ABC is stepping up its fight against the Federal Communications Commission.
In what is shaping up to be an intense battle that could have long-lasting ramifications, Disney’s ABC and the FCC continue to trade blows. It all goes back to ABC’s “The View” and whether it violated what is known as the “equal-time rule.” That’s the rule that says if a TV or radio program talks to someone running for political office, it must offer their opponent the same amount of time.
News programs, however, are exempt from the rule, and ABC has long claimed that “The View” is a news program. It officially is under the ABC News umbrella. But FCC Chair Brendan Carr has repeatedly said the show is not a news show and is, instead, more of an entertainment program.
Carr has had ABC in its sights for a while, infamously threatening last year to go after Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talk show, as well as calling for the licenses of eight Disney-owned television stations to undergo early review. Then, earlier this year, the FCC began investigating “The View,” with Carr saying the show was not a “bona fide” news program.
Well, late Monday, in a filing to the FCC, ABC once again defended “The View” and noted that the FCC already exempted the show from the equal-time rule back in 2002.
ABC wrote, “Nothing about ‘The View’ that the law cares about has changed since the commission last answered that question more than two decades ago. The program remains regularly scheduled, remains under ABC’s control, and remains driven by the same lodestar — newsworthiness — that has long led it to interview the day’s most consequential figures.”
ABC also noted: “ABC did not come to the Federal Communications Commission asking for anything. The Commission compelled ABC to file the Petition for Declaratory Ruling at issue here, directing the network to explain why the government should not dictate which political candidates may appear on The View — even though the Commission itself resolved that very question in ABC’s favor more than two decades ago, ruling in 2002 that The View is a bona fide news program not subject to the equal opportunities requirement.”
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It appears that the FCC and Carr have a problem with “The View” because they simply don’t like the show’s content — specifically, criticisms of President Donald Trump and his administration. It’s what members of the Trump administration do whenever they see something they don’t like in the media — they attack it, sue it, ban it or, most of all, force those media outlets to jump through hoops in an effort to hassle and intimidate them. Often, being a nuisance and forcing networks to strenuously defend their work is the punishment.
The New York Times’ Benjamin Mullin and Jim Rutenberg wrote, “The F.C.C.’s focus on ‘The View’ plays on longstanding grudges held by the president against the show and some of its hosts, and thrusts a talk show started by the ABC journalist Barbara Walters as a breezy kaffeeklatsch into a molten national debate over free-speech rights and the Trump administration’s war against traditional media. Mr. Carr’s investigation has led to tens of thousands of comments from the public on the F.C.C. website.”
About those comments?
The Los Angeles Times’ Meg James wrote, “Since the FCC opened its inquiry in late May, the agency has received more than 77,000 public comments — most in support of the long-running daytime talk show.”
An FCC spokesperson said in a statement, “While ABC insists that ‘The View’ is a ‘bona fide news program’ under the law, ABC should focus on complying with its public interest obligations, rather than misleading the public about them.”
But while ABC vigorously defends “The View,” the FCC’s threats and investigation have had a chilling effect on the show. Semafor’s Max Tani reported earlier this week that since Carr announced his investigation in February, “the ABC talk show hasn’t featured a single political candidate running in a competitive midterm race, according to a Semafor analysis.”
Prince Harry’s loss
Britain’s Prince Harry, during a visit in London on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
Prince Harry and other celebrities have been involved in a lengthy and expensive lawsuit against Associated Newspapers Ltd., the publisher of the Daily Mail, accusing it of phone hacking and intruding into their private lives between 1993 and 2011. But on Tuesday, a judge ruled against Harry and the others, saying that “suspicion, even where understandable, was not enough” and that the claimants had failed to prove “that the information complained of had been obtained unlawfully.”
The New York Times’ Megan Specia called it a “stinging blow” for Harry.
The Associated Press’ Brian Melley wrote, “The ruling scuttles a bid by Harry and six others, including singer Elton John and actor-model Elizabeth Hurley, seeking substantial damages but could leave them with massive legal bills. ANL put the legal costs for both sides above 50 million pounds ($67 million) for years of case preparation and an 11-week trial.”
In a statement, Associated Newspapers said, “The reputations of our decent and hard-working journalists were terribly impugned, and today they have been exonerated.”
Harry, of course, was not pleased with the ruling. Harry and fellow claimant Baroness Doreen Lawrence said in a statement, “We came to court seeking justice and accountability. But we have received neither. This judgment represents a complete reversal of the position which previous judges have taken in relation to the hacking claims successfully brought against both News Group Newspapers and Mirror Group Newspapers (who were represented by, at the time, the Judge who made this decision). Generic findings about various private investigators that were held by the Courts in these parallel claims to have carried out unlawful activity at the very same time in relation to similar stories and well-known individuals have been wholly ignored. The fact that this Court has chosen to dismiss them represents an inconsistency which is hard to understand or reconcile with common sense, or the evidence heard in the courtroom itself.”
They added, “It is a complete and obvious whitewash, but sadly not altogether unexpected.”
Specia wrote in the Times that “Harry and the other claimants had accused Associated Newspapers of carrying out or commissioning unlawful activities to reveal private information about their lives for articles published in The Daily Mail and its sister newspaper, The Mail on Sunday. … They accused private investigators of listening into phone calls, intercepting voice mail messages and tricking people into handing over information to obtain phone numbers, medical records and bills.”
The ruling was a whopping 436 pages.
Specia wrote that the judge “had rejected the attempt to prove that the information used in the articles entered as evidence must have been obtained unlawfully. The judge said he had declined to rule on whether unlawful information gathering by Associated Newspapers had become ‘widespread and habitual.’ Instead, he ruled on the merits of each individual claim on an article-by-article basis. He said he accepted the accounts of the journalists ‘who gave lawful explanations for the sourcing of the disputed articles and incidents.’”
