Lawyer posts on Breitbart.com: 'Obama's Fallon appearance violated election law'
I haven't had the chance to watch Pres. Obama's interview yet, but I discovered thru the Twitter of Media Matters' Eric Boehlert an exchange between him and Ben Shapiro, a lawyer and columnist whose articles have appeared in sites like Breitbart and Townhall (follows). Shapiro alleges that NBC violated the equal time rule by having Obama on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" on 4/24. Shapiro complained: "this was not a bona fide news interview," rather "literally Obama reading a campaign speech over a guitar, a horn, a keyboard, and some drums," citing the exceptions to the FCC rule requiring broadcast licensees to grant equal airtime for all candidates to office: "
1) a bona fide newscast, (2) a bona fide news interview, (3) a bona fide news documentary, or (4) on-the-spot coverage of bona fide news events."
- Boehlert tweeted on 4/25 around 3pm ET: "if you want to know how @benshapiro and @dloesch have quickly destroyed Breitbart legacy, behold this jaw-dropper" (link to "Obama's Fallon appearance violated election law"
- Shapiro, 2 hours later: "@EricBoehlert is a moron. What Obama did last night on Fallon in that segment was not an interview. It was a stump speech with cheering." He followed: "Equal time laws were designed to avoid what Obama did last night on Fallon." (again w/link to the article) Then: "If @ericboehlert and @nymag had read the entire FCC ruling they cite, they would see the Fallon interview doesn't meet the criteria. Idiots."
Shapiro was referring to this NYMag.com article "Sorry Breitbart, Obama and Fallon Didn't Violate the Equal-Time Rule" citing the FCC ruling "In re Request of ANE Productions" about Anderson Cooper's daytime talk show. The FCC granted a bona fide exemption to "Anderson" because the news interview segments on that program selected guest political candidates "based on newsworthiness and not on an intention to advance or harm an individual’s candidacy."
This is probably one of those right-wing freak outs that'll go nowhere. Hell, I don't even hear the Media Research Center, the Brent Bozell-founded organization that calls out whatever is the latest "liberal media bias", calling for an FCC investigation of NBC. (However, Bozell did call on Congress to investigate NBC over an awkwardly deceitful edit to George Zimmerman's 911 call.)
You may remember Ben Shapiro for his debut in the right-wing book circuit with "Brainwashed: How Universities Indoctrinate America's Youth" (2004) and his latest book "Primetime Propaganda: The True Hollywood Story of How the Left Took Over Your TV" (2011). Thom Hartmann debated Shapiro about Shapiro's claim about "Sesame Street" being liberal propaganda:
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Last edited Fri Apr 27, 2012, 10:27 AM - Edit history (1)
They've been this way for years. I can attest to this because I've been watching it for three straight years now . . . my GOD, the arch-rightist anti-gubmint agitprop is so fervent, Fox looks at them and takes notes. In the morning it's Joe Kernen and his right wing buddies like Jack Welch, Steve Forbes, Bernie Marcus, Ken Langone, etc. Afternoon, it's the hyper-capitalist Reaganites on Fast Money. Throughout the day it's Michelle Caruso Cabrera. Late afternoon - Cramer and KUDLOW! 
More than a few Repub commentators who used to be on this channel moved to Faux (what a stretch, right?) . . . among them Red-baiter Eric Bolling and Dennis Kneale. Anti-OWS, pro-free trader and general HMB (High Maintenance Biatch) blueblood Erin Burnett is also a CNBC alum.
well, according to wikipedia, anyway ...
Nixon) said the rest of his life that appearing on Laugh-In is what got him elected. And I believe that. And I've had to live with that."[5]
Or, just keep running off at the mouth.
If you took the time and effort to post on nothing less than brightbart...then you MUST be unimpeachable.
was killed with His Holiness Ray-gun? 
Seriously - the Republicans dominate on bullshit - this is just yet another stupid non issue that will go nowhere. 
First, to be clear, the equal time (actually "equal opportunities" rule applies to stations, not to candidates, so if there was a violation of the rule, it would be a violation by the station, not Obama.
Second, for a variety of reasons, even if Obama's appearance on Fallon was a "use" covered by the rule (and not covered by any exception), it would only be a violation if an opposing candidate demanded "equal time" and was refused. And an opposing candidate has a week to make such a request. If no request is made, no violation.
Third, and most importantly, neither Romney nor Obama have been nominated yet and thus they are not opposing candidates. Romney's opposition is Gingrich and any other repub that is still in the running for the repub nomination. Obama is running against anyone (and at this point I don't think there is anyone) running for the Democratic nomination. If the equal opportunities rule worked the way this moron thinks, then every time a station ran an ad featuring Romney seeking the repub nomination, it would have triggered an equal opportunities request by Obama.
This guy Shapiro may be the stupidest lawyer ever.
