Add The New York Post on Google ABC pushed back against allegations that “The View” is not a real news program in a Tuesday reply to the Federal Communications Commission’s probe of the show.
It cited thousands of comments in its support to argue the show should continue to have free rein on who it books, suggesting the FCC was threatening its First Amendment rights.
The statement came in response to an FCC review of whether “The View” qualifies for exemption from a rule requiring broadcasts to give competing political candidates equal time.
FCC Chair Brendan Carr has said the show is not a bona fide news show, so it shouldn’t get the exemption.
“The First Amendment does not permit the government to sit in an editor’s chair. Yet that is the seat the Commission now proposes to take — deciding which broadcast programs qualify as legitimate news and, for those it finds wanting, compelling them to surrender their airtime to guests they never chose to feature,” ABC said in its filing.
It noted over 76,000 comments were submitted to the FCC about the review, most of them supporting ABC’s stance.
The network said the FCC is targeting daytime and late-night shows perceived as hostile to the Trump administration while leaving conservative talk radio alone.
“What has changed is not the program but the political climate around it,” ABC wrote, urging the FCC to uphold its 2002 finding that the show is a real news program.
The dispute stems from “The View’s” February interview with Texas Senate candidate James Talarico, which triggered FCC scrutiny over whether rival candidates should have received equal airtime.
The FCC previously said it hasn’t been presented with “any evidence that the interview portion of any late-night or daytime television talk show program on the air presently would qualify for the ‘bona fide’ news exemption.”
In April, the FCC launched an expedited review of ABC’s broadcast licenses to see whether its DEI policy broke anti-discrimination law.
The new filing comes after “The View” declined a request from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to bring two democratic socialist congressional candidates onto the daytime talk show. Co-host Sara Haines called one of them, Darializa Avila Chevalier, “an antisemite” on air.
“I’m gonna full-blown call her an antisemite,” Haines said. “She would proudly call herself that, trust me.”
According to Semafor, one Mamdani aide later complained to ABC executives and warned the remarks could affect whether the mayor and other democratic socialist candidates appear on the show.
“The View” has continued hosting elected officials not in competitive races, including Vice President JD Vance, while reportedly avoiding candidates in contested midterm races.
With the comment period for “The View” case now closed, the FCC can issue a determination on whether “The View” qualifies for the bona fide news interview exemption.
