for the exemption, distinguishing it from an entertainment program and setting a precedent followed by other talk shows in the ensuing decades.
But in Wednesday’s notice, the agency said TV networks could not rely on that decision as a blanket ruling and would have to apply for exemptions for individual programs.
“Importantly, 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,” it said.
Anna M. Gomez, the lone Democrat on the commission, said the move was “an escalation in this FCC’s ongoing campaign to censor and control speech.”
In a statement on social media, Gomez called the FCC’s notice a “misleading announcement targeting certain late-night and daytime programs” and said the principle underlying the exemptions “has not been repealed, revised, or voted on by the FCC.”
“Broadcasters should not feel pressured to water down, sanitize, or avoid critical coverage out of fear of regulatory retaliation,” she said.
Daniel Suhr, the president of a conservative nonprofit legal group that has initiated complaints against CBS and other networks, Center for American Rights, said in a social media post that daytime TV programs such as “The View” and late-night shows such as “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” “have consistently featured only Democratic candidates while shutting out Republicans. This FCC notice is an important step toward accountability for these legacy network shows.”
CBS declined to comment on the FCC notice. Fox, NBC and CBS did not immediately respond to questions.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has come under scrutiny in recent months for wielding regulatory authority to pressure media companies critical of President Donald Trump, or ones that Trump has been critical of. The president has also long complained about being the target of jokes from talk show hosts such as ABC’s Kimmel, and has also taken aim at Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, who host late-night shows for NBC.
In July, host Stephen Colbert abruptly announced the cancellation of “The Late Show” on CBS — at a time Paramount was trying to get the FCC to approve its merger with Skydance. Trump celebrated the show’s termination in a social media post.
Less than two months later, ABC temporarily took Kimmel off the air following conservative backlash to comments he made during his show in the wake of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk’s death, the suspension coming hours after Carr denounced the comedian and implied that the FCC could retaliate against those who aired him.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr told conservative podcast host Benny Johnson at the time. “These companies can find ways to change conduct and take actions on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) also criticized Carr over Kimmel’s suspension, likening the FCC chief to a “mafioso” in a September episode of his podcast and calling Carr’s threat to retaliate against networks airing the comedian “dangerous as hell.”
On Wednesday, Trump posted a link to a news story about the FCC guidance, but did not comment on it directly. Kimmel referenced the post on his show, saying Trump “shared this story about how his minions at the FCC are planning to make it difficult for shows like ours and ‘The View’ to interview politicians they don’t align with. For real, we are once again getting threatened by the FCC.”
In November, seven former FCC commissioners and chairmen — appointed by presidents from both major parties — petitioned the agency to repeal its news distortion policy, a little-used rule that Carr has touted. They argued he had improperly wielded it against broadcasters.
“Even if the FCC never tries to take enforcement action in these cases, the specter of government interference alone chills broadcasters’ speech and suppresses their message,” they wrote.
Carr has not shied away from Trump’s focus on the media, and has taken steps to draw closer to the president. At a December hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee, Carr declared that “the FCC is not an independent agency, formally speaking” — and staff updated the agency’s website to remove the word “independent” from its web description while the hearing was still underway.
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