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Finally, the feral cat ladies have been put down.
Semafor:
The Federal Communications Commission has already changed the programming of one of television’s last remaining relevant daytime talk shows — before even making any formal demands.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced in February the agency was investigating whether The View violated the “equal time” rule, a 1930s regulation that requires broadcast programs to give equal airtime to opposing candidates if they permit a candidate for public office to appear on public airwaves.
Since then, the ABC talk show hasn’t featured a single political candidate running in a competitive midterm race, according to a Semafor analysis.
A spokesperson declined to provide Semafor with a comment about how the show was reacting to the inquiry but has previously said the show is a “bona fide news program” and therefore isn’t subject to the equal time rule.
These shows call themselves “entertainment” when it’s convenient, then turn around and operate like the bionic left arm of the DNC the second it’s time to “crush” a Republican or pump up a Dem. Basically, it’s state-run left-wing propaganda at this point.
Brendan Carr is a fighter for what’s fair and decent, so he’s not interested in playing this game, and thank God for that. He’s come into the FCC like a pit bull, and the networks are nervous. The View isn’t the only one suddenly changing its tune. Even the threat of regulatory action has made radio stations and late-night shows remember that rules actually exist for a reason.
Semafor:
Trump’s FCC, led by its aggressive chairman, has been one of the most visible regulators of American communications in a generation.
The simple threat of regulatory action is now enough to impact how media outlets behave. Take San Francisco AM radio station KCBS, which last year reported on the location of immigration and customs enforcement agents in its community, prompting outrage from conservative media and scrutiny from Carr and federal regulators, who accused the station of not operating in the public interest. The station demoted one anchor and began discouraging its reporters from pursuing political stories that could draw attention to the station in favor of human interest stories, The Associated Press reported at the time. Carr’s equal time threats have also influenced which candidates appear on late night talk shows on CBS, NBC, and ABC.
The View spent years turning a daytime talk show into a left-wing political attack machine, then calling itself a “news program” whenever things got too weird. But when Brendan Carr started breathing down ABC’s neck, the candidates disappeared, and their cat ladies started meowing a totally different tune.
That tells you everything you need to know. They knew exactly how far they were pushing it, and they backed off the moment someone finally made it clear there could be consequences. After years of these shows functioning like the left arm of the DNC, it’s about time somebody reminded them that the public airwaves come with rules.
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