In 1934 Congress passed the Communicatons Act – a law that covers the use of the airwaves that includes a provision for political candidates…specifically – If a station gives airtime to one candidate, then the same station must offer comparable time to other candidates competing in the given contest, SHOULD THEY ASK FOR IT.

HOWEVER, the current White House administration has other ideas about how the law should be viewed.

It has long been a standard that if one political party buys air time for an ad then the station must offer the other side the same airtime.

Newscasts, “bona fide” interview programs, and coverage of live events or documentaries are all exempt from the law…according to the law passed in 1934.

But the law only applies to radio and broadcast television stations; not around in 1934 cable, streaming services or social media are not a part of the law.

In the past, talk shows have not been included in the “equal time” law; but the current administration is trying to change that by enforcing the law.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr is questioning the talk show exemption and in January the FCC – Federal Communications Commission – issued a NEW GUIDANCE (not a law!) warning talk show hosts that they must follow the equal time law; saying that the show hosts were “motivated by partisan purposes.”

According to a public notice…”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.”

So what is all the hullabaloo???

Late night talk show host Stephen Colbert had planned an interview with Texas democrat (a man the current administration highly dislikes) but was told by CBS lawyers that he could not air the interview for fear it would violate the equal time law.  It has since appeared online.  The law states IF THEY ASK FOR IT.  How can the opposition ask for equal time if there is no interview in the first place???

Colbert has taken full advantage of the issue and has used it for his opening monologues and is not “going quietly into that good night”.

While Colbert makes full use of his right of free speech, the FCC is going after the daytime talk show “The View” who did air an interview.

In 1949 the FCC created the Fairness Doctrine – an FCC rule but NOT a law.  The Doctrine was designed to present “contrasting viewpoints when covering publicly important and controversial issues.”

The Fairness Doctrine was repealed in 1987!