{"id":2571849,"date":"2026-02-20T09:38:02","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T14:38:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hollywood-reporter-all-but-admits-network-hosts-would-end-all-political-interviews-before-platforming-critics-of-democrats\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T09:41:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T14:41:57","slug":"hollywood-reporter-all-but-admits-network-hosts-would-end-all-political-interviews-before-platforming-critics-of-democrats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hollywood-reporter-all-but-admits-network-hosts-would-end-all-political-interviews-before-platforming-critics-of-democrats\/","title":{"rendered":"Hollywood Reporter All But Admits Network Hosts Would End All Political Interviews Before Platforming Critics of Democrats"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">34<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhollywood-reporter-all-but-admits-network-hosts-would-end-all-political-interviews-before-platforming-critics-of-democrats%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2571849&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>This piece examines a controversy over the FCC\u2019s equal-time rule adn its implications for political access on television.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; It centers on Stephen Colbert\u2019s planned interview with Texas Democratic candidate James Talarico and CBS\u2019s concerns that airing it could trigger equal-time requirements,prompting Colbert to cancel the interview.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The Hollywood Reporter is cited as lamenting that such airtime on daytime and late-night shows may be disappearing, framing the issue as a broader problem of media access for candidates.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The author argues the real political dynamic isn\u2019t a Trump-driven crackdown but a Democratic calculation to elevate the electable candidate, Texas state Rep. Jasmine Crockett, over Colbert\u2019s preferred option, with Crockett seen as less electable statewide.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The piece notes that Crockett\u2019s immigration remarks and the Texas Senate race context (with candidates like Wesley Hunt and Ken Paxton challenging incumbent John Cornyn) influence Democratic strategy and perceptions of electability.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; It stresses that equal-time rules have long existed (since 1934) and that CBS claimed legal guidance allowed them to proceed while offering options to fulfill equal-time obligations; the article points out that there are narrow exemptions for bona fide news and interviews.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; the author highlights that a 2006 FCC ruling had already narrowed exemptions for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/with-terror-on-the-prairie-gina-carano-takes-on-the-entertainment-establishment\/\" title=\"With \u2018Terror On The Prairie,\u2019 Gina Carano Takes On The Entertainment Establishment\">late-night interviews<\/a>, with Democratic figures involved in pushing for such rulings at the time.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Quotes from FCC Chair brendan Carr and various media outlets are used to argue that the enforcement of equal time is intended to prevent media figures from steering primary and general elections.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The piece portrays the controversy as a partisan battle over regulatory enforcement, framing proponents of stricter enforcement as upholding long-standing law and media fairness, while critics (largely Democrats in this narrative) are depicted as lamenting reduced access for candidates.<\/p>\n<p>the article contends that the episode reveals a preexisting, 92-year-old regulatory framework intended to keep media coverage balanced in political contests and critiques efforts to undermine that balance as aligning with partisan interests.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_1)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>A Federal Communications Commission regulation that was effectively defined by Democrats and was used by a Democrat to platform a white Democrat over a black Democrat is now being bemoaned by Democrats because&hellip; of Donald Trump?<\/p>\n<p>Yeah, that&rsquo;s basically it. In the wake of the Stephen Colbert\/James Talarico pseudo-scandal, The Hollywood Reporter is <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/THR\/status\/2024251957968306237?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">bemoaning<\/a> that you can &ldquo;say goodbye to most appearances by political candidates on daytime and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-sad-politicization-of-late-night-television\/\" title=\"The Sad Politicization Of ... Night Television\">late night talk shows<\/a>.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>So, in case you&rsquo;re catching up with this late, Colbert &mdash; on his way out at CBS &mdash; actually caused people to pay attention to his show for once by announcing that he&nbsp;<em>would<\/em> have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/dei-dead-jasmine-crocketts-texas-senate-run-seems-like-afterthought-following-colberts-james-talarico-stunt\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">had Talarico<\/a>, a Texas state representative and Democratic candidate for Senate on, but he instead had to cancel because the FCC might invoke the equal time rule.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">This is the interview Donald Trump didn&rsquo;t want you to see.<\/p>\n<p>His FCC refused to air my interview with Stephen Colbert.<\/p>\n<p>Trump is worried we&rsquo;re about to flip Texas. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/BCev5jZbKc\">pic.twitter.com\/BCev5jZbKc<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; James Talarico (@jamestalarico) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jamestalarico\/status\/2023659473466687994?\">February 17, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadAnyclip() { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst container=document.