Power Grab/Fire anyone who can stop him
An FCC bureau says no talk show on the air has shown it qualifies for the equal-time exemption
Public Notice DA 26-68 says the 2006 Tonight Show ruling was program-specific, not a blanket exemption for talk shows.
What happened
The FCC’s Media Bureau said on January 21, 2026 that the FCC has not been presented with any evidence that any talk show now on air would qualify for the equal-time exemption. The statement is in Public Notice DA 26-68.
The notice says the bureau’s 2006 ruling that the interview segment of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno was a bona fide news interview was program-specific. It adds that the industry was wrong to read it as a blanket exemption for talk shows.
In February, CBS pulled Stephen Colbert’s interview with Texas Senate candidate James Talarico, citing equal-time risk. Commissioner Anna Gomez said the notice changed no rule but escalated the FCC’s campaign to control speech. The network cited equal-time risk for pulling the interview. The notice itself changed no rule, but it was followed within weeks by a network pulling a candidate interview.
Who benefited
The FCC gets leverage over broadcasters: a talk show that cannot show it qualifies faces equal-time claims over its candidate interviews. No rule was changed to get it. No rule was changed to get it, and the bureau says it has seen no evidence that any talk show now on air qualifies for the exemption.
Who wanted something
The Media Bureau wanted the industry to stop reading its 2006 ruling as a blanket exemption for talk shows. The notice says the FCC has seen no evidence that any show now on air qualifies.
Who lost out
Viewers of Colbert’s show lost the interview with Texas Senate candidate James Talarico when CBS pulled it. CBS cited equal-time risk. Talarico lost a broadcast platform in a Senate race, in February. CBS cited equal-time risk. Talarico, a Texas Senate candidate, lost a broadcast platform in a Senate race, and Colbert’s audience lost the interview in February 2026.
Why it matters
No rule changed, and a network pulled a candidate’s interview anyway. Commissioner Gomez said the notice escalated the FCC’s campaign to control speech. The bureau says it has seen no evidence that any talk show on air qualifies.
Sources FCC Media Bureau (primary)ReutersBroadcast Law Blog (Wilkinson Barker Knauer)AP