Overview
- Stephen Colbert said CBS lawyers barred his taped interview with Texas Senate candidate James Talarico from airing and told him not to mention it, so the show posted the full segment on YouTube.
- CBS countered that it did not prohibit the broadcast, saying it warned the interview could trigger equal-time obligations for rivals including Rep. Jasmine Crockett and presented options to satisfy the rule.
- FCC Chair Brendan Carr defended the agency’s stance, said there was “zero censorship,” called the episode a publicity hoax, and confirmed an enforcement review of ABC’s The View following Talarico’s appearance.
- The equal-time rule governs licensed broadcast and radio outlets but not streaming, leading late-night and daytime programs to shift candidate interviews online to avoid potential obligations.
- Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez condemned network pullbacks as corporate capitulation and asserted broadcasters have First Amendment protections to decide what interviews to air.