‘Equal time’: FCC to hold ‘The View,’ Jimmy Kimmel accountable for political bias?

The Federal Communication Commission said Wednesday it is asking broadcast networks to justify talk-show interviews with political candidates when no “equal time” is given to others.

According to a Reuters report, the agency says such appearances during late-night or daytime talk shows appear not to qualify for the exemption from “equal time” rules.

Under the Communications Act of 1934, Congress put protections in place to ensure equal access to broadcast station facilities for qualified political candidates.

In 2006, the FCC’s Media Bureau determined the interview portion of “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” qualified for the exemption in relations to an interview with then California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Networks have relied on that ruling as a precedent for subsequent interviews with candidates.

The FCC now is saying networks should not rely on that 2006 decision, adding that the agency “has not been presented with any evidence that the interview portion of any late night or daytime television talk show program on air presently would qualify” for an exemption. The agency noted that any program or station seeking to obtain formal assurance that the equal opportunity requirement does not apply should “promptly file a petition for a declaratory ruling.”

The FCC Media Bureau said it “encourages all television broadcast stations to ensure that they are making all appropriate equal opportunity filings.”

“The View” typically hosts political candidates, nearly exclusively Democrats, as a means, some would say, to bolster those people’s campaigns. Ditto for Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night program.