The Mitch McConnell story
So what is going on with Kentucky Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell?
McConnell, 84, was admitted to the hospital on the morning of June 14, but since then, few details have been made public.
CNN’s Ellis Kim, Ted Barrett and Lauren Fox wrote Tuesday, “Aides for the Kentucky Republican have been fiercely protective of his condition — publicly and privately — during his hospitalization. Despite requests for updates from CNN, his office has not disclosed a medical reason for the hospitalization or provided specifics on his current health status beyond saying last week that he ‘continues to improve’ and ‘is working closely with his staff on Kentucky and Senate matters.’”
The lack of information has fueled rampant speculation online.
Right-wing activist Laura Loomer claimed without evidence that McConnell is “brain dead” and in a “vegetative state” and will not be returning to Congress. At least one self-described independent journalist has made similar claims.
But CNN contributor Scott Jennings, who is also from Kentucky and has been an adviser to McConnell, tweeted Tuesday that he spoke at length to the senator.
Jennings tweeted, “I spoke to my old friend Mitch McConnell this morning, the senior Senator from Kentucky. He’s still recovering in the hospital. We talked for just shy of 20 minutes … about IRAN, UKRAINE, the unfolding situation in MAINE, my visit to the TR Presidential Library, and even a little bit of Senate history. I told him we want to see him back at work as soon as possible.”
A spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Thune spoke with McConnell on Monday. A spokesperson for Senate GOP Whip John Barrasso said Barrasso also spoke with McConnell on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, The Daily Beast’s Ewan Palmer wrote: “MAGA Demands Proof of Life for Mitch McConnell.”
Palmer notes that Matthew Boyle, the Washington bureau chief for conservative news site Breitbart, tweeted Monday night, “McConnell’s staff should produce proof of the senator’s condition one way or another right now.”
Also worth reading is this piece from USA Today’s Alyssa Goldberg: “Mitch McConnell and the complications of speculating about someone’s health.”
The episode underscores the difficult balance between a public official’s medical privacy and the public’s legitimate interest in the health of an elected leader whose ability to serve can affect the Senate.
Later Tuesday, Jennings appeared on CNN and was asked by Kasie Hunt if McConnell’s team should be more transparent about McConnell’s condition.
According to Mediaite, Jennings said, “I sometimes wonder, like, if I were laying in a hospital bed, would I want a bunch of people around photographing me? Probably not. Particularly if I were an 84-year-old person who’s normally private about his health. Probably not. But, look, I take the criticism. I think it’s a fair question about transparency. I think it’s a fair question about whether they’ve done enough. But ultimately, these office holders, you know, they’re in charge of their own operations.”
On the scene
A high-rise building in Midtown Manhattan that is being converted from offices to apartments showed signs of collapse on Tuesday. That prompted two city blocks near Grand Central Station to be evacuated. That area included PIX11 — a local CW station located directly across the street from the building in question.
The station was briefly off the air before being simulcast on NewsNation for about an hour, according to CNN’s Brian Stelter.
Stelter tweeted, “By early afternoon, the station had cobbled together an anchor location for its shows on Second Avenue, with multiple staffers holding lights and cameras. A makeshift control room was being run out of the back of an SUV.”
It’s always heartening to see stations adapt under difficult circumstances to keep delivering the news. We often see it when stations, in the midst of an event such as a hurricane or severe storms, continue to be an important service to their audiences. That’s exactly what PIX11 did Tuesday.
Meanwhile, NewsNation’s New York studio was also evacuated. Mediaite’s Zachary Leeman has the details here.
Sticking with his subscription
Veteran media journalist Paul Farhi has a new piece out for Poynter: “Why I won’t cancel The Washington Post.”
Farhi worked for the Post from 1988 to 2023, so he has special insight into what has happened with one of America’s legendary newspapers. His column is well worth your time.
Setting a record
United States goalkeeper Matt Freese (24) and left back Antonee Robinson (5) react after Belgium’s Hans Vanaken (20) scored in Monday’s World Cup match between the United States and Belgium in Seattle on Monday. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
As expected, the American TV audience from Monday’s World Cup match between the United States and Belgium set an all-time record. According to preliminary numbers, the match drew about 30 million viewers on Fox. As Sports Business Journal’s Austin Karp noted, if the final ratings (due out today) jump 8% like the U.S.’s last match against Bosnia and Herzegovina did, total viewership will be around 32.4 million viewers. (The match between the U.S and Bosnia and Herzegovina set the previous TV record with 26.4 million.)
In addition to Fox’s audience of about 30 million, another 12 million viewers watched the Spanish-language broadcast on Telemundo and the Peacock streaming service.
Too bad the U.S. team bumbled its way through a 4-1 loss.
As I wrote in Tuesday’s newsletter, the World Cup has been a smashing ratings success for Fox Sports, but now the network now has to hope audiences continue to show up even with the United States out of the tournament.
Media tidbits
- For Nieman Lab, Megan Cattel and Kourosh Ziabari with “Shut Out: For the First Time, Iranian Journalists Are Denied Entry to Cover a FIFA World Cup.”
- Axios’ Sara Fischer and Christine Wang with “Netflix eyes more F1 content.”
- TheWrap’s Lucas Manfredi with “James Murdoch’s $300 Million Vox and New York Magazine Deal Gets the Greenlight From FTC.”
Hot type
- The New York Times’ Styles Desk with “The 39-ish Most Stylish People of 2026, So Far.”
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