Authored by Jill McLaughlin via The Epoch Times(emphasis ours),

Disney is asking the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to declare the daytime talk show "The View" a "bona fide news" program to bypass the federal equal opportunities law, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr announced May 22.

The show, co-hosted by Joy Behar, Alyssa Farah Griffin, Whoopi Goldberg, Sarah Haines, Sunny Hostin, and Ana Navarro, has come under scrutiny in recent years for its programming that heavily favored progressive guests and commentary.

In February, Carr told reporters the agency was investigating whether the show violated the federal "equal time" requirements for political candidates.

The equal time rule requires broadcast radio and television stations to give comparable airtime to legally qualified political candidates.

In May, Disney-owned TV stations KTRK-TV, Houston, Texas, and American Broadcasting Companies (ABC) filed a request with the agency to exempt the show.

"The companies ... suggest in their Petition that they believe the federal equal opportunities statute itself would not survive First Amendment scrutiny today or at least if it is applied today to 'The View' would not survive any such review," the FCC stated in a public notice issued May 22. "The companies also point to a letter from an FCC staffer from 2002 in support of their argument that 'The View' qualifies as bona fide news."

If FCC commissioners exempt "The View" from the equal time rule, the program would be allowed to continue having almost exclusively left-leaning politicians and guests on to discuss political issues.

"Disney argues that The View qualifies as 'bona fide news' under the law, comparing itself to Meet The Press or Face The Nation," Carr posted on X. "Therefore, Disney argues, it can have one partisan candidate for office on The View while denying equal opportunities to all others."

Under the law, television shows don't qualify as news shows if their content is based on partisan purposes, such as if they intend to harm someone's candidacy for office, Carr said.

Source: ZeroHedge News