Is the concept of ‘equal time’ outdated on today’s broadcast networks? The Federal Communications Commission put regulations on the books in 1934 requiring equal air time for political candidates during an election season. But that doesn’t extend to cable, or to streaming, or to the booming podcast world. You could get technical and claim the broadcast networks often come to people today via cable or satellite connections, not an antenna.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr recently suggested late-night comedy shows and daytime talk shows like ABC’s ‘The View’ could be evaluated for potential violations of the old equal-time rules. On Monday, Feb. 16, ‘Late Show’ host Stephen Colbert gaudily announced that he invited Texas state Democrat Rep. James Talarico for an interview, but lawyers told him ‘in no uncertain terms’ that he couldn’t do this, so he posted a Talarico interview on YouTube instead. When that YouTube video drew over 8 million views, it was painted by liberal journalists as a great victory over President Donald Trump. But Trump never objected to this interview.
Colbert had to unfurl the nightly rant about being a courageous dissident and all that rot: ‘Donald Trump’s administration wants to silence anyone who says anything bad about Trump on TV, because all Trump does is watch TV, OK? He’s like a toddler with too much screen time. He gets cranky and then drops a load in his diaper.’
Then, surprisingly, CBS put out a statement that suggested Colbert was a liar, that the interview was not banned: ‘The show was provided legal guidance that the broadcast could trigger the FCC equal time rule for two other candidates, including Rep. Jasmine Crockett.’ On Tuesday, Colbert sputtered. ‘They know damn well that every word of my script last night was approved by CBS’s lawyers.’
Colbert wasn’t in danger of having to invite Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn. He might have to interview Crockett – who appeared on the show last year, before she was a candidate. This whole stunt could be painted as a campaign booster for Talarico, who raised millions of dollars off the appearance.
Then came the weirdness of CBS News covering this spat, giving both sides equal time and weight. On Wednesday’s ‘CBS Mornings,’ reporter Elaine Quijano ran the opposing views, and then added another liberal view: ‘Monday was the first known time a late night talk show changed its programming since the FCC issued its new guidance. Anna Gomez, the only Democratic-appointed FCC commissioner, worries that decision could enable censorship.’
The ‘PBS News Hour’ also turned to Gomez for an attack on Trump and Carr: ‘Anything they don’t like, they want to control and they want to censor.’ Defunded PBS still sounds bitter.
The supreme irony in this entire kerfuffle is that Colbert represents the exact opposite of equal time. Overall, Alex Christy of NewsBusters reported that from September 2022 through Thursday, Colbert has brought on 230 liberal or Democrat guests, to only one Republican – and that Republican was former Rep. Liz Cheney after she was drummed out of office in a primary. So, let’s wink and say 231 to zero.
CBS could easily change the name of its late-night comedy show to ‘The People’s Republic of Colbert.’ Anyone who wants to end their day by listening to a long interview with Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders is not looking for giggles. But that’s what viewers found on January 20. Colbert announced with fanfare that this was the 19th time he’d platformed Sanders.
This is not a ‘bona fide news interview,’ if we’re going to use FCC lingo. It’s the lamest kind of ‘Sunset Semester’ socialism session. ‘Define oligarchy for us’ isn’t even a question. It’s a prompt.
But Colbert also put this ball on the tee for Bernie: ‘This is a red-letter day for you. Here you are administering the oath of office to Mayor Mamdani and I just—you’ve been fighting, you’ve been carrying the banner of democratic socialists for a long time. What was that like to swear in the first Democratic Socialist mayor of a major city?’ He found it ‘extremely gratifying.’
When that YouTube video drew over 8 million views, it was painted by liberal journalists as a great victory over President Donald Trump. But Trump never objected to this interview.
