Americans want the Trump administration to leave “The View” alone, according to a smattering of more than 40,000 public comments — and counting — the Federal Communications Commission has received regarding its probe into the popular program.
“Allow ‘The View’ to exercise their First Amendment’s right. The ladies do a wonderful job communicating many issues that impact our country,” said one woman who wrote in after both ABC and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr called on the public to jump into the conversation on Monday.
“Protect the Constitutional right to freedom of speech! I support ABC and the rights of those on the View — even when I disagree,” another woman wrote Wednesday.
“I watch the View. I am a registered Republican and do not agree with all of the opinions. However, I strongly object to this kind of censorship. This is ridiculous. What is happening to the free press? Do NOT allow this to go through,” a woman chimed in Wednesday.
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The FCC is reviewing whether “The View” qualifies for the equal-time exemption for its political interviews, News programs are exempt from federal law that requires equal time for political candidates’ viewpoints, and ABC says that its show meets the requirements as a “bona fide news interview program.”
The comments, by and large, seem to suggest Americans want the government’s hands off the popular daytime program. The number of comments more than doubled from around 18,000 on Tuesday to more than 40,000 Wednesday. The public comment period ends July 6.
The influx of comments to the FCC’s docket isn’t common, and the trove of support is evidence that the public is “concerned” and “angry” about the FCC’s probe, Jenna Leventoff, senior policy counsel at the ACLU, told NOTUS.
“Regulatory comments are primarily filed by interested organizations, and are less frequently filed by individuals who are interested, as is happening here,” Leventoff said.
Americans who took the time to write into the FCC appear to span the ideological spectrum, with many expressing concern about the FCC’s potential regulatory crackdown on the nearly 30-year-old TV program.
Three libertarian and right-leaning groups wrote in a joint letter to the FCC that it should back off.
“Conservatives have always objected to government control of media. … Any effort to legitimize such efforts by embedding them into FCC regulations will soon be wielded against conservative outlets,” the Competitive Enterprise Institute, Taxpayers Protection Alliance and Young Voices said.
Congress amended the Communications Act in 1959 to include the equal-time exemption. Programs that do not qualify for the exemption must provide “reasonable access” to legally qualified candidates for federal office, according to a separate 1971 amendment to the law.
Free speech advocates and civil rights groups say the FCC’s decision to investigate “The View” upends decades of regulatory precedent.
“The Commission has refused to ask this question of any program for 40 years, because the government cannot constitutionally be the arbiter of what counts as news,” the ACLU, Center for Democracy & Technology, Future of Free Speech and National Coalition Against Censorship wrote in a joint filing to the FCC, which oversees all over-the-air broadcasts.
Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) introduced the JAWBONE Act in June to create a more effective pathway for plaintiffs to seek monetary damages against the government for pressuring private entities into censoring protected speech, a tactic the senators call jawboning.
When the FCC ruled in 2006 that interview segments on “The Tonight Show” qualified for the exemption, the commission effectively reversed its 1960 decision — also involving “The Tonight Show” — that explicitly said late-night talk shows were ineligible for the carve-out. Late-night and daytime talk shows have relied on the 2006 ruling since, but the FCC put the programs on notice in January.
“These decisions are fact-specific and the exemptions are limited to the program that was the subject of the request,” the FCC wrote.
Even though the FCC’s Mass Media Bureau confirmed “The View’s” status as a “bona fide news interview program” in a 2002 declaratory ruling, the commission opened a probe into “The View” in February after the show hosted Senate candidate James Talarico (D-Texas).
ABC filed a new petition in May asking the commission to reaffirm its previous ruling.
First Amendment experts said the FCC’s probe, regardless of the regulatory outcome, is having a chilling effect on free speech.
“Where there’s too many candidates, there’s never enough time,” Ashkhen Kazaryan, senior legal fellow at the Future of Free Speech, told NOTUS. “The chilling effect would be on the shows themselves, because they will think twice before booking candidates.”
Kazaryan said many media companies will opt to “self-preserve” rather than enter costly legal battles, meaning the FCC merely “threatening this regulation” effectively suppresses free speech.
“The Late Show” with former host Stephen Colbert, before his ouster by CBS, decided to air its interview with Talarico on YouTube rather than its TV broadcast to avoid triggering an FCC probe similar to “The View’s.”
Leventoff said she believes the FCC is “not factoring in that Americans get their news from so many different places,” by reviewing whether late-night and daytime talk shows are legitimate news programs.
“This proceeding isn’t just about one TV show,” Leventoff said. “The FCC has shown a willingness to enforce its rules based on what it thinks of the show it’s enforcing rules against”
It remains unclear whether the FCC will grant “The View” the exemption — though Carr told Fox News the long-running show faces an “uphill climb.”
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