Jimmy Kimmel draws the ire of Trump, show suspended

EDITOR'S NOTE: Excuse me if I wander off my usual coverage of Asian Americana, but sometimes, events  impact our lives even if, on the surface, there is no apparent direct tie to the AANHIPI communities.

Jimmy Kimmel, left, was suspended after FCC head Brandon Carr, right, threatened ABC.

I had to watch "All The President’s Men” again just to remind myself of the idealism -- naive as they might be -- that attracted me to journalism as a career: Exposing corruption and coverups, offering new approaches to old problems, bringing attention to and giving a voice for  the powerless and, of course, seeking the truth.

If I had to make that decision in today's climate, I might not make the same choice because of what happened to Jimmy Kimmel. The hard truth: journalism is not a calling, its a business where the bottomline overrides principles.

Following direct and indirect pressure from the FCC, Disney which is the parent company of ABC, suspended "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" indefinitely on September 18, sparking a major debate over free speech, censorship and corporate ownership. 

ABC's decision to punish Kimmel came after he made comments concerning the recent killing of ultra-conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Most of the coverage on Kimmel's silencing has focused on the right of free speech guaranteed by the First Amendment of the US Constitution.

During his opening monologue on Sept. 15, Kimmel suggested that conservative supporters of Donald Trump were politicizing the killing of activist Charlie Kirk. Kimmel mocked Trump's response to the killing and said the "MAGA gang" was "doing everything they can to score political points."

Who really owns US media

One might disagree with Kimmel's comments about Kirk's suspected killer. One might even say the monologue wasn't funny, but that's not what I'm focusing on. Here is the story behind the story.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr publicly condemned Kimmel, and suggested the agency could pursue "remedies" against the network, an apparent reference to ABC's broadcast license. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” he said.

The threatening message was loud and clear. Conservative-leaning affiliate owners, including Nexstar and Sinclair, announced they would preempt Kimmel's show on their stations. Sinclair Broadcast Group owns or operates 38 ABC affiliates, while Nexstar Media Group opeorates 28 ABC affiliates.   

Within hours of the affiliates' announcement, ABC's parent company, Disney headed by CEO Bob Iger, indefinitely suspended Kimmel's show.

On Wednesday Sinclair Broadcast Group, which has a reputation for a conservative viewpoint in its broadcasts, called on Kimmel to apologize to Kirk’s family and make a “meaningful personal donation” to the activist’s political organization, Turning Point USA. Sinclair said its ABC stations will air a tribute to Kirk on Friday in Kimmel’s time slot.

Nextstar, besides its ABC affiliates, owns or partners with more than 200 stations in 116 US markets, and owns broadcast networks the CW and NewsNation, as well as the political website The Hill and nearly a third of the Food Network.

Kissing up to the Trump government

It is not coincidence that all three media corporations, Nexstar, Sinclair and Disney, need FCC approval for expanding their influence.

• Last month, Nexstar announced a $6.2 billion deal to buy TEGNA Inc., which owns 64 other TV stations.In order to do that, Nextstar is asking Carr to bend the FCC rules that prevents an entity to own more than 39% of the market.

• Sinclair is also asking an exemption from the 39% rule because it seeks  a mixture of station acquisitions and sales — all of which require the approval of the FCC.

• Disney is paying $10 million to settle FCC allegations that the company allowed personal data to be collected from children who viewed kid-directed videos on YouTube without notifying parents or obtaining their consent as required by the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA Rule). It also seeks FCC approval for the entertainment giant to purchase ESPN.

The actions of the FCC and media companies. alongside the billionaire owners of the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, both of which withdrew editorials endorsing Kamala Harris, and the always present Fox conglomerate, which also owns the Wall Street Journal and New York Post, and other conservative outlets should do away with the MAGA criticisms of the so-called "liberal" mainstream media.

Disney's decision was loudly criticized by journalists and First Amendment advocates. 

“Jimmy Kimmel is the latest target of the Trump administration’s unconstitutional plan to silence its critics and control what the American people watch and read. Cowering to threats, ABC and the biggest owner of its affiliate stations gave the Trump FCC chairman exactly what he wanted by suspending Kimmel indefinitely and dropping the show," said Christopher Anders, director of the Democracy and Technology Division at the American Civil Liberties Union, said:

Hollywood figures and unions, including the Writers Guild of America (WGA), condemned the move, organizing protests outside Disney Studios to defend free speech. Protestors held signs saying "ABC Bends the Knee to Fascism," and WGA president Meredith Stiehm called it a "frontal assault on basic First Amendment principles".

I strongly sympathize with all the altruistic journalists out there trying to do their job but are hindered by their higher ups more concerned about the bottom line and political motivations and abandon any journalistic principles and good intentions.

The results were all part of the plans of conservatives' Project 2026 battle plan. In fact, Carr was the author of that portion concerning the FCC and taking control of the media by silencing the critics and delivering only the Trump-approved messages, even if they are false or incorrect.

“This is beyond McCarthyism. Trump officials are repeatedly abusing their power to stop ideas they don’t like, deciding who can speak, write, and even joke," states the ACLU's Anders. "The Trump administration's actions, paired with ABC's capitulation, represent a grave threat to our First Amendment freedoms.”

Republicans are the majority of Congress, they dominate the Supreme Court and now they are seeking control of the Fourth Estate. Trump has shown he can order the military to do his bidding against Americans and ICE is acting like the Gestapo overriding peoples' Constitutional rights.   

America's freedom and rights are getting weaker not by a revolution, but slowly, a constant drip eroding the nation's democracy. Trump and billionaire enablers have the country closer to becoming a dictatorship and a possible Trump third term.

Even more troubling, in an interview with CNBC, FCC head Carr said, "We're not done yet."

Trump posted on Truth Social in response to the news about Kimmel, calling it "great news for America," as he threatened two other late night hosts.

"Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done," the post wrote. "Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that’s possible. That leaves Jimmy (Fallon) and Seth (Meyers), two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!!"

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge. 

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