<[link removed]>

FCC threats push Kimmel’s Talarico interview off air


<[link removed]>



Comedian Jimmy Kimmel revealed on Wednesday that his late-night show would not
air an interview with James Talarico, the Democratic nominee for Senate in
Texas, because of interference from the Federal Communications Commission under
the Trump administration.

Kimmel told viewers that he will conduct the interview on Thursday but that
it will not air on broadcast television and will instead be posted to YouTube.
Kimmel said this is being done to protect local television stations, which are
regulated by the FCC, and in particular the ABC affiliates that air his program
“Jimmy Kimmel Live” in Texas.

“For the whole 20-plus year[s] of our show, in fact, I’ve been interviewing
Americans who are running for office, with no problem at all,” the comedian
explained, highlighting the unusual level of government interference under
Trump.

Kimmel noted that he has previously interviewed candidates from both major
parties, including Donald Trump amid the 2016 presidential election cycle.

“Now that he’s president, his FCC has threatened me, threatened our show,
threatened our network, ABC, our affiliates, our local stations, based on
simple, traditional editorial decisions, guest bookings it would seem they
don’t like,” Kimmel said.

FCC Chair Brendan Carr, who was appointed by Trump, has threatened daytime
and late-night talk shows with government action, asserting that these programs
could be in violation of their FCC license to broadcast if they interview
Democratic political candidates without a Republican response. FCC and
broadcast tradition for decades has been to give these types of programming an
exception and allow networks to make their own editorial decisions.

But faced with an unpopular Trump presidency and surging Democratic
candidates, the FCC has instead chosen to use government power to attack speech.





 

No billionaire backers, no paywalls. Daily Kos news exists because of YOU, our
small-donor community. Now, we need your help. Please donate today.
<[link removed]
On Record&addr1=&city=Cedar Knolls&state=District of Columbia&phone=>

Click here to donate
<[link removed]
On Record&addr1=&city=Cedar Knolls&state=District of Columbia&phone=>

 

In February, “Late Show” host Stephen Colbert said lawyers from CBS feared FCC
action and barred him from airing an interview with Talarico, who was then
competing in the Democratic primary. After the video of the interview was
posted to YouTube, it drew millions of views, likely far more than would have
occurred without the administration’s censorship. Talarico then won his
Democratic primary against Rep. Jasmine Crockett.

Kimmel has been the most prominent figure in the crosshairs of Trump’s attacks
on free speech. Last year, the FCC spearheaded a campaign to get Kimmel kicked
off air after conservatives mischaracterized a joke that Kimmel made about the
reaction to the death of racist far-right activist Charlie Kirk.

Trump has effectively turned the FCC, whose mandate is regulating the use of
publicly owned airwaves and not shielding Trump from free speech, into another
one of his personal attack dogs. Over the weekend, Trump threatened that he
would report NBC reporter Kristen Welker to the FCC for the sin of describing
his diminished influence with Republican voters.

Carr also recently indicated that he would use his government power to
pressure television stations to avoid reporting on supposed “fake polls” that
show Republican weakness, falsely characterizing such reporting as possible
election interference.

Trump is trying to crush free speech and create a media environment where only
those who sing his praises are allowed to be heard.



Click here to check out this story on DailyKos.com.
<[link removed]>


 



We're not asking for much



The average donation to Daily Kos is just $9.44. These gifts may seem small,
but they’re a big deal to us—in fact, they’re our largest source of income. We
couldn’t keep going without them.Will you join thousands of other Daily Kos
readers and donate $9.44 right now to help us close our funding gap?

Donate $9.44
<[link removed]
On Record&addr1=&city=Cedar Knolls&state=District of Columbia&phone=>



 



You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Daily Kos.
To stop receiving this newsletter, unsubscribe
<[link removed]>
ormanage
<[link removed]
On Record&city=Cedar Knolls&state=District of Columbia&country=United
States&metadataCustom=testunsub> which newsletters you receive.