David Folkenflik

that I couldn't do this, even though I don't really want to get in a spat with my own network on this.

And so it all was this argument over who was enforcing an adherence to a particular interpretation of the equal time rule.

Well, it's not exactly the first time, but the equal time rule is this.

Now, there is.

exception to this for news divisions or news reports.

And there have been exemptions given to late night talk shows and chat shows.

They're seen basically as news adjacent.

And that is if something is newsworthy, federal government gets a little more nervous about interfering and saying, well, you can't interview the

this person or can't interview that.

But this is the idea behind it.

Yes and no.

Carr said in January that he was thinking about making changes to that exemption for the late night talk shows.

And if we recall, last fall, he essentially, you know, did an impression of a mafioso, as Senator Ted Cruz put it, by saying we can do this the easy way or we can do this the hard way.

After Jimmy Kimmel made some remarks that offended the president's supporters in the wake of the killing of Charlie Kirk.

And Disney took him off the air for some days after two major owners of local TV stations that have ABC affiliates, you know, said they were going to pull that show from their airwaves.

And again, this was an instance in which the FCC itself did not take a formal position.

And yet, you know, the the will of the administration, the will of this particular FCC chairman, you know, was adhered to for a time.

In this instance, you know, there was no change in the policy yet.

Carr says he's considering changing it.

CBS did not, it seemed, get a ruling or an indication from the FCC of the need to do this.