FCC equal time enforcement expands, but talk radio largely spared
The FCC under chairman Brendan Carr has made a point of enforcing the equal time rule, requiring broadcasters give equal airtime to political candidates running for the same office. While they’re beginning to enforce those rules for TV programs, does it also apply to talk radio?
Equal time rule
“It applies only during campaign season (loosely defined) and to legally qualified candidates,” Joseph Russomanno, professor emeritus at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University, told Straight Arrow News. “Second, the rule has exceptions carved into it. For example, legitimate news programs are exempt. After all, we don’t want news programs censoring their own content just out of fear of triggering the rule.”
Recently, Carr announced the FCC would be investigating “The View” over its interview with Texas U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert also pulled an interview with Talarico over concerns of an FCC investigation, opting to post the interview to YouTube.
“You’ve got a network like CBS that has already caved in to the desires and the pressures of the Trump administration, and that is Brendan Carr’s FCC,” Russomanno said. “And so as long as that’s happening, who knows where this might end.”
However, typically the FCC is not the one to initiate equal time investigations. They usually come at the request of rival political candidates.
“It is a little bit odd that the FCC itself would be monitoring this and calling it to the attention,” Clay Calvert, nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a center-right think tank based in Washington, told SAN. “But I think it falls in line with the notion that Chairman Carr will leverage whatever regulatory tools he has available to him to quash speech that may be objectionable to President Trump.”
Conservative talk radio
Some of the biggest talk radio shows in the country feature conservative hosts like Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, and Glenn Beck. They get millions of weekly listeners.
In recent weeks, these shows have mostly featured people already elected to office and political analysts rather than candidates. Hannity recently featured former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Rep. Jim Jordan, R-OH.
Beck’s show recently featured Carr himself along with Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah.
If they are to start featuring political candidates, they would be subject to the equal time rule.
However, Carr has made it clear talk radio is not his target.
“When Rush Limbaugh was on the air, there was always speculation that the Democrats would want to bring back the Fairness Doctrine, because the Fairness Doctrine says, essentially, that broadcasters have to not provide equal times but a fair opportunity for different viewpoints on matters of public concern,” Calvert said.
The Fairness Doctrine was enacted in 1949 but repealed in 1987 under former President Ronald Reagan over free speech concerns.
“You got three hours of Sean Hannity on the radio, and let’s say it’s not satellite, it’s regular free radio broadcasting, then that would mean you’ve got to put three hours of a liberal leaning viewpoint on,” Calvert said. “And if nobody wants to listen to that, that’s not going to be economically viable. That’s the other problem with the Fairness Doctrine.”
These rules do not apply to satellite radio or cable television.
“(Greg) Gutfeld doesn’t have to worry about it on his talk show, because it’s on Fox News,” Calvert said.
Future concerns
When ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel following pressure from Carr’s FCC, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz surprised many in his opposition to that move.
“It might feel good right now to threaten Jimmy Kimmel, but when it is used to silence every conservative in America, we will regret it,” Cruz said at the time.
The FCC is supposed to be a nonpartisan organization, but experts SAN spoke with said Carr feels differently.
“The FCC, over the last maybe 20 years or so, has become less and less of an independent agency, but it is reaching new heights in its lack of independence over the last calendar year or so, ever since the ascension of Mr. Carr,” Russomanno said.
With Carr’s FCC targeting liberal leaning shows and broadcasters, experts SAN spoke with agreed with Cruz’s concerns from last year.
“Let’s say the Democrats elect a president in 2028,” Calvert said. “Then, that Democrat will simply unleash the same powers that Trump and Brendan Carr have, targeting liberal leaning content. Only the Democrat would target conservative leaning content. So, what goes around comes around, to paraphrase Justin Timberlake.”
No political party has managed to elect back-to-back presidents since 1988, when Republican George H.W. Bush followed Ronald Reagan.
“The pendulum of power swings back and forth in Washington, D.C.,” Calvert said.
For the most part, Calvert said past FCC commissioners have used their own restraint when governing America’s airwaves.
“The idea that, ‘watch out, you may be in power now, but you won’t be forever,’ that’s what FCC commissioners, no matter who it is, should always be cognizant of,” he said.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
