The View is currently under investigation by the FCC for allegedly unfairly spotlighting political candidates. The Federal Communications Commission wants to strip the ABC talk show of its “bona fide news” status that exempts it from the rule requiring equal broadcast time for candidates of all political parties. A conservative podcaster made the shocking claim that the show refuses to book them. Keep reading to find out why they’re begging to appear on The View.
FCC Targets The View, Threatens ABC’s Broadcasting License
Political candidates rely on television appearances to boost their visibility and gain voters. It isn’t a coincidence that Bill Clinton played the saxophone on The Arsenio Hall Show in 1992 and went on to win the election. Jay Leno successfully petitioned for an exemption from the FCC’s equal time rule for political candidates by getting The Tonight Show declared news instead of entertainment. Many talk shows, including The View, have relied on that exemption for years to avoid showcasing all political candidates.
But the FCC wants to change that.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr opened an investigation earlier this year after The View interviewed Texas Democrat James Talarico ahead of the primaries in March. The FCC questioned whether the show should receive the exemption from equal-time requirements. The FCC is reportedly set to make a decision before the show returns for Season 30 in September.
Conservative Podcast Claims ABC Talk Show Refuses To Book Them
Fox News called out The View last year for only featuring left-leaning guests and no conservatives or Republicans. ABC apparently took the complaint seriously because Season 29 featured more conservatives than ever before. The View welcomed former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, Vice President JD Vance, and reality star Savannah Chrisley. But there’s one conservative voice that they allegedly refuse to book.
Podcaster Ben Shapiro griped about the diss on Bill O’Reilly’s show. Bill O’Reilly blasted ABC for alienating conservatives by keeping The View and Jimmy Kimmel Live! on the air. However, Ben Shapiro revealed his secret desire to appear on the daytime talk show.
“No, not in a million years. I’ve been trying to get on The View for years. That is a dream booking for me,” he said when Bill O’Reilly asked if he thought he could get booked on The View or Good Morning America.
“There is nothing I would love better than to have a conversation with Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg and Sunny Hostin. I’m a bit of a hate-watching fan of The View. Ten years I’ve been trying to get myself booked on The View, so that’s not going to happen,” he added.
Bill O’Reilly revealed that he hasn’t been asked back to The View since Barbara Walters left in 2014. He famously caused Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar to walk off the show in 2010 after his controversial comments on 9/11. So, don’t expect to see either of them on the ABC talk show anytime soon.
Jennifer Havener grew up in a small town in Upstate New York. She earned her B.A in Writing & Literature from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. She always knew watching reality TV shows and soap operas, particularly ‘Days of Our Lives’, would come in handy someday. When she’s not writing, she’s playing with her dogs, Lola and Ruger