10.17.2007

Colbert and the Equal Time Rule

Steven Colbert, much blogged-about here today, is toying with an announcement for president. Now, even if he is kidding, if the joke goes so far as to have him actually sign up as a candidate, it could cause him some serious legal headaches (something which cannot be lost on what is no doubt an over-worked Comedy Central legal team).

The problem: The Equal Time Rule, which requires that a station provide candidates equal free time to express their views. Two points:
  1. The rule does not apply to cable television, which is why NBC had to yank Law & Orders containing Fred Thompson, but TNT did not. Why an appearance on a cop show as a fake DA is political speech is beyond me. It appears that the rule is really meant to read "exposure." On the other hand, FX and SciFi both pulled Ah-nold flicks from the air when that man ran in California. The precedent is there -- I don't know if anyone wants to prompt the FCC to finally enter the fray and regulate cable content (though from a policy front, cable and networks are seeing more parity in viewership, so why not regulation too?)
  2. There is an exception for a "bona fide newscast." Does he dare argue it? For example, the closely-related Daily Show is "fake" but has shown to be the most prevalent source for actual news for younger males. Isn't that bona fide?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

To answer point 1...it stems from the theory, and policy perspective, that the airwaves are public and thus must include equal time, but that cable (including the physical copper used to bring it to your home) is not.

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