F.C.C. revives equal-time rule, pressuring late-night talk shows

The Federal Communications Commission has revived a long-dormant equal-time provision that requires certain broadcast shows to give competing candidates comparable airtime. The rule, created in 1927, had not been applied to late-night talk shows for decades after a 2006 dispute over Arnold Schwarzenegger’s appearance on The Tonight Show led the F.C.C.

to add such interviews to a news exemption; that practice has now been reversed under the current administration. The change burst into view when Stephen Colbert said CBS and the agency had blocked him from interviewing James Talarico; CBS countered that it had offered guidance and suggested providing similar airtime to two of Talarico’s Democratic opponents.

Brendan Carr, the F.C.C. chairman, has signaled a tougher stance toward shows seen as critical of the president, and his office has intervened before — including prompting ABC to pull Jimmy Kimmel’s show briefly and opening an investigation of The View.

United States

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