<
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/sep/18/jimmy-kimmel-suspension-sparks-shock-fears-for-free-speech-censoring-realtime>
"Politicians, media figures and free speech organisations continued to express
anger and alarm at the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show, warning
that critics of Donald Trump were being systematically silenced.
ABC announced it was suspending
Jimmy Kimmel Live! indefinitely after
comments Kimmel made about Charlie Kirk’s killing led a group of
ABC-affiliated stations to say it would not air the show.
The FCC chair, Brendan Carr, told
Fox News’s Sean Hannity on Wednesday that
the action taken by Nexstar and Sinclair was “unprecedented” and defended the
move. Carr also accused late-night talkshow hosts, including Kimmel, of
transitioning from “court jesters” to “court clerics enforcing a very narrow
political ideology”.
“I can’t imagine another time when we’ve had local broadcasters tell a national
programmer like Disney that your content no longer meets the needs and the
values of our community,” Carr said. “So this is an important turning point.”
Sinclair, one of the affiliate station owners that took Kimmel off the air
after his comments, indicated there could be way back for the talkshow host if
he issued a “direct apology to the Kirk family” and to make a “meaningful
personal donation to the Kirk Family and Turning Point USA”, the youth-focused
organisation Kirk founded.
Anna Gomez, the only Democratic member of the FCC, criticized Carr’s remarks,
posting on X that “an inexcusable act of political violence by one disturbed
individual must never be exploited as justification for broader censorship or
control”.
Gomez added: “This Administration is increasingly using the weight of
government power to suppress lawful expression.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
