Disney has made one of the most ridiculous legal arguments in recent memory: that The View is a legitimate news program.
No, really. They filed paperwork with the FCC and everything.
According to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, Disney's TV station KTRK-TV in Houston (and its parent company, ABC) filed a Petition for Declaratory Ruling on May 7, 2026, asking the FCC to declare that The View qualifies as a "bona fide news interview program,” like Meet the Press and Face the Nation
Why, do you ask, are they making such an absurd claim? It’s not delusions of grandeur, believe it or not. Disney is trying to protect The View from being compelled to give equal time to conservative candidates.
Under Section 315 of the Communications Act of 1934, broadcast television stations that give airtime to one legally qualified political candidate must provide equal opportunity to all opposing candidates. Disney apparently wants to invite one partisan candidate onto The View while having no obligation to give any other candidate the same treatment. The "bona fide news" exemption is Disney's ticket to doing exactly that.
Now, I don’t exactly have any love for Meet the Press since Timothy Russert died, but nobody, and I mean nobody, thinks a show co-hosted by Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, or Sonny Hostin is even in the same league as Meet the Press.
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Under established precedent, a TV show does not qualify as "bona fide news" if its editorial decisions are driven by partisan purposes, including any intention to advance or harm a specific candidate's chances. I’m sure you don’t watch The View, but if you’ve seen clips, you know very well that The View is as partisan as they come. The hosts don't exactly hide their political sympathies, and the show's track record during election cycles speaks for itself.
Now, let’s be clear: The equal opportunity law was never designed to silence anyone. Congress didn't pass Section 315 to stop broadcasters from interviewing politicians. It was written to stop media gatekeepers from favoring one candidate over another. The intent was more speech, not less. I don’t know why any conservative candidate would want to go on The View anyway, but clearly Disney, ABC, and The View don’t want to be compelled to give equal time. And who can blame them? They’re so used to their echo chamber that they’d look ridiculous trying to debate actual conservatives.
The FCC is now accepting public comment on Disney's petition. That means ordinary Americans have the chance to formally weigh in on whether The View deserves the same legal status as the Sunday morning news shows that have spent decades trying to maintain at least the appearance of journalistic credibility.
If you don’t agree that The View is “bona fide news,” you can comment here [just enter 26-124 in the proceeding field]
— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) May 22, 2026
If you agree with Disney that The View is “bona fide news,” you can also submit a comment there. https://t.co/9Zr2tAOth4
Disney has handed the public a rare opportunity: the chance to make it official, on the record, that The View is exactly what everyone already knows it is.
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