Professor of Law Enrique Armijo and Assistant Professor of Journalism Israel Balderas joined nearly 50 constitutional law and First Amendment scholars in urging the Federal Communications Commission to preserve editorial independence in a proceeding involving ABC's “The View.”
Two Elon University professors joined a coalition of 50 First Amendment scholars and organizations in supporting reply comments filed with the Federal Communications Commission on the government’s role in regulating broadcast news programming.
Professor of Law Enrique Armijo and Assistant Professor of Journalism Israel Balderas joined the coalition supporting the filing. The nonprofit technology policy think tank TechFreedom organized the effort and submitted the reply comments to the FCC.
Although the proceeding involves ABC’s “The View,” the filing argues the broader issue is whether the federal government should determine what qualifies as a news interview program and second-guess broadcasters’ editorial decisions — a form of government interference with the independence of news organizations that the signers of the filing say the First Amendment is intended to prevent.
The proceeding stems from a public notice issued by the FCC’s Media Bureau, the office responsible for broadcast policy and licensing, seeking comment on ABC’s request that “The View” retain its status as a bona fide news interview program. Under the federal equal time provision, broadcast stations generally must provide comparable airtime to opposing political candidates when one candidate appears on a program. News interview programs that qualify for the FCC’s longstanding exemption don’t have to adhere to that requirement.
Balderas — a professor in the School of Communications whose professional experience includes work as an Emmy Award-winning broadcast journalist, First Amendment attorney and former media adviser at the FCC — said the coalition’s concerns extend beyond a single television program.
“The Constitution puts that decision off-limits to government. Once any administration, of any party, gets the power to decide what qualifies as news, it will use that power against whoever criticizes it,” Balderas said. “The First Amendment doesn’t protect the press because journalists are perfect. It protects the press because a free people need information their government doesn’t control.”
Armijo — a professor in the School of Law whose scholarship examines the intersection of new technologies, free speech and First Amendment doctrine — said the filing addresses both the immediate FCC proceeding and broader concerns about government regulation of speech.
“While the TechFreedom comments are about the current proceeding at the FCC as to whether “The View” and similar programs should continue to be exempted from the agency’s equal time requirements, they also speak to something larger: the current administration’s continuing attempts to use its regulatory authority as a pretext to punish points of view with which it disagrees,” Armijo said.
The reply comments become part of the public record the FCC will consider as it reviews ABC’s petition.
At Elon Law, Armijo teaches constitutional law, the First Amendment, media and internet law, torts and international freedom of expression.
In the School of Communications, Balderas teaches courses in media law and ethics, TV reporting and leads programs that bridge political communication with civic engagement.