A conservative media watchdog is turning up the heat on ABC’s “The View,” arguing the daytime show is not a legitimate news interview program but a partisan political operation dressed up as talk TV.
The Media Research Center submitted a letter to the Federal Communications Commission as ABC battles an equal-time investigation tied to political candidates appearing on the show.
The FCC launched a probe earlier this year after Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico appeared on “The View,” raising questions about whether ABC should have been required to offer equal time to opposing candidates.
Disney responded Monday with an on-air campaign urging viewers to defend “The View,” but the MRC says the program does not qualify for the “bona fide news” exemption that would shield it from equal-time rules.
“For nearly four decades, the Media Research Center (MRC) has been an unrelenting media watchdog and a counterforce to activism in America’s newsrooms, broadcast networks, and Big Tech platforms. As such, the MRC is uniquely qualified to respond to the Commission’s request for comment on Disney/ABC’s petition to declare that the daytime television program The View qualifies as a bona fide news interview program,” MRC President David Bozell wrote to FCC division chief Maria Mullarkey.
Bozell argued that ABC is trying to claim legal protection for a show that has long operated more like a Democratic messaging shop than a neutral news program.
“ABC claims that its daytime television program The View is a ‘bona fide news interview program’ and thus should be exempt from Congress’s equal opportunity rules. This claim is belied by the facts,” Bozell continued in the letter that has been obtained by Fox News Digital. “While The View may once have qualified for an exemption, the evidence shows that it has for years operated for political purposes and is therefore not entitled to an exemption to the law.”
The MRC said it has compiled extensive evidence showing the show’s political tilt, including attacks on President Donald Trump, support for Democrats and promotion of left-wing priorities.
Bozell said the group can show that ABC “misrepresented its program in its petition to the FCC” by citing First Amendment case law improperly and portraying the commission’s questions as censorship.
“In support of its petition, MRC will be submitting 2,473 separate pieces of evidence documenting The View’s pervasive bias and, at times, willful electioneering as exhibits to this comment,” Bozell wrote.
The 18-page letter argues “The View” is not driven by newsworthiness, but by partisan goals, including advancing favored candidates and causes.
One example cited in the letter included co-host Whoopi Goldberg telling viewers, “you know what to do on Election Day.”
The MRC said it has published eight studies documenting how the program promotes Democratic candidates and Democratic-aligned policies while rarely hosting figures who could hurt the party’s electoral prospects.
“MRC has published eight studies documenting how The View engages in partisan programming to promote Democrat candidates and Democrat-aligned policies, while refusing to interview those who would imperil Democrat electoral chances with few exceptions (like the recent interview of Vice President JD Vance),” Bozell wrote.
Bozell put the argument bluntly.
“The View is a political operation of the Democratic Party, not a bona fide news interview program,” he added. “ABC’s petition in defense of The View is a terrible misstatement of First Amendment law that obfuscates how ABC’s use of U.S. public spectrum is a privilege, not a right.”
Bozell ended the letter by saying “The View” has “every right to exist,” but should not receive special treatment through public airwaves if it operates as partisan programming.
ABC News did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
ABC’s new campaign asks viewers to pressure the FCC as the network frames the probe as government interference.
ABC’s new campaign declared, “’The View has welcomed your favorite guests for nearly 30 years. Now the FCC wants to control who is allowed to appear on the show. Tell the FCC to let the viewers decide. You have until July 6th.”
Federal equal-time rules require broadcasters to give legally qualified opposing candidates comparable access when a political candidate appears on air.
There is a longstanding exception for bona fide news programming, but the FCC has said it has not been shown evidence that the interview segments of current late-night or daytime talk shows would qualify.
There has been a longstanding “bona fide” exception for news programming that wouldn’t require equal time for an opposing candidate, but the FCC previously said 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.”
None of the show’s six hosts backed Donald Trump in the 2024 election, including Alyssa Farah Griffin, the panel’s token conservative and a former Trump administration official.
The show’s political guest list has long skewed left, though it did host Vice President JD Vance last week for a lengthy interview.
For conservatives who have watched “The View” spend years serving up daily anti-Trump outrage, the MRC filing is less a surprise than a paper trail.
The FCC now faces a basic question: whether ABC’s daytime political brawl is really news, or just partisan activism with a network logo.
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