ABC’s ‘The View’ Faces Scrutiny Over Bona Fide News Status

Disney and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) are at odds over whether ABC’s “The View” qualifies as an authentic news program. This debate arises as the show saw a notable increase in viewers after featuring prominent Republican Vice President JD Vance. ABC announced that his appearance resulted in the show’s most-watched episode in over a year and a half, drawing 3.3 million viewers—only surpassed post-Election Day in November 2024.

Despite this success, ABC’s promotional release overlooked the ongoing FCC dispute and instead launched a campaign advocating for “The View.” The campaign includes petitions declaring the show as a bona fide news interview program. A commercial aired reinforcing the idea, stating, “The View has welcomed your favorite guests for nearly 30 years. Now the FCC wants to control who is allowed to appear on the show. Tell the FCC to let the viewers decide. You have until July 6th.” This effort extends online and across ABC’s social media channels.

Earlier this year, the FCC began an investigation on “The View” over equal time guidelines for political candidates. ABC argues that the show qualifies as news, exempting it from these rules. However, a Media Research Center (MRC) letter to the FCC challenges this, supplying evidence to argue the program’s bias and lack of diversity in political perspectives. MRC President David Bozell criticized the show as “political advocacy masquerading as news,” insisting it should not receive exceptions reserved for genuine news programs.

The FCC states that networks must follow the “statutory equal opportunities requirement,” according to the Communications Act of 1934, implicating talk shows in this mandate. Despite the long-standing “bona fide” exception for news programs, the FCC claims a lack of evidence that interviews on current daytime talk shows meet this criteria.

In response, ABC criticized the FCC’s actions as a threat to free speech rights under the First Amendment. “The View” has been critical of Trump, hosting 341 guests in 2025, with only two conservatives compared to 128 liberals, based on a NewsBusters study. Vice President Vance’s participation with co-hosts Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin, Sara Haines, Alyssa Farah Griffin, and Ana Navarro marked a rare instance of a high-profile Republican on the show. The impact of Vance’s episode on future Republican engagements remains uncertain.