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!container) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=\"https:\/\/player.anyclip.com\/anyclip-widget\/lre-widget\/prod\/v1\/src\/lre.js\"; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"pubname\", \"westernjournalcom\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"widgetname\", \"001w000001jULVcAAO_M12924\");  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ append inside the container so player shows in correct spot \t\t\t\t\t\tcontainer.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadAnyclip(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #anyclipvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#anyclipvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>Now, the implication here was twofold: One, that the Trump administration was interfering to stop Talarico from getting airtime at the expense of Republicans, and two, that CBS News &mdash; under the management of Bari Weiss &mdash; had veered sharply to the right.<\/p>\n<p>Except that&rsquo;s not the case. No Republican candidate is really clamoring to go on Colbert&rsquo;s show, in part because it&rsquo;s a waste of time and in part because of the fact that it&rsquo;s not going to look good, no matter how Colbert treats them or how they perform. (If they look good, it almost looks bad to GOP primary voters.) Instead, this was mostly about platforming the (relatively speaking, anyhow) <em>electable<\/em> Talarico over the thoroughly bananas (but much more famous) U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, Talarico&rsquo;s main opponent in the race.<\/p>\n<p>That&rsquo;s right: The scandal is because Colbert preferred a white male Republican over a black woman, only if because that black woman is so thoroughly nuts that she couldn&rsquo;t get elected dog-catcher of Texas if it were a statewide race.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">NEW: Rep. Jasmine Crockett suggests the United States needs illegal immigrants because &ldquo;we done picking cotton.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Crockett made the argument that the U.S. needs immigrants for farming while speaking at Grace Baptist Church in Connecticut.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;So I had to go around the country and&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/DUEZ4PskEg\">pic.twitter.com\/DUEZ4PskEg<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CollinRugg\/status\/1909389179290894645?\">April 7, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Now, this is a problem for establishment Democrats because, theoretically, the seat could be in play without Crockett being the nominee. Primary polling is always a parlous endeavor, but incumbent GOP Sen. John Cornyn faces a challenge from two more MAGA-centric candidates: Rep. Wesley Hunt and Texas Attorney General <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/late-breaking-tx-ag-ken-paxton-taking-action-male-awarded-female-weight-lifting-championship\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ken Paxton<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>If Paxton wins, which some polls say he will, there becomes a serious electability issue, inasmuch as there are character and corruption concerns about him in what&rsquo;s already predicted to be a bad year for Republican candidates. Let&rsquo;s forget about how much you believe these issues should be a concern; the fact is, they <em>are<\/em> &mdash; but only if the Democrats have an electable candidate, of course. Crockett is not one of those, at least not statewide in Texas. (Perhaps you aren&rsquo;t surprised to learn that Republicans allegedly helped <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/appears-jasmine-crockett-just-fell-trap-set-republican-senatorial-committee\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">goad her into the race via push-polling<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p>Ergo, it&rsquo;s not Republicans who should be upset with CBS, it&rsquo;s team Crockett. CBS News, for their part, said in a statement that Colbert &ldquo;provided legal guidance that the broadcast could trigger the FCC equal-time rule for two other candidates, including Rep. Jasmine Crockett, and presented options for how the equal time for other candidates could be fulfilled,&rdquo; and that there was no prohibition on having Talarico on:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">This just in from CBS: &ldquo;THE LATE SHOW was not prohibited by CBS from broadcasting the interview with Rep. James Talarico. The show was provided legal guidance that the broadcast could trigger the FCC equal-time rule for two other candidates, including Rep. Jasmine Crockett, and&hellip;<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/brianstelter\/status\/2023843159604596894?\">February 17, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Ah, but we can always trace this back to Donald Trump, right? At least The Hollywood Reporter did, by mentioning Brendan Carr:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Say goodbye to most appearances by political candidates on daytime and late night talk shows. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/4FgEsYC7bd\">https:\/\/t.co\/4FgEsYC7bd<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/THR\/status\/2024251957968306237?\">February 18, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>From their Wednesday <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/business\/business-news\/fcc-chair-hollywood-talk-shows-arent-legitimate-news-1236508841\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">report<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><em>Say goodbye to most appearances by political candidates on daytime and late night talk shows.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>After an open meeting on Wednesday, Federal Communications Chair Brendan Carr said that networks should operate under the assumption that shows like The View, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Late Show don&rsquo;t qualify for long-standing regulatory exemptions that allowed them to discuss political candidates on their shows without having to meet unwieldy requirements. Failing to comply, he said, will trigger an enforcement action.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&ldquo;The general rule is equal time applies,&rdquo; Carr said of the FCC provision. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s narrow exceptions you have to fit in.