Late-night show host Stephen Colbert has alleged that the CBS broadcaster blocked him from airing an interview with Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico, citing fears it would violate new regulatory guidance from the United States government.<\/p>\n
Colbert\u2019s comment on Monday overshadowed the start of early voting for Texas primaries, which feature a heated Democratic race between Talarico and US Representative Jasmine Crockett.<\/p>\n
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Colbert said that CBS lawyers told him in \u201cno uncertain terms\u201d that Talarico could not appear on The Late Show on Monday.<\/p>\n
\u201cDonald Trump\u2019s administration wants to silence anyone who says anything bad about Trump on TV, because all Trump does is watch TV,\u201d Colbert said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was told, in some uncertain terms, that not only could I not have him [Talarico] on, I could not mention me not having him on,\u201d Colbert said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd because my network clearly doesn\u2019t want us to talk about this, let\u2019s talk about this,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
CBS disputed Colbert\u2019s account, saying its lawyers only \u201cprovided legal guidance\u201d that broadcasting an interview with Talarico could trigger the Federal Communications Commission\u2019s (FCC) equal-time rule.<\/p>\n
Equal time rule<\/p>\n
The rule requires broadcast networks to give equal time to political candidates, but it has not traditionally been applied to talk shows.<\/p>\n
However, the Republican-led FCC said in January that daytime and late-night television talk shows are no longer considered \u201cbona fide\u201d news programmes that are exempt from equal time rules.<\/p>\n
US media reported earlier this month that the FCC has opened an investigation into whether ABC\u2019s The View daytime talk show violated equal time rules for interviews with political candidates after an appearance by Talarico.<\/p>\n
Trump has repeatedly pushed FCC Chair Brendan Carr to take action against US broadcasters and criticised networks for what he views as one-sided coverage.<\/p>\n
Colbert criticised Carr and CBS\u2019s lawyers, saying they were unilaterally enforcing Carr\u2019s directive for \u201cpurely financial reasons\u201d.<\/p>\n
His words echoed the explanation that CBS\u2019s parent company, Paramount, provided when it announced in July that Colbert\u2019s programme would go off the air<\/a> in May, as it was seeking approval from the FCC for its $8.4bn merger with Skydance Media.<\/p>\n Colbert posted the interview with Talarico on the programme\u2019s YouTube page, because online material does not fall under the equal-time rule.<\/p>\n The clip had about 2 million views as of 3pm local time, and millions more views on other platforms.<\/p>\n CBS said in a statement that its lawyers had presented options for how the equal time for other candidates, including Crockett, could be fulfilled. It added that\u00a0the show \u201cdecided to present the interview through its YouTube channel with on-air promotion on the broadcast rather than potentially providing the equal-time options\u201d.<\/p>\n Talarico posted a nearly minute-long clip of his interview with Colbert on X, calling it \u201cthe interview Donald Trump didn\u2019t want you to see\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI think Donald Trump is worried we\u2019re about to flip Texas,\u201d Talarico told Colbert during their interview. \u201cThis is the most dangerous kind of cancel culture, the kind that comes from the top.\u201d<\/p>\n Crockett, meanwhile, suggested that Colbert could have avoided an issue with the FCC by having her on the show, as he has in the past. Both she and Talarico have also appeared on The View.<\/p>\n There was no immediate comment from Paramount Skydance, Carr or the White House.<\/p>\n \u2018Another troubling example\u2019<\/p>\n Until January, talk shows were deemed to have qualified for the equal opportunities exemption as genuine news interviews, ever since the FCC Media Bureau granted an exemption to the interview portion of Jay Leno\u2019s The Tonight Show in 2006.<\/p>\n Networks have relied on the ruling as a precedent for recent interviews with political candidates.<\/p>\n FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, a Democrat, criticised CBS\u2019s decision not to air the interview, calling it censorship.<\/p>\n She said the FCC has no lawful authority to pressure broadcasters for political purposes, and that CBS has free speech rights to air the interview.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is yet another troubling example of corporate capitulation in the face of this administration\u2019s broader campaign to censor and control speech,\u201d Gomez said. \u201cIt is no secret that Paramount, CBS\u2019s parent company, has regulatory matters before the government, but corporate interests cannot justify retreating from airing newsworthy content.\u201d<\/p>\n Paramount Skydance is seeking to buy<\/a> Warner Bros Discovery.<\/p>\n