More evidence that Trump administration removal of “equal time” exemption has nothing to do with fairness and everything to do with censorship

 

Late night TV shows are bleeding viewers.  Johnny Carson attracted an average nightly audience of 15,000,000 in his prime.  Last year the The Tonight Show attracted an average of 1.3 million viewers.

Graph:  Reddit

Headline:  New York Times, 2/19/2026

John Koblin and Jim Rutenberg report:

But Mr. Carr has worked to revive some of them, including the equal time rule. His moves come as late night has already been facing increasing pressure from a number of directions. Ratings have fallen, advertising revenue has plummeted and viewers seem more inclined to watch video podcasts than traditional shows with a studio audience, a band and celebrity guests.

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2026

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July-December 2025.  

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