The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is cracking down on partisan talk shows in both daytime and late night in an effort to provide equal treatment for political candidates.
The FCC announced Wednesday it is providing guidance to the three broadcast networks to adhere to the "statutory equal opportunities requirement," citing the Communications Act of 1934, "including their airing of late night and daytime talk shows."
"Under section 315, if a broadcast station permits any legally qualified candidate for public office to use its facilities, it shall provide an equal opportunity to all other legally qualified candidates for that office," the FCC wrote in a press release.
There has been a longstanding "bona fide" exception for news programming that wouldn't require equal time for an opposing candidate, but the FCC now says it "has not been presented with any evidence that the interview portion of any late night or daytime television talk show program on the air presently would qualify for the 'bona fide' news exemption."
"Moreover, a program that is motivated by partisan purposes, for example, would not be entitled to an exemption under longstanding FCC precedent," the FCC states. "Any program or station that wishes to obtain formal assurance that the equal opportunities requirement does not apply (in whole or in part) is encouraged to promptly file a petition for declaratory ruling that satisfies the statutory requirements for a bona fide news exemption."