Equal Time

The FCC has very little actual power. Why are broadcasters obeying in advance?

Having the media run scared is the point. It is Chapter One of the Authoritarian Handbook. It is the first thing the fascists in Italy and the Nazis in Germany did in the 1930’s, and what Hungary has done successfully over the last few years.

Today’s situation here at home is different. It is not an armed men at the door scenario. As in contemporary Hungary, it is a cash-on-the-barrel-head scenario. Rather than killing publishers and installing their own, as was the case back then, now, the President’s friends and cronies are buying control of the airwaves, as he punishes those who don’t play along.

The arrest of national journalist Don Lemon and local journalist Georgia Fort in Minneapolis is an example of strong-arm tactics. But the takeover of Paramount and CBS, and the pressure to pay, felt by Disney and Paramount’s former owners, is all about extracting cash before granting mergers.

They simply buy up those they can’t fine, intimidate, or silence. Apparently it is possible to put a price on the First Amendment.

There is a little used, and lesser known, enforcement action by the FCC that’s called the Equal Time Provision. It says that radio and television stations that host political candidates and officeholders must give equal time to serious opponents. (It does not apply to streamers or cable because they are privately owned, unlike the airwaves which are the property of the people of the United States.)

In a 2006 action called “The Tonight Show Ruling,” the FCC formally exempted late-night talk shows from “equal time” requirements by classifying their interview segments as “bona fide news interviews.” Now, they’re after “The View,” also regarded as bona fide news, for its Talarico interview as well. The chairman of the virtually toothless FCC, Brendan Carr, is simply playing to an audience of one. Guess who?

Key Milestones In This History Include:

• 1991 Policy Change: The FCC significantly altered its exemption policy to include various entertainment programs that featured news and current events discussion. Over time, Today, and even The Howard Stern Show were granted exemptions because they were determined to offer “bona fide news interviews.”

• 2006 “Tonight Show” Ruling: In a landmark staff-level decision, the FCC’s Media Bureau determined that the interview portion of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno qualified for the exemption.

• Recent 2026 Guidance: On January 21, 2026, the Trump FCC issued new guidance signaling a more restrictive stance. The Commission warned that many modern late-night and daytime talk shows may no longer qualify for the exemption, particularly if they are deemed to be “motivated by partisan purposes.” (Read: stuff we don’t like.”)

This shift in policy is why Stephen Colbert moved an interview with Texas State Rep. James Talarico to YouTube; CBS lawyers reportedly feared that broadcasting it would trigger equal time obligations for Talarico’s political opponents.

The irony here is that by the time you read this, more people will have seen the embargoed broadcast segment on YouTube than would ever have seen it over the air on CBS. Colbert averages approximately 2.3 million to 2.6 million total viewers nightly according to recent Nielsen data. Even as I write this, about 48 hours after the fact, the embargoed Talarico interview at over 6M views has been a viral success.

While the YouTube numbers are slightly lower than the total broadcast average, industry analysts suggest the interview may have reached more people than it would have “live” for two reasons:

• Retention: While 2.3 million people may watch the show’s opening monologue, viewership typically drops during the guest segments later in the hour. The YouTube view count represents active clicks specifically for the interview.

• Viral Growth: The interview is currently on pace to become one of his most-watched segments in months, potentially surpassing recent high-profile guest clips like his December 2025 interview with Taylor Swift.

The decision to move the interview to YouTube was a preemptive one by CBS lawyers to avoid triggering the FCC’s new equal time rule, following new 2026 guidance that increased scrutiny on late-night talk shows, all of which, incidentally, revile Trump.

James Talarico, who is currently a Texas state representative and a Presbyterian seminarian, told Colbert: “Corporate media executives are selling out the first amendment to curry favor with corrupt politicians.”

He went on to say he considers the culture war a distraction, meant to keep people angry, and to keep their attention off the industrial-scale grifting and general pocket-lining by Donald Trump and his cronies, all of whose wealth has been greatly increased since he came to office the second time a year ago, as revealed by The Wall Street Journal.

Talarico is famous for saying our current situation isn’t really Right v. Left, but is Top v. Bottom.

Kowtowing to this administration has become a particular specialty of Paramount, which now owns CBS. Paramount’s old owners paid Trump $16M to help the sale to Ellison along. Groveling at his feet is an activity that Trump absolutely adores.

Arresting reporters and threatening broadcasters is un-American.

Or at least it used to be.

©2026 Jon Sinton