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Kimmel hopes boycott outrage drew free speech 'red line'
A boycott and FCC license threats led to a blackout impacting 25% of the U.S. TV audience, as Kimmel warns this marks a critical moment for free speech.
- On Wednesday, Comedian Jimmy Kimmel said he initially feared boycott by ABC affiliate station owners ended his show, but `I hope that we drew a really, really bold red line as Americans about what we will and will not accept,' said Kimmel.
- Pressure from former President Donald Trump, who repeatedly demanded late-night hosts be removed, and Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr's apparent license threats preceded preemptions by Sinclair and Nexstar.
- The blackout left a quarter of the country unable to watch, but Kimmel's return proved a huge ratings hit despite ABC affiliate owners' preemptions.
- Sinclair and Nexstar later recanted their preemptions, highlighting broadcaster vulnerability to political pressure, while observers warned that licensing threats can amount to de facto censorship and urged regulators to reaffirm protections.
- Commentators invoked the Four Freedoms and January 6, 1941 State of the Union to stress freedom of speech's key role and urged broadcasters to protect speech that needles the powerful.
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26 Articles
26 Articles
Commentary: Silencing Kimmel was no laughing matter
On a winter day in 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt stood before Congress and sketched a simple, soaring ideal — that people “everywhere in the world” should enjoy four fundamental freedoms: speech and expression, worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. The “Four Freedoms” State of the Union address on January 6, 1941, rallied a nation still debating its role in a dangerous world and placed freedom of speech first among equals fo…
·Orlando, United States
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources26
Leaning Left6Leaning Right4Center8Last UpdatedBias Distribution45% Center
Bias Distribution
- 45% of the sources are Center
45% Center
L 33%
C 45%
R 22%
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