Jimmy Kimmel's suspension shines a light on Brendan Carr, Trump's appointment at the FCC.
Brendan Carr, the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), has caused a stir by prompting ABC to withdraw Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show from the airwaves. The move has been met with criticism from various voices, including comedians, free-speech advocacy groups, Democratic elected officials, and even former President Donald Trump.
The decision comes amidst Carr's confrontational stance with the traditional media business. He has launched investigations into ABC, Disney, Comcast, NBCUniversal, and CBS over Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs and allegations of "news distortion." Carr has also been vocal about his criticisms of leading media corporations, perceiving them to have a liberal bias.
In a recent interview with CNBC, Carr applauded Nexstar's objections to "Jimmy Kimmel Live" as signs of a "healthy, functioning market." Nexstar, an owner of ABC affiliate stations across the United States, announced it would pre-empt Kimmel's show "for the foreseeable future" because of his comments.
Trump, who has had long-running grievances with the media, which he has routinely characterized as "fake" and an "enemy of the people," cheered the suspension of "Jimmy Kimmel Live" as "Great News for America." This sentiment is in line with Trump's most recent legal action, a $15 billion defamation suit against the New York Times for articles questioning his business success.
Meanwhile, Carr was a lawyer in private practice before joining the FCC in 2012 as a staff attorney. He has also written a chapter about the FCC for the Heritage Foundation's "Mandate for Leadership" policy document.
The FCC's approval of Skydance's $8B takeover of Paramount, with Skydance making concessions to the FCC, has also raised eyebrows. The company vowed not to implement any Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives and promised to appoint an ombudsman to review "complaints of bias" at CBS News.
In other news, authorities have charged Tyler Robinson, 22, with murder, who grew up in a conservative household but later became influenced by "leftist ideology." The FTC has also sued Ticketmaster and Live Nation over ticket resale tactics and pricing.
Nvidia is investing $5B in Intel to develop chips with its onetime rival, while the FCC has not indicated which FCC regulations "Jimmy Kimmel Live" may have violated. The case remains a topic of intense debate, with free speech advocates arguing for the show's reinstatement and Carr maintaining his stance on media accountability.
Craig Aaron, a co-chief executive of Free Press, a nonprofit organization that advocates against corporate monopolies in media, stated that Carr's actions are unprecedented. The future of late-night television and the role of the FCC in regulating media content continues to be a subject of ongoing discussion.
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