\n<\/p>\n
The indefinite suspension of Jimmy Kimmel\u2019s 22-year run on late-night TV is the latest sign of the pressure US media businesses are under to bend to the rightwing views endorsed by Donald Trump, or face commercial cancellation.<\/p>\n
The decision by the Disney-owned ABC followed Kimmel\u2019s on-air accusations that the Republicans were doing everything they could to score political points from the killing of Charlie Kirk. It came after one of the biggest owners of TV stations in the US, Nexstar, had said it would replace Kimmel\u2019s show for the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n
Nexstar\u2019s rapid decision to announce it would replace Kimmel\u2019s show came as it attempts to get clearance from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), run by a Trump appointee, to buy a rival, Tegna, in a $6.2bn deal.<\/p>\n
A second operator, Sinclair Broadcast Group, which owns more ABC stations than any other conglomerate, took the same stance as Nexstar and also said it would run a Kirk tribute in Kimmel\u2019s timeslot on Friday.<\/p>\n
Graph showing press freedom in different countries<\/p>\n
Sinclair is also urging the FCC to deregulate, which it emphasised on Thursday, saying action needed to be taken to \u201caddress control held over local broadcasters by the big national networks\u201d.<\/p>\n
Brendan Carr, chair of the FCC and known for his gold lapel-pin bust of the president, had already warned of fines or the loss of broadcast licences if the show remained on air.<\/p>\n
Trump posted on social media that the suspension was \u201cgreat news for America\u201d and that ABC had shown \u201ccourage\u201d by cancelling Kimmel.<\/p>\n
The suspension marked the latest backdown for Disney after the media conglomerate struck a $16m (\u00a311.8m) deal in December to settle a defamation lawsuit brought by Trump over comments made by the ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos. The New York Times reported that the decision to suspend Jimmy Kimmel Live! was taken by Disney\u2019s chief executive, Bob Iger, and the company\u2019s television chief, Dana Walden.<\/p>\n
Disney could also do with being looked on favourably by the Trump administration as it seeks a green light for its sports network ESPN to get clearance to buy the NFL Network.<\/p>\n
Two months ago CBS News cancelled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert days after the host said its parent company, Paramount, had paid a \u201cbig fat bribe\u201d for settling a lawsuit with Trump for $16m over the US president\u2019s claim the news outlet deceptively edited a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris, then the Democrat presidential candidate.<\/p>\n
Days later the FCC agreed the controversial $8.4bn merger of Paramount, which owns assets including the eponymous Hollywood film studio and Nickelodeon cable channel, with Skydance Media.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is the court of King Trump,\u201d said Alice Enders, a media analyst. \u201cThe crucial lever is the FCC, with its control over deals and licences. Any company that wants to do a deal, protect or expand its commercial business, it has to toe the line. There are no criteria other than to support the official line.\u201d<\/p>\n
Earlier this month Paramount appointed Kenneth Weinstein, who has close ties to Trump, as an ombudsman to root out \u201ccomplaints of bias\u201d at CBS News.<\/p>\n
Skydance is owned by David Ellison, the son of a close Trump ally, the tech billionaire and second richest man in the world, Larry Ellison.<\/p>\n
Ellison\u2019s increasing control of the US media landscape extends to the potential purchase of the American-facing operation of TikTok.<\/p>\n
Trump said this week that a deal was close to being announced \u2013 he has repeatedly extended a deadline enforcing a ban on TikTok in the US under a law signed by his predecessor, Joe Biden \u2013 with reports saying the buyer would be a consortium that would include Ellison\u2019s Oracle.<\/p>\n
And last week it emerged that the newly merged Paramount Skydance is looking at a takeover of Warner Bros Discovery, the media company behind CNN.<\/p>\n
Trump has repeatedly attacked CNN, which is run by the former BBC director general Mark Thompson, and the Comcast-owned MSNBC over their critical coverage, calling them \u201cillegal\u201d and \u201ccorrupt\u201d.<\/p>\n
Following the removal of Kimmel\u2019s show Trump said in a post: \u201cThat leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC\u201d \u2013 a threat to the shows of late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers.<\/p>\n
\u201cTrump sees CNN as left wing and now it appears that if you do your job you are putting your company at risk, your own salary,\u201d said one media executive. \u201cYou would be worried if you were at CNN about what might be promised to get a deal through Trump\u2019s people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump has also successfully exerted pressure on major print and digital media outlets.<\/p>\n
Before last year\u2019s US presidential election, the Washington Post, which is owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, broke a 30-year tradition of backing a candidate. Staff claimed that the position would have been to support Democratic candidate Harris.<\/p>\n
Earlier this week, Trump filed a $15bn lawsuit against the New York Times accusing it of being a \u201cmouthpiece\u201d for the Democratic party and of \u201cspreading false and defamatory content\u201d about him.<\/p>\n
And Rupert Murdoch\u2019s Wall Street Journal is also subject to a Trump lawsuit following the publication of allegations that the president composed a crude poem and doodle as part of a collection compiled for Jeffrey Epstein\u2019s 50th birthday.<\/p>\n
The ownership structure and power of the New York Times, and huge influence of the Murdoch\u2019s Fox News in rightwing politics, means their proprietors are unlikely to be cowed.<\/p>\n
However, Trump\u2019s marrying of political allegiance with commercial success is continuing to affect media plurality in the US.<\/p>\n
\u201cFree speech no longer means free speech,\u201d said Enders. \u201cBusiness has become political.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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