The View recently became the subject of an FCC order, particularly looking into whether it has a status as a news program and certain allowances that comes with it. However, there had been suspicion that the act could have been done out of political retaliation. Since then, the series’ network, ABC, has responded to the measure.
The Recent FCC Inquiry Into The View Concerns An ‘Equal Time’ Rule
The View first came out in 1997. On the long-running series, a panel of co-hosts, made up of multiple generations of women, come together to weigh in on various current events, dubbed “hot topics.”
Naturally, politics is often discussed on the talk show, which in turn has sparked a few responses from political figures over the years. Recently, the show, and the ABC network, appeared to have been targeted by the current administration.
As previously reported, the FCC opened an inquiry into The View, which was submitted around a week after the FCC called up all eight of ABC’s station licenses for an early renewal. In particular, as noted by CNN, the order formally asks if The View deserves an exemption for an “equal time” rule concerning candidate interviews.
A Recent Discharge Petition Noted That The Show Appeared To Have Been Granted A News Exemption Over 20 Years Ago
It has been claimed that the license challenge was part of an ongoing FCC probe into diversity initiatives at Disney, ABC’s parent company. However, the order came out just one day after President Donald Trump pressed ABC to fire Jimmy Kimmel. This was after the comedian made a joke about First Lady Melania Trump having the “glow” of an “expectant widow.”
However, ABC has appeared to have refused the idea. Thanks to this, there had been speculation that the order could be a form of government retaliation.
Since then, ABC has taken action against the order. In a discharge petition, the network shared, “The Commission’s order to file this Petition for Declaratory Ruling is unprecedented, beyond the Commission’s authority, and counterproductive to the Commission’s stated goal of encouraging free speech and open political discussion. The Commission’s actions threaten to upend decades of settled law and practice and chill critical protected speech. Both with respect to The View and more broadly.”
It was also noted that the show had been working under “a bona fide news exemption.” It was also noted that this was granted decades ago. The network also felt that such a restriction “would risk restricting political discourse exactly when it is needed most.”
What is your reaction to ABC’s recent action? Have you been following this story? Are you keeping up with The View? Make sure you come back to TV Shows Ace for all the latest TV and celebrity news.
John Witiw has been a writer since at least 2015. He’s covered a variety of topics, especially when it comes to film and television.