Equal, Fair and Farce

Erick Erickson
Thu, 19 Feb 2026 23:00:00 -0800
Opinion

When NBC affiliates in Tennessee showed the movie "Necessary Roughness" in 1994, those affiliates were required to give a Democrat Senate candidate 4 minutes and 13 seconds of free airtime. The Democrat was running against Fred Thompson, the actor turned Republican Senate candidate. When Thompson ran for President in 2008, NBC stopped aired re-runs of "Law & Order" that featured Thompson, who had been the District Attorney on the show.

The Equal Time Doctrine is not new. But the national press corps, always ready to pounce on President Donald Trump and Republicans, has suddenly declared it a censorious abomination. In the process, they have also shown their willing ignorance about the medium so many of them are in.

The Fairness Doctrine was an old rule that required broadcast networks to give equal time to both sides. It was widely considered unconstitutional and ultimately died. The Fairness Doctrine had stood in the way of the rise of conservative talk radio. Hosts would have had to be paired with liberal counterparts. But the Fairness Doctrine is not the Equal Time Doctrine, the latter of which is actually federal law.
Updated: Fri Feb 20, 2026

When NBC affiliates in Tennessee showed the movie "Necessary Roughness" in 1994, those affiliates were required to give a Democrat Senate candidate 4 minutes and 13 seconds of free airtime. The Democrat was running against Fred Thompson, the actor turned Republican Senate candidate. When Thompson ran for President in 2008, NBC stopped aired re-runs of "Law & Order" that featured Thompson, who had been the District Attorney on the show.

The Equal Time Doctrine is not new. But the national press corps, always ready to pounce on President Donald Trump and Republicans, has suddenly declared it a censorious abomination. In the process, they have also shown their willing ignorance about the medium so many of them are in.

The Fairness Doctrine was an old rule that required broadcast networks to give equal time to both sides. It was widely considered unconstitutional and ultimately died. The Fairness Doctrine had stood in the way of the rise of conservative talk radio. Hosts would have had to be paired with liberal counterparts. But the Fairness Doctrine is not the Equal Time Doctrine, the latter of which is actually federal law.

47 U.S.C.A. Section 315 requires that any "broadcasting station" that gives a candidate for office airtime must give that candidate's opponents equal time on the air. There are four exceptions: a bona fide newscast; a bona fide news interview; a bona fide documentary wherein the candidate's appearance is incidental to the subject matter; or on-the-spot coverage of a bona fide news event. The law applies "during the 45 days preceding the date of a primary or primary runoff election and during the 60 days preceding the date of a general or special election in which such person is a candidate." The law does not apply to cable channels.

This is not some new thing. The candidate's opponents must actively seek equal time. It is not just given, but has to be asked for. But if it is asked for, it will not be denied. Thus, in the 1994 special election for the U. S. Senate, Democrat politician Fred Cooper got just over 4 minutes of free air time on NBC affiliates in Tennessee because the network aired "Necessary Roughness."

In Texas, James Talarico is a white male Democrat who is viewed by the press and Democratic establishment as more electable than Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, a black female. The two candidates are, as of this writing, tied in the polls. Talarico has been making the rounds on television, trying to woo progressives. Stephen Colbert attempted to have Talarico on, but CBS's lawyers informed Colbert that, if he did that and Crockett wanted on his show, Colbert would be obligated under federal law to give it to her.

Colbert and Talarico, who both claim to be Christians, began spinning a tall tale that CBS demanded Colbert not air the interview. It was, according to the men, a brazen act of cowardice and a failure to stand up to the Trump administration. Other news outlets sprang into action, already hostile to CBS being more open to conservative input. CNN gave their claims serious and wall-to-wall coverage.

The FCC, which oversees enforcement of the Equal Time doctrine, denied it had pressured CBS. But that did not matter. The talking heads on CNN insisted that this was cowardice and, of course, they were caving to Trump, as if Trump cares about the Democratic Primary in Texas. When CBS's lawyers announced they had not told Colbert he had to kill the interview, Colbert whined that the lawyers released the statement without consulting him.

Colbert and Talarico played this marvelously. They got massively more attention for Talarico than airing his interview would have done. They helped Talarico's fundraising. They also exposed just how much the national press corps is invested in helping a white progressive male beat a black female in Texas. And they, yet again, exposed the national press corps putting narrative ahead of truth to advance a Democrat's preferred narrative. The stunt may help Talarico win his primary. It also further destroys the press's credibility, which the press clearly does not care about.