&rdquo;<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>A-ha! Trump done did it, right? Well, not so much. As Jim Geraghty noted over at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/the-morning-jolt\/stephen-colbert-and-james-talarico-are-lying-to-you\/?fbclid=IwdGRleAQDWU5leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEePL1xSGPD2UCSjjkehp8pOxZ2TfdndQqv-sjlMVmKJ-PJy7lGrnhiYOpYYhk_aem__U_-8U4DCyWxwrBeDHwPRQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">National Review<\/a>, this has been part of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jimmy-kimmels-defenders-are-gaslighting-americans\/\" title=\"Jimmy Kimmel&#039;s Defenders Are Gaslighting Americans\">federal communications law<\/a> for 92 years, since the Communications Act of 1934: &ldquo;If any licensee shall permit any person who is a legally qualified candidate for any public office to use a broadcasting station, he shall afford equal opportunities to all other such candidates for that office in the use of such broadcasting station.&rdquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/cbs-news-pulls-60-minutes-episode-contributor-appears-epstein-files\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CBS<\/a>, not being a cable network, must comply. However, there are exceptions for &ldquo;bona fide newscasts, bona fide news interviews, bona fide news documentaries and on-the-spot coverage of bona fide news events.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In 2006, the FCC ruled that <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >late-night talk-show interviews didn&#038;rsquo<\/a>;t fit this narrow exemption. At whose request? Hint: Think about who the governor of California was at the time. That&rsquo;s right, the Democrats were hopping mad that Arnold Schwarzenegger was getting interview time on shows like Jay Leno&rsquo;s; then-U.S. Rep. Xavier Becerra, now running for California governor as a Democrat after a stint in Joe Biden&rsquo;s Cabinet, initially pushed for the ruling.<\/p>\n<p>And to be clear, this is one of the few times that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/rand-paul-lays-hhs-sec-becerra-failing-acknowledge-covid-natural-immunity\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Xavier Becerra<\/a> has ever been on the&nbsp;<em>right<\/em> side of a political controversy; broadcast networks that fall under the purview of federal regulations oughtn&rsquo;t be deciding elections, which is precisely what Colbert decided to do by pitching a softball interview with Talarico just before the Democratic primary while excluding Crockett.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Congress passed the equal time provision for a very specific reason,&rdquo; Carr said during the Wednesday hearing. &ldquo;They did not want the media leads in Hollywood and in New York to put their thumbs on the scale and pick their winners and losers in primaries and general elections. That&rsquo;s the point.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>This is what The Hollywood Reporter and other Democrats are bemoaning &mdash; the enforcement <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/view-fcc-investigation-interview-texas-dem\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">of the rule<\/a> that they&nbsp;<em>liked<\/em> back when it was implemented 20 years ago. Leftist rot exemplified: If it weren&rsquo;t for situational ethics, they&rsquo;d have no ethics at all.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here&#8217;s a paraphrase of the main points:<\/p>\n<p>A long-standing FCC equal-time rule\u2014one that Democrats helped shape\u2014is at the center of a dispute sparked by the Stephen Colbert\/James Talarico episode. The Hollywood Reporter argues the rule could limit how often political candidates appear on daytime and late-night shows. Colbert had planned to interview Talarico, a Texas Democrat and Senate hopeful, but canceled because doing so might force equal-time coverage for Talarico\u2019s Black rival, Jasmine Crockett, who Colbert\u2019s team viewed as less electable. The episode fueled claims that the Trump administration or CBS managed coverage to favor one candidate over another, though the piece argues the reality is more nuanced: Republicans aren\u2019t clamoring to appear on Colbert, and the decision largely reflected Colbert\u2019s preference for the more electable candidate early in the race.<\/p>\n<p>The article notes that the discussion is about which candidate gets airtime, rather than a simple partisan conspiracy. Crockett\u2019s controversial remarks and the Texas race dynamics complicate electability for incumbent Republicans like John Cornyn, and there are broader questions about how much the Democrats\u2019 preferred candidate would benefit from TV exposure. CBS publicly stated that it provided legal guidance explaining how the equal-time rule could apply and that there was no prohibition on airing Talarico\u2019s interview; the controversy was thus mischaracterized by some as a Trump-driven blockage.<\/p>\n<p>Historically, the equal-time rule comes from the Communications Act of 1934, with limited exemptions for bona fide newscasts, interviews, and on-the-spot news coverage. In 2006, the FCC narrowed those exemptions to exclude late-night talk shows, a point tied to debates about California political figures at the time and to figures like Xavier Becerra. The piece concludes that the enforcement of the rule is not a new political weapon and that Democrats\u2019 current complaints reflect a preference for a different outcome in the primary, rather than a straightforward anti-Democrat vendetta<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2571850,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-02-20T015339.157.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[74210,56439,74212,74211,74209],"class_list":["post-2571849","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-hollywood-reporter","tag-media-bias-2","tag-newsroom-analysis","tag-platforming-critics","tag-political-interviews-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-02-20T015339.157.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2571849","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2571849"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2571849\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2571855,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2571849\/revisions\/2571855"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2571850"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2571849"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2571849"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2571849"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}