FCC cracking down on liberal talk-shows not giving equal airtime to GOP guests

JSRG · Feb 2, 2026

ThatRobGuy said:
For it to have any effect in the modern environment, it would have to be applied to cable TV (as well as other mediums)

The Fairness doctrine (only applying to broadcast TV and nothing else) would only impact about a fifth of the market share.

"ABC World News Tonight, you have to present your 7 million quarterly viewers with contrasting viewpoints" accomplishes very little if there are podcasts and and other non-broadcasts mediums putting up those kinds of numbers in a week.

The other aspect I haven't touched on is the Overton Window, and how that would be viewed in terms of social responsibility.

The Fairness Doctrine, in it's previous state, would dictate that during covid, if ABC had Fauci on to discuss the importance of the covid vaccine, they would've needed to give Robert Malone time on their show to present a contrasting viewpoint...would people have been cool with that arrangement?

The fairness doctrine--which plenty of people have said in practice was just used by administrations to punish the views of people they disagreed with--was justified as being constitutional despite the obvious suppression of freedom of speech on the grounds that because there were limited broadcast channels that could be used, the government could govern it by issuing licenses, and could then to some extent control the holders of those licenses. This idea has gotten a lot of criticism, but at any rate, that was the reasoning of the Supreme Court.

This rationale does not apply to cable TV or other mediums (except for AM/FM radio). Again, the entire basis for courts saying this wasn't a First Amendment violation came from the need to only allow so many channels because of the realities of how broadcast signals work. But there is no such factor in cable channels or other mediums. So there cannot be any fairness doctrine for anything like cable TV or the Internet where the amount of content is theoretically unlimited without violating the First Amendment.

Aryeh Jay · Feb 3, 2026

Hans Blaster said:

Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue.

Hans Blaster · Feb 3, 2026

Aryeh Jay said:
Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue.

Me too.

essentialsaltes · Feb 3, 2026

essentialsaltes said:
Showing her MAGA cred so much she hired a guy in the Epstein files.

‘It’s Bari Versus Everyone Right Now’: CBS News Reportedly in Turmoil as Weiss Refuses to Fire Contributor With Epstein Ties

'Wellness guru' Dr. Peter Attia was one of several contributors Weiss hired last month, but that personnel decision has now become a headache for CBS News.

On Friday, the Department of Justice released another trove of material about Epstein, the late child sex trafficker. Among the files were email exchanges between Attia and Epstein, who appeared to be on very friendly terms. Attia’s name appeared in the Epstein files more than 1,700 times.

The Wrap reported on Monday morning that CBS News was reconsidering its hire of Attia. But later that evening, the publication said Weiss was reluctant to fire him because she would be caving to a mob.

ATTAWAY BARI -- THOSE LIBS AREN'T GOING TO OWN THEMSELVES!

essentialsaltes · Thursday at 9:21 AM

essentialsaltes said:
‘It’s Bari Versus Everyone Right Now’: CBS News Reportedly in Turmoil as Weiss Refuses to Fire Contributor With Epstein Ties
'Wellness guru' Dr. Peter Attia was one of several contributors Weiss hired last month, but that personnel decision has now become a headache for CBS News.

CBS News Editor in Chief Bari Weiss has resisted dropping Attia, citing concerns about cancel culture despite crude emails he exchanged with Epstein.

Two companies have dropped Attia since the Epstein files surfaced. AGI, a company that makes powdered supplements, has dropped him as a scientific advisor. He has also stepped away from his role as chief science officer for David, a protein bar maker.

CBS News is pulling a “60 Minutes” profile of Attia that aired in October. The segment was scheduled to re-air Sunday on a “60 Minutes” episode made up of repeats, which the program typically runs when the Super Bowl telecast is on a rival network.

Insiders say even if CBS News’ ties to Attia are not publicly severed, it’s unlikely he will be seen on the air. Health-related segments on TV news typically come with sponsors attached. It’s hard to imagine any advertiser will want their commercials running adjacent to a former Epstein pal.

Danthemailman · Friday at 8:42 AM

BPPLEE said:
Jimmy Kimmel kept his job, who are you talking about and what shows?

Speaking of Jimmy Kimmel. I typically watch the 10 O'clock news at night before I turn off the TV and go to sleep right when Jimmy Kimmel is coming on. Now on multiple occasions, I have briefly watched his show to see if he could get through just one night without bashing Trump but so far he is batting 1,000. I wonder, how much rent money Jimmy Kimmel is charging Trump for living in his head.

stevevw · Monday at 3:40 AM

What about the Jimmy Kimmel saga. Didn't he go too far and had to appologise. Surely theres a limit.

What about the storming of a church.

Hans Blaster · Monday at 9:01 AM

stevevw said:
What about the Jimmy Kimmel saga. Didn't he go too far and had to appologise. Surely theres a limit.

He didn't apologize. This is from the AP story about his first show back:

"NEW YORK (AP) — Jimmy Kimmel offered no apologies in his return to late-night television and, in an emotional monologue where he appeared close to tears, said he was not trying to joke about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. He also paid tribute to Kirk's widow."

stevevw said:
What about the storming of a church.

