As the election season approaches, the FCC launched a major offensive on Wednesday against late-night and daytime talk shows. The agency signaled that programs such as The View and The Tonight Show may no longer qualify for “bona fide news” status–a change that would require networks to provide equal airtime to all opposing political candidates, according to Variety.
“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,” the FCC’s media bureau stated on Wednesday.
The FCC’s equal time rule is designed to prevent public airwaves from becoming tools for partisan influence. Variety reported that a notable example occurred during the 2024 election when Kamala Harris’s appearance on Saturday Night Live just days before the vote compelled NBC to provide the Trump campaign with equivalent airtime for an advertisement.
However, the rule traditionally includes a “safe harbor” for bona fide newsinterviews. While this exception was originally intended for serious journalistic programs like Meet the Press, the FCC gradually expanded it to include daytime and late-night entertainment through a series of landmark decisions, via Variety.
In 2006, the FCC established a major precedent by ruling that an interview on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno featuring then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was a “bona fide news” event. Variety says that at the time, Schwarzenegger was campaigning for re-election, but the commission determined that NBC affiliates were not obligated to grant “equal time” to his Democratic challenger, Phil Angelides.
The FCC’s decision hinged on the conclusion that the interview was a legitimate news segment rather than a campaign favor. The commission stated that the producers had exercised “independent news judgment” by inviting the Governor based on his newsworthiness, rather than for partisan or political gain, according to Variety.
In its January 21 guidance, Variety says the FCC Media Bureau signaled a shift in tone. pointedly noting in a footnote that Jay Leno–whose 2006 interview with Arnold Schwarzenegger set the current precedent–is no longer the host of The Tonight Show.
The agency clarified that there is no longer a “blanket exception” for all late-night or daytime programs; instead, each show’s status will be determined on a case-by-case basis. To avoid legal uncertainty, the Bureau urged broadcasters to file formal petitions for a “declaratory ruling” if they are unsure whether a specific interview triggers equal-time obligations for opposing candidates, as reported by Variety.
Variety says that Gomez claimed that daytime and late-night shows are entitled to exercise their new judgment and that the FCC’s policies have not changed.
“The First Amendment does not yield to government intimidation,” she said.
Daniel Suhr, the group’s president, applauded the agency’s move on Thursday: “This important announcement puts Hollywood hosts and network executives on notice that they can no longer prop up Democratic candidates with free airtime while shutting out Republicans.”