NEW YORK (AP) — In a strongly worded filing, ABC accused the Trump administration of trying to stifle constitutionally protected free speech and impede open political discussion.
At issue: The hit show “The View” and whether it is subject to equal time rules.
ABC’s filing with the Federal Communications Commission on Friday relates to a dispute involving ABC’s Houston station KTRK-TV. But the language suggests the network is engaging in a broader battle with the government.
“The committee’s action threatens to upend decades of established law and practice and chill protected critical speech, both within The View and more broadly,” the filing on behalf of KTRK-TV and ABC said.
The commission responded in a statement emailed to The Associated Press that equal time laws “encourage greater speech and give voters the power to determine election outcomes. The FCC will review Disney’s assertion that “The View” is a “bona fide news program” and thus exempt from political equal time rules.”
The ABC documents appear to be the latest in a series of attacks both inside and outside the legal realm between the U.S. media and the Trump administration, with journalists seeing the president as attacking free speech and the media’s ability to carry out their duties. Trump has been critical of media outlets whose coverage runs counter to his agenda and sentiments.
Legal battles in court include a dispute over access between the Pentagon and the New York Times; a dispute between the White House and the Associated Press over how to refer to the Gulf of Mexico; and Trump’s anger over the Wall Street Journal’s reporting on Jeffrey Epstein.
The controversy involves content on ABC’s long-running morning talk show “The View,” which combines entertainment and political interviews and often makes comments critical of Trump. The filing mentions that the Federal Communications Commission is revisiting the issue of whether “The View” should be subject to the parity rule through legal action. These rules require that candidates vying for public office be given equal air time.
At issue: Whether “The View” is subject to equal time rules
News programs are exempt from these rules. Brendan Kahl, Trump’s FCC chairman, said he planned to argue that “The View” was not a purported “real news show.” The issue could affect other shows that similarly combine entertainment and politics.
ABC argued in its filing that “The View has been broadcast under a good-faith news exemption obtained more than two decades ago, consistent with the Commission’s long-standing interpretation that it was designed to minimize the serious First Amendment problems inherent in the equal time system.”
The network also argued that the decades-old equal time doctrine does not align with today’s reality because “broadcast television represents a small fraction of the many media choices through which Americans obtain political information. In fact, the marketplace of ideas has never been stronger, and people can hear political commentary from virtually any brand by listening to podcasts, watching cable TV, scrolling social media, or streaming on a phone, computer, or connected TV. The free flow of ideas thrives on these non-broadcast platforms. Equal opportunity rules do not apply there.”
The ABC believes free political speech is needed now more than ever
It said narrowing the FCC’s longstanding approach to the so-called “bona fide press exemption” “could limit political speech when it’s needed most.”
The administration’s criticism of “The View” echoes dissatisfaction with late-night news hosts who have criticized Trump — notably ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel.
Both Donald and Melania Trump recently called on ABC to fire Kimmel after he described the first lady in a cartoon as having “the glow of a quasi-widow.”
The joke came two nights before the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, which was disrupted when a man armed with a gun and knives tried to enter the Washington ballroom where the Trump family, along with much of the nation’s leadership and Washington media, had gathered. Kimmel said the joke was a slight dig at the couple’s age difference and was certainly not an assassination attempt.
ABC notes in a footnote that The View has long featured a panel of women from diverse backgrounds discussing today’s issues.
“While the line-up of co-hosts has changed over the years, The View has always prioritized panels composed of women from diverse backgrounds to promote interesting discussions and the exchange of diverse perspectives,” it said.