Was that a talk show, Steve? (See thread title.) No it wasn't. Take it to the right thread.

DaisyDay · Monday at 9:33 AM

stevevw said:
What about the Jimmy Kimmel saga. Didn't he go too far and had to appologise. Surely theres a limit.

No, he didn't go too far. His remarks were "desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them" and trying to "score political points from it". He didn't mock Kirk.

stevevw said:
What about the storming of a church.

Bad idea.

ThatRobGuy · Monday at 9:48 AM

stevevw said:
What about the Jimmy Kimmel saga. Didn't he go too far and had to appologise. Surely theres a limit.

I think he stopped short of actually apologizing...

With regards to the Kimmel situation, from a strategic standpoint, terrible move for conservative pundits to push for his firing.

They basically made him a "Media Martyr" so to speak and actually gave his ratings a boost when he returned to the air, as "controversy creates cash"

His ratings were already on the steady decline for the better part of 5 years, and eventually nature would have taken its course on that one...

$15M per year salaries are hard to justify amid declining revenue, so he likely would've been on the chopping block in a year or two anyway (or at the very least, made a much lower offer at re-negotiation time)

stevevw · Monday at 6:47 PM

Hans Blaster said:
He didn't apologize. This is from the AP story about his first show back:

"NEW YORK (AP) — Jimmy Kimmel offered no apologies in his return to late-night television and, in an emotional monologue where he appeared close to tears, said he was not trying to joke about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. He also paid tribute to Kirk's widow."

He lost millions of viewers over that horrible so called joke.

Hans Blaster said:
Was that a talk show, Steve? (See thread title.) No it wasn't. Take it to the right thread.

Was not the whole drama part of Lemons podcast show.

stevevw · Monday at 6:54 PM

ThatRobGuy said:
I think he stopped short of actually apologizing...

With regards to the Kimmel situation, from a strategic standpoint, terrible move for conservative pundits to push for his firing.

It was his own Media company who pushed for his sacking.

ABC’s decision to suspend Kimmel came just minutes after one of the biggest owners of TV stations in the US, Nexstar Media, said it “strongly object[ed]” to his comments and would pre-empt any episodes of Jimmy Kimmel Live! set to air on the stations it owns across the country “for the foreseeable future”.

Jimmy Kimmel Live! suspended over Charlie Kirk comments after US government pressure

Removal of late-night show criticised as part of Trump administration’s attack on critical voices in media, academia and business

www.theguardian.com

ThatRobGuy said:
They basically made him a "Media Martyr" so to speak and actually gave his ratings a boost when he returned to the air, as "controversy creates cash"

A bit like how they made Trump popular by always attacking him.

ThatRobGuy said:
His ratings were already on the steady decline for the better part of 5 years, and eventually nature would have taken its course on that one...

Don't worry it still will. A surge based on hate won't last. Whatever was declining his rations naturally will eventually lead to his downfall. Like all the other radical Left media.

ThatRobGuy said:
$15M per year salaries are hard to justify amid declining revenue, so he likely would've been on the chopping block in a year or two anyway (or at the very least, made a much lower offer at re-negotiation time)

Why is that good. He gets a surge from making fun of Kirks death. How sick. The worse thing is that when he mocks conservatives he is not joking. His face is full of hate.

stevevw · Monday at 6:55 PM

DaisyDay said:
No, he didn't go too far. His remarks were "desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them" and trying to "score political points from it". He didn't mock Kirk.

Bad idea.

Then why was he taken off air.

Hans Blaster · Monday at 8:14 PM

stevevw said:
He lost millions of viewers over that horrible so called joke.

Kimmel's ratings for 2025 were *UP* relative to 2024. (+14% overall, +4% in the prized 18-49 "demo")

2025 Ratings: Late-Night TV's Biggest Winners and Losers - LateNighter

Overall late night viewership stabilized in 2025, but the gains were scarce, with only 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' and 'Gutfeld!' growing year-over-year as younger viewers continued to abandon linear TV.

latenighter.com

stevevw said:
Was not the whole drama part of Lemons podcast show.

Lemon is a *REPORTER* not a comedian. He is not relevant to the thread.

Hans Blaster · Monday at 8:35 PM

stevevw said:
It was his own Media company who pushed for his sacking.

ABC’s decision to suspend Kimmel came just minutes after one of the biggest owners of TV stations in the US, Nexstar Media, said it “strongly object[ed]” to his comments and would pre-empt any episodes of Jimmy Kimmel Live! set to air on the stations it owns across the country “for the foreseeable future”.

Since you clearly don't know how US TV works (not a shock, most Americans don't either) here is what was up.

Jimmy Kimmel's media (production) company is called "Kimmelot". It is a producer on his show "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" (along with "20th Television").

"Jimmy Kimmel Live!" is broadcast weekday evenings by ABC (American Broadcasting Company), a company owned by Disney.

