We, as a democracy, are losing our fundamental rights. More specifically, arguably the most important one: the First Amendment, which is the right of free speech and freedom of the press.
On Sept 17, Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talk show was suspended from production due to the comments he made regarding Charlie Kirk’s death. According to the BBC, the chair of the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, claimed that Kimmel was “appearing to directly mislead the American public.” Here is what happened following his suspension.
Likely Pressures from the White House
President Donald Trump’s Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, claimed in an interview with Fox News, “The decision to fire Jimmy Kimmel and to cancel his show came from executives at ABC.” She also denied any claims regarding Trump’s participation in the suspension. However, according to PBS, “Trump applauded ABC for ‘finally having the courage to do what had to be done’, and claimed that Kimmel ‘has ZERO talent,’ ” following Kimmel’s suspension. After Kimmel was reinstated, The New York Times claimed that Trump “posted on social media shaming ‘ABC Fake News’ for bringing the host back.” He also brought up the possibility of a lawsuit against the network.
While it is unclear what impact Trump had on ABC’s original decision, this is not the first time a democratic news broadcaster has been taken off the air during Trump’s second term. Over the summer in July, Stephan Colbert was cancelled by CBS. According to CNN, CBS’s decision to cancel the show was purely “financially driven, not politically motivated”; however, it is important to note that at this time, CBS was in a legal battle with the administration. The Trump Administration was suing CBS, as he claimed they edited to “tip the scales in favour of the Democratic party” in a 60 Minutes episode with Kamala Harris. In the same CNN article, it says, “The Writers Guild of America, which represents writers on ‘The Late Show,’ said Friday that it is concerned the cancellation was a ‘bribe’ to curry favor with the Trump administration.” While one can only speculate regarding Trump’s involvement, it may be a pattern.
Why Did They Bring Him Back?
Following ABC’s announcement of the suspension, Disney’s, which owns ABC, stock went down 2.39%. According to the Economic Times, this equates to losing roughly $5 billion. In addition to the significant profit loss, there were also the protests. Celebrities such as Jennifer Aniston, Meryl Streep, and Robert DeNiro, all called attention to the suspension, claiming that it was a “dark moment for freedom of speech in our nation.” As protests erupted throughout the nation, the company inevitably led to the reinstatement of Kimmel.
However, following ABC’s announcement of Kimmel’s return, there were a handful of companies that refused to screen Kimmel’s program. Nexstar and Sinclair broadcasting programs, which are both considered conservative, publicly announced that they would be blocking out Kimmel’s show. According to CNN, the two companies “operate nearly a quarter of ABC-affiliated stations,” and together their broadcasts reach nearly 30 states, including parts of Michigan. While ABC is the channel that produces the programs, for a lot of the country, Nexstar and Sinclair own a majority of the local ABC programs. The blackout affected a lot of people in the United States. According to CNN, “Sinclair said at the time that ABC’s actions were ‘not enough,’ ” and they requested formal meetings with the company. Nexstar is currently waiting for the administration’s approval for a merger with another company, so they chose to screen other programs, as opposed to Kimmel’s show. However, after just one week, both companies have agreed to continue to play Kimmel’s program.
Why Does This Matter?
By rights of the First Amendment, we have the right to freedom of speech and freedom of the press. However, if the administration is putting pressure on those who say things that oppose their political ideologies, that is a violation. So, when Kimmel was suspended for sharing his opinion, I believe that it violated his constitutional rights, and ours. As a society, we rely on news; however, if the government is controlling what can be said and what cannot, we lose rights. In Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, the first domino to fall that created a dystopian world was the manipulation of news broadcasters. The manipulation not only increased control, but it also increased propaganda within the Republic of Gilead. If Trump continues to apply pressure to journalists and news programs, there will be no such thing as news and diversity of opinions. It will simply be what Trump wishes to share, which would be inarguably a violation of the First Amendment.
