Tuesday, May 06, 2008

But does Britney trigger equal-time requirements?

In case of regulatory madness not seen since Ronald Reagan's FDA tried reclassify ketchup as a vegetable, the current FCC has just ruled that TMZ (the TV show) meets the test for "a bona fide newscast" and therefore does not trigger political equal-time requirements.

Meaning the website spin off is free to air pictures of a "buff" Barack Obama at the beach without having dredge up photos of a shirtless John McCain being tortured by his Vietnamese captors. Likewise TMZ is free to report on all the chicks Bill Clinton was hitting on at The Hyde without getting into who Michelle Obama's fifth grade boyfriend was.

So, as I'm sure you are all wondering, what does this all have to do with Britney? Nothing yet, but if TMZ's website is indicative of its TV coverage they certainly haven't been giving Federline equal time during today's custody hearing. Just something for the FCC to think about, since we know they are already watching TMZ.

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