Article in The Washington Post by Kelly Kasulis Cho & Scott Nover, 1/22/26
Headline: “FCC targets talk shows by revisiting ‘equal time’ rule for political candidates”
Subhead: “By changing course on a decades-old ruling, the agency again raised free speech concerns over the Trump administration’s approach to media regulation”
“The Federal Communications Commission said Wednesday that network talk shows are required to give equal airtime to all candidates intending to run for the same public office, changing course on a decades-old ruling and again raising free-speech concerns over the Trump administration’s approach to media regulation. . .”
Read the full article at:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/01/22/late-night-equal-time-fcc/
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Article in Reuters by David Shepardson, 1/21/26
Headline: “FCC says US late-night, daytime talk shows must offer equal time for candidate interviews”
“WASHINGTON, Jan 21 (Reuters) – The Federal Communications Commission said on Wednesday that daytime and late-night TV talk shows featuring interviews with political candidates must comply with “equal time” rules that give airtime to views of opposing candidates and that the shows cannot rely on a 2006 decision that suggested they were exempt.
“Until now, talk shows have qualified for the equal opportunities exemption as genuine news interviews, ever since the FCC’s Media Bureau granted an exemption to the interview portion of Jay Leno’s “Tonight Show” in 2006. Networks have relied on the ruling as a precedent for recent interviews with political candidates. . .”
Read the full article at:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/01/22/late-night-equal-time-fcc/
