“Where did all leaders go?”: The former Disney CEO, Michael Eisner, exploded the suspension
The decision to keep Jimmy Kimmel in his program ABC at the end of the evening depends much more than his jokes. The choice is complicated by a network of companies and regulatory considerations involving the parent company of ABC, other media companies and the Trump administration.
It is the inevitable result of the consolidation of the industry that, over the years, has built giant companies with large -scale interests.
The owner of ABC, Walt Disney Co., a massive organization with distant operations, frequently requests federal regulatory approval to extend, buy or sell businesses or acquire licenses. And the Trump administration has not spared the company of investigations, opening up several requests for information in recent months to probe any violations of programming, programming and hiring.
Kimmel was suspended from his show this week after comments suggesting that Charlie Kirk fans were trying to capitalize on the assassination of the conservative activist. The president of the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, described the remarks of “really sick” and suggested that his agency would examine them.
Carr responds to President Donald Trump, who has already filed Kimmel’s comedy.
Two companies that operate approximately a quarter of the ABC Nationwide affiliates, Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcasting, also said that they would not broadcast Kimmel’s show.
Disney took a step last December to avoid confrontation with Trump by paying $ 15 million to settle the president’s defamation trial against ABC News and George Stephanopoulos. He also took measures to dismantle part of his diversity, equity and inclusion practices, in particular by removing references in his annual report to his Reimagine Tomorrow program aimed to “amplify under-represented voices”.
Apparently it was not enough.
In April, the FCC sent a letter of blister AA to the CEO of Disney, Bob Iger, saying that it suspected that the company was so completely “infected” by “prompt” practices favoring the minorities that it had no choice but to open an investigation.
Among other questions, the investigation sought to determine if Disney had really put an end to the policies designed to guarantee the characters of its programs and its hiring practices favored “under-represented groups”.
Meanwhile, a Disney agreement concluded in January to buy a participation in the Fubotv streaming service. This was also examined with several reports that the Ministry of Justice was investigating any antitrust violations.
The Federal Trade Commission also launched an investigation to find out if Disney has violated the rules by bringing personal data from children who watch its videos without the authorization of the parents. Disney settled the case earlier this month by paying $ 10 million and agreeing to change its practices.
Disney also needs the approval of the Trump administration for ESPN in order to finish its acquisition of the NFL network.
This did not help that Disney was a target for many preservatives long before the current controversy. Florida governor Ron Desantis fought with the company for his criticism of a law supported by Desantis who has restricted the discussion on sexual orientation in schools.
Kirk was not a fan either, criticizing Disney when he closed Splash Mountain Rides in the themed parks three years ago because they were based on a 1946 film on planting life in the South. This decision, published its website, was “destructive for our cultural and societal fabric”.
Companies with ABC stations that have published disavowing statements Kimmel have their own business in front of the government. Nexstar needs the approval of the Trump administration to complete its purchase of $ 6.2 billion in Rival Broadcast Tegna.
Sinclair has its own regulatory challenges. In June, he concluded an agreement with the FCC to resolve the problems of documents deposited with the agency and to observe the rules concerning advertising on children’s emissions and closed subtitling requirements. He also asked the regulator to relax the rules limiting the ownership of the stations diffuser.
Companies are invited to defenders and others to put aside their financial concerns to get up strongly from freedom of expression.
“Where did all leaders go?” The former CEO of Disney, Michael Eisner, wrote Friday on social networks. “If it is not for university presidents, the management partners of the law firm and the business leaders who resisted the intimidators, who will intervene for the first amendment?”
Administration attacks against Kimmel have also been attacked in unexpected places, such as the Wall Street Journal and the Bari Weiss website, the Free Press, both known for their conservative editorial voices.
The comments of the actor do not justify the movement from the right to regulatory censorship, wrote the newspaper in an editorial. “As victims to cancel culture for so long, conservatives more than anyone should oppose it,” wrote the newspaper. “They will surely be the targets again when the left returns to power.”
“When a network drops a high level talent of the hours after the president of the FCC made a barely veiled threat, it is no longer just a commercial decision,” wrote the free press in an editorial. “It is government coercion. Is it now Trump’s administration policy to punish the radiudiffusers for comedy that does not comply with its policy? ”
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