Stephen Colbert on Thursday night weighed in on the Federal Communication Commission’s effort to clarify its guidance around political equal time rules, a move that seemed aimed at daytime and late night talk shows.
After talk shows’ interviews with politicians long qualified for an exemption to the equal time rule as bona fide news interviews, dating back to a decision about Jay Leno’s Tonight Show in 2006, the FCC, in a new public notice issued Wednesday, is changing that approach. The agency said the 2006 decision does not necessarily mean all late night and daytime show interviews are exempt. Under the FCC’s equal time rule, stations have to offer comparable time and placement to rival candidates regardless of political affiliation, but the burden isn’t on broadcasters. When free time is provided to a candidate, other candidates can submit an equal opportunities request.
“The FCC has not been presented with any evidence that the interview portion of any late night or daytime television talk show program on air presently would qualify for the bona fide news exemption,” the commission wrote on Wednesday. “Moreover, a program that is motivated by partisan purposes, for example, would not be entitled to an exemption under long-standing FCC precedent.”
Though Kimmel commented on the news on Wednesday night, Colbert waited to address the development until Thursday, and he initially highlighted how despite headlines focused on how the new FCC guidance seemed aimed at The Late Show as well as Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Late Night With Seth Meyers, The Late Show is ending in May.
“What? What? A new crackdown on late night TV? That has enormous implications for me for four more months,” Colbert said before seemingly addressing Kimmel, who recently re-upped for another year. “Good luck, Jimmy! See ya, suckers!”
Colbert added, “So, let’s talk about these new crackdown rules that my lawyer warned me not to talk about. The FCC is announcing plans to enforce long-dormant rules on appearances by political candidates on network talk shows. Oh, no. They’ve awakened the long-dormant rules, not seen since the mind-bending horrors of the pre-Euclidian variety show ‘Cthulhu Tonight!’ This is clearly an attempt to silence me, Jimmy [and] Seth [Meyers].”
But Colbert suggested their programs weren’t as influential as the FCC’s new guidance might suggest.
Speaking to the FCC, Colbert said, “I’m flattered you think that appearing on my show has the power to affect politics in any way. OK? I’ve been doing this job for 21 years and let me tell you something, buddy, if our government had turned out the way I had chosen, you would not have the power to make this announcement.”
Kimmel, meanwhile, spent several minutes at the end of his monologue explaining the history of the equal time requirements and again suggesting any attempts at a crackdown would be less significant in a fractured landscape.
Calling FCC commissioner Brendan Carr Trump’s “little ferret in the FCC,” who “is doing everything he can to shut us up ‘the easy way or the hard way,’” Kimmel bashed the move as Carr’s “sneaky little way of keeping viewpoints that aren’t his off the air” and his “latest attack on free speech.”
“And it’s a joke, because this isn’t the ’50s anymore,” Kimmel said. “Back then there were only three major networks. Now we’ve got cable, we’ve got streaming, we have satellite, podcasts, social media. There are thousands of outlets now. Broadcast TV used to account for 100 percent of viewing. Now, it’s like 20 percent. There are so many channels, some of them doing 24/7 Trump programming: Fox News, Newsmax, One America New, Real America’s Voice. None of them are required to give equal time, but we are because we use the public airways.”
He added, “Equal time was designed to limit how much influence broadcasters have over public opinion. But we’re not the only thing on television anymore. We’re a small fish now. We used to be the whole pond. Now we’re part of like this enormous Las Vegas buffet. We’re the mashed potatoes on the buffet, and now the FCC wants to mash us even more. They’re mashing our potatoes.”
“I have no idea what the outcome of this is going to be. We will find out,” Kimmel continued.”It is another example of this administration trying to squash anyone who doesn’t support them by following the rules.”
With the midterm elections looming in 2026, the FCC’s new guidance could make talk shows carefully consider their bookings as politicians running for office seek media appearances.
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