Pressure of Truth
Exposing the spin on all sides of the news.
Outlet profile

ABC News

U.S. center-left

Owned byThe Walt Disney Company, through its Disney Television Group division
FundingCommercial advertising revenue; no subscription or state funding — fully embedded in The Walt Disney Company's corporate structure
On the administrationbroadly critical

Background

ABC traces its origins to 1943, when federal regulators forced NBC to sell its secondary radio network (the 'Blue Network'), which was purchased by businessman Edward J. Noble and rebranded as the American Broadcasting Company. The network expanded into television in 1948 but spent decades as a distant third behind CBS and NBC in ratings and prestige. In 1985, ABC merged with Capital Cities Communications, and in 1996 The Walt Disney Company acquired Capital Cities/ABC for approximately $19 billion, making ABC a flagship asset of what is now Disney's Television Group. ABC News produces well-known programs including World News Tonight with David Muir, Good Morning America, This Week with George Stephanopoulos, 20/20, and Nightline. In December 2024, Disney agreed to pay $15 million to Trump's presidential foundation to settle a defamation lawsuit arising from anchor George Stephanopoulos's on-air claim that Trump had been found 'liable for rape' — a settlement widely criticized by press-freedom advocates as capitulation to political pressure. Since Trump's second term began in January 2025, the FCC — under administration-aligned leadership — opened investigations into Disney's diversity practices and required ABC-owned stations to seek early license renewals, moves widely seen as regulatory pressure on a news outlet critical of the White House. ABC publicly contested these actions, filing arguments that they represent an unconstitutional effort to chill protected speech, and launched viewer campaigns urging the public to contact regulators in support of the network.

Sources

  1. ABC News Media Bias — AllSides
  2. ABC News — Bias and Credibility — Media Bias/Fact Check
  3. ABC News Website Bias and Reliability — Ad Fontes Media
  4. American Broadcasting Company — Wikipedia
  5. ABC News (United States) — Wikipedia
  6. Disney's Settlement With Donald Trump — Variety
  7. ABC 'fighting back', urging US public to defend stations amid FCC scrutiny — Al Jazeera
  8. ABC argues Trump administration is trying to chill free speech — NPR
  9. American Broadcasting Company (ABC) — Britannica

Profile compiled 2026-06-26; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

← Back to track record