Until now, talk shows have qualified for the equal opportunities exemption as genuine news interviews, ever since the FCC’s Media Bureau granted an exemption to the interview portion of Jay Leno’s “Tonight Show” in 2006. AdvertisementNetworks have relied on the ruling as a precedent for recent interviews with political candidates. In September, Carr said the FCC should consider reviewing whether “The View” runs afoul of equal time commission rules when covering rival political candidates. The rules do not apply to so-called bona fide news programs and are typically in effect 90 days before a political candidate’s nomination via convention or caucus. Advertisement“For years, legacy TV networks assumed that their late night and daytime talk shows qualify as ‘bona fide news’ programs - even when motivated by purely partisan political purposes,” Carr said.

Source: Huffington Post January 22, 2026 16:00 UTC