The FCC Is Asking the Public to Weigh in on Whether 'The View' Is 'Bona Fide News' After Disney Files Petition
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr is asking the public to weigh in on whether ABC’s “The View” truly qualifies as a news program, and therefore not subject to broadcast laws requiring it to provide access to differing political views.
Of course, anyone who watches the program at all knows its political views range from left to hard left.
Carr posted on social media on Friday, “Disney has filed a petition with the FCC asking the agency to declare that The View is exempt from the statutory equal opportunities requirements that would otherwise apply to broadcast shows.”
ABC is part of the Disney Corporation.
“Disney argues that The View qualifies as ‘bona fide news’ under the law, comparing itself to Meet The Press or Face The Nation,” he added. “Therefore, Disney argues, it can have one partisan candidate for office on The View while denying equal opportunities to all others.”
Carr noted that the FCC is now seeking public comment on the matter online. “Is The View a ‘bona fide news interview program’?” he asked.
Disney has filed a petition with the FCC asking the agency to declare that The View is exempt from the statutory equal opportunities requirements that would otherwise apply to broadcast shows.
Disney argues that The View qualifies as “bona fide news” under the law, comparing… pic.twitter.com/xyxhvNk3rb
— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) May 22, 2026
“Under FCC case law, tv shows do not qualify as ‘bona fide news’ if their decisions are based on partisan purposes, such as an intention to advance or harm an individual’s candidacy,” Carr wrote.
He linked to the FCC’s public notice regarding the inquiry.
The FCC chair explained, “As the Public Notice observes, Congress originally passed the equal opportunities law to prevent media gatekeepers from deciding the outcome of elections. The law, even when it applies, does not prohibit anyone from having any candidate appear on any show. Rather, Congress intended it to empower voters with more information and encourage more speech.”
In a memo posted online in January, Carr noted that when it comes to true news programs, the airtime equality standard does not apply, because the federal government is not going to get into the business of dictating what’s newsworthy.
Further, “These regulations, which do not apply to cable channels [Fox News, CNN, etc.] or other forms of distribution [like podcasts], represent, in codified form, the decision by Congress that broadcast television stations [ABC, CBS, NBC] have an obligation to operate in the public interest — not in any narrow partisan, political interest.”
Daytime TV like @TheView and late night shows like @JimmyKimmelLive & @ColbertShow have consistently featured only Democratic candidates while shutting out Republicans. This @FCC notice is an important step toward accountability for these legacy network shows. https://t.co/FG5UM0He0X
— Daniel Suhr (@danielsuhr) January 21, 2026
Just this week, “The View” co-hosts spent an entire segment, as they often do, bashing President Donald Trump, in this case for helping oust Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana from office.
“Cassidy lost because he did the right thing and stood up against a man who was trying to destroy democracy,” Ana Navarro said, referring to Trump.
TRUMP TIGHTENS GRIP ON GOP WITH SEN. CASSIDY LOSS: ‘The View’ co-hosts weigh in on the president getting payback on Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy for voting to impeach him after Jan. 6 by backing a primary contender who knocked Cassidy out of the running. pic.twitter.com/4MRRkAvAET
— The View (@TheView) May 18, 2026
“This tells us why, as long as Republicans are in power in the majority, there will never be accountability. There will never be checks and balances. There will never be oversight,” she added, as co-host Whoopi Goldberg nodded and Sunny Hostin agreed.
“So if Americans want this to end, want the abuses of power checked, they have got to vote Democrat in November,” Navarro said, with no pushback from the panel.
Call “The View” what you will — leftist entertainment, perhaps — but it’s not bona fide news, and if they’re going to wade into campaign politics, both sides need to be represented. Brendan Carr is right to bring this matter to the public’s attention and seek their input.
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