Earlier this week, FCC Chair Brendan Carr shared that the commission plans to enforce the Equal Time regulations when it comes to political candidates. Sean Hannity doesn’t think that’s a good idea.
In a letter to TV networks, the Commission noted that in 2006, an exemption of the Equal Time provisions was granted for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, stating that an interview between Leno and then Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA) was a “bona fide news interview,” and shouldn’t be enforced as an equal time mandate.
That exemption was granted, but the FCC is reminding networks that it wasn’t a blanket exemption for any political purpose.
“Concerns have been raised that the industry has taken the Media Bureau’s 2006 staff-level decision to mean that the interview portion of all arguably similar entertainment programs — whether late night or daytime — are exempted from the section 315 equal opportunities requirement under a bona fide news exemption,” the letter reads. “This is not the case … these decisions are fact specific and the exemptions are limited to the program that was the subject of the request.
“Importantly, the FCC 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 the bona fide news exemption.”
In a post on social media, Brendan Carr argued that networks have operated under the guise of news interviews in these situations, but that the FCC would be enforcing equal time rules going forward.
“For years, legacy TV networks assumed that their late night & daytime talk shows qualify as ‘bona fide news’ programs — even when motivated by purely partisan political purposes,” Carr wrote. “Today, the FCC reminded them of their obligation to provide all candidates with equal opportunities.”
After the comments from Carr were reported, many opined on the topic. Sean Hannity spoke to the Los Angeles Times and shared that he disagreed with Carr and any other FCC mandate about what political content should be regulated.
“Talk radio is successful because people are smart and understand we are the antidote to corrupt and abusively biased left wing legacy media,” Hannity said. “We need less government regulation and more freedom. Let the American people decide where to get their information from without any government interference.”
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