FCC chairman targets "The View" after getting Jimmy Kimmel suspended

The hosts of "The View." From left to right: Sara Haines, Ana Navarro, Sunny Hostin, Joy Behar, Alyssa Farah Griffin, Whoopi Goldberg. (Photo by Jeff Lipsky/ABC) — The hosts of “The View.” From left to right: Sara Haines, Ana Navarro, Sunny Hostin, Joy Behar, Alyssa Farah Griffin, Whoopi Goldberg. (Photo by Jeff Lipsky/ABC)

Key Points:

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said the agency should review whether ABC’s “The View” still qualifies as a bona fide news program exempt from equal time rules.
Carr’s remarks came less than a day after his criticism helped lead to ABC suspending Jimmy Kimmel over comments about Charlie Kirk’s alleged shooter.
Nexstar and Sinclair pre-empted Kimmel’s show on ABC affiliates after Carr’s remarks, though both companies denied links to their pending FCC transactions.

Less than one day after his comments influenced the suspension of ABC talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr has set his sights on another target: “The View.”

During an interview on a conservative talk radio show early Thursday morning, Carr said the FCC should examine whether the topical roundtable discussion program still qualifies as a “bona fide news show.”

“You can make the argument that The View is a bona fide news show, but I’m not so sure about that,” Carr said. “I think it’s worthwhile to have the FCC look into whether The View and some (other) programs still qualify as bona fide news programs and therefore exempt from the equal opportunity regime that Congress has put in place.”

Under current FCC rules, news programs are generally exempt from federal “equal time” rules that require licensed broadcasters to provide equal air time to opposing candidates.

ABC holds broadcast licenses for just eight TV stations — the rest are affiliates of ABC owned by third party broadcasters like Nexstar Media Group, the E. W. Scripps Company, TEGNA and Sinclair, Inc. The owners of the licensed broadcast stations are responsible for complying with equal time rules, though the broadcast networks typically shoulder the burden for the affiliated stations.

Typically, roundtable discussion programs and talk shows have been considered “news programs” under the FCC’s rules, even when they contain trace amounts of news and information. The View typically sets aside time at the beginning of each show to discuss newsworthy events — the topics are almost always political — and the roundtable panel features different political perspectives.

Carr’s remarks were made less than 24 hours after his appearance on a conservative podcast, during which he questioned why ABC had not disciplined its late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel for a monologue he delivered on Monday.

During the monologue, Kimmel drew parallels between supporters of President Donald Trump and a man arrested in connection with the shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk last week. Kimmel wrongfully implied that the suspect, Tyler Robinson, was conservative.

The motive for the shooting and Robinson’s political alignment came into greater focus after Kimmel’s monologue: On Tuesday, police in Utah filed a multi-count indictment charging Robinson with murder. The indictment contained allegations and some evidence that indicated Robinson likely held politically-progressive views.

Earlier news reports leading up to the indictment focused largely on Robinson’s immediately family, who own firearms and are registered Republicans.

After Carr’s remarks on Wednesday, Nexstar and Sinclair said they were pre-empting Kimmel’s show on all of their ABC affiliated stations. Both broadcasters have pending business transactions that require FCC approval. A spokesperson for Nexstar told The Desk on Thursday that the company’s decision to pull Kimmel’s show from their ABC affiliated station was not influenced by their pending business transactions.

ABC suspended Kimmel’s show late Wednesday evening.

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