ABC has 238 local affiliates (TV stations) that broadcast ABC shows during "prime time" (8-11 PM Eastern/Pacific, 7-10 PM Central/Mountain), ABC morning/daytime programs, ABC national news broad casts, ABC national sports, and ABC late night programming. These stations air other non-ABC content the rest of the day (including local TV news, game shows, etc.

8 ABC affiliates are owned by ABC. (Networks typically own the stations in the biggest TV markets.) 230 ABC affiliate stations are owned by companies other than ABC.

Nexstar Media owns some of these ABC affiliates (and NBC affiliates and CBS affiliates and Fox affiliates). Another major station owner is "Sinclair".

It was Nexstar (and Sinclair) that wanted Kimmel fired. Both have very conservative ownership. Neither air his show for the first few days after it returned to broadcast (covering about 23% of all TV households).

It was not the companies that produced the show, or the company that broadcast it (ABC), but the owners of some of the local stations.

stevevw · Monday at 9:28 PM

Hans Blaster said:
Since you clearly don't know how US TV works (not a shock, most Americans don't either) here is what was up.

Jimmy Kimmel's media (production) company is called "Kimmelot". It is a producer on his show "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" (along with "20th Television").

"Jimmy Kimmel Live!" is broadcast weekday evenings by ABC (American Broadcasting Company), a company owned by Disney.

That explains a lot. They have basically destroyed entertainment.

Hans Blaster said:
ABC has 238 local affiliates (TV stations) that broadcast ABC shows during "prime time" (8-11 PM Eastern/Pacific, 7-10 PM Central/Mountain), ABC morning/daytime programs, ABC national news broad casts, ABC national sports, and ABC late night programming. These stations air other non-ABC content the rest of the day (including local TV news, game shows, etc.

ABC in my nation is a public broadcaster. Is this the same for ABC America.

Hans Blaster said:
8 ABC affiliates are owned by ABC. (Networks typically own the stations in the biggest TV markets.) 230 ABC affiliate stations are owned by companies other than ABC.

That answers it. Owned by companies. Or at least have influence from these companies.

Hans Blaster said:
Nexstar Media owns some of these ABC affiliates (and NBC affiliates and CBS affiliates and Fox affiliates). Another major station owner is "Sinclair".

It was Nexstar (and Sinclair) that wanted Kimmel fired. Both have very conservative ownership. Neither air his show for the first few days after it returned to broadcast (covering about 23% of all TV households).

It was not the companies that produced the show, or the company that broadcast it (ABC), but the owners of some of the local stations.

Ok so they offended one of their biggest owners. Not a good idea.

Hans Blaster · 2026-02-10T00:09:10-0600

stevevw said:
That explains a lot. They have basically destroyed entertainment.

Who? Kimmel's production company mostly exists to make his show. ABC has been around for 80 years. Disney for more than 100 years.

stevevw said:
ABC in my nation is a public broadcaster. Is this the same for ABC America.

Unless your ABC is called the American Broadcasting Company, no it isn't.

stevevw said:
That answers it. Owned by companies. Or at least have influence from these companies.

Everything on that list except Jimmy Kimmel, himself, is a company. Everything in Hollywood is a company. (As I learned during the "controversy", Kimmel's show is actually filmed at a theater along the Hollywood Boulevard in LA.) This is also the case for most media production outside LA except for the various stations owned by universities and states, etc. which broadcast under the PBS (TV) or NPR (radio) networks.

stevevw said:
Ok so they offended one of their biggest owners. Not a good idea.

Two of them. Two right-wing station owners.

The Barbarian · 2026-02-10T09:05:11-0600

Hans Blaster said:
The "Fairness Doctrine" of equal time was dropped decades ago. I think Reagan was president then.

Right. I'm pretty sure that MAGA would have a conniption if it applied to Fox News. Be careful what you wish for. But legally, the Fairness Doctrine is dead.

DaisyDay · 2026-02-10T10:55:44-0600

stevevw said:
Then why was he taken off air.

To score political points, just as he said. The MAGA movement exploited the murder of Kirk to go after their political/cultural enemies with a vengeance, using the shock of the event to gin up moral outrage which was then redirected inappropriately.

stevevw said:
It was his own Media company who pushed for his sacking.

ABC/~~Paramount~~Disney was threatened by Trump's FCC chairman Brendon Carr concerning upcoming merges and ongoing local broadcast licenses for local affiliates. This came from above. Trump further crowed about getting more late night hosts fired for displeasing him.

"We can do it the hard way or the easy way," Brendon Carr to ABC.

DaisyDay · 2026-02-10T11:16:42-0600

stevevw said:
ABC in my nation is a public broadcaster. Is this the same for ABC America.

No, PBC/PBS would be the American ABC while the actual ABC (American Broadcast Company) is private and for-profit.

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FCC cracking down on liberal talk-shows not giving equal airtime to GOP guests

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‘It’s Bari Versus Everyone Right Now’: CBS News Reportedly in Turmoil as Weiss Refuses to Fire Contributor With Epstein Ties​

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‘It’s Bari Versus Everyone Right Now’: CBS News Reportedly in Turmoil as Weiss Refuses to Fire Contributor With Epstein Ties​

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