The FCC record on The View has a July 6 reply deadline, not a verdict. That preserves what this paper said when it warned that the docket had a comment window, not a ruling, and when it first treated the petition as a deadline rather than a culture-war result.

The public notice is DA 26-517 in MB Docket No. 26-124. It says KTRK-TV and ABC filed a May 7 petition asking the FCC to declare The View a bona fide news interview program exempt from equal-opportunities requirements. [1]

The dates are the story. Comments are due June 22. Reply comments are due July 6. The notice asks whether the program qualifies, whether the statute survives constitutional scrutiny, and whether decisions on format and participants are based on newsworthiness or candidate advantage. [1]

That does not make the case small. It makes it printable. If Disney, ABC, commissioners, candidates, or pressure groups file, those filings become facts. Until then, the record is a calendar.

-- ANNA WEBER, Berlin