It’s the inevitable result of industry consolidation that over years has built giant corporations with wide-ranging interests.
Carr answers to President Donald Trump, who’s already on record as disliking Kimmel’s comedy.
Apparently that wasn’t enough.
Among other questions, the probe sought to determine whether Disney had really ended policies designed to ensure characters in its shows and its hiring practices favored “underrepresented groups.”
The Federal Trade Commission also launched a probe into whether Disney broke rules by gathering personal data from children watching its videos without permission from parents. Disney settled the case earlier this month by paying $10 million and agreeing to change its practices.
It hasn’t helped that Disney was a target for many conservatives well before the current controversy. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis battled with the company over its criticism of a DeSantis-backed law that restricted discussion of sexual orientation in schools.
Kirk wasn’t a fan, either, criticizing Disney when it closed Splash Mountain rides at theme parks three years ago because they were based on a 1946 film about the plantation life in the South. The move, his website posted, was “destructive to our cultural and societal fabric.”
Sinclair has its own regulatory challenges. In June, it entered into an agreement with the FCC to fix problems with paperwork filed to the agency and to observe rules about advertising on children’s shows and closed captioning requirements. It has also petitioned the regulator to relax rules limiting broadcaster ownership of stations.
The companies are being asked by advocates and others to put aside their financial concerns to stand up strongly for free speech.
“Where has all the leadership gone?” ex-Disney CEO Michael Eisner wrote Friday on social media. “If not for university presidents, law firm managing partners and corporate chief executives standing up to bullies, then who will step up for the First Amendment?”
The administration’s attacks on Kimmel have also been attacked in some unexpected places, such as the Wall Street Journal and Bari Weiss’ website, the Free Press, both known for their conservative editorial voices.
The comedian’s comments don’t justify the right wing’s move toward regulatory censorship, the Journal wrote in an editorial. “As victims of cancel culture for so long, conservatives more than anyone should oppose it,” the Journal wrote. “They will surely be the targets again when the left returns to power.”
“When a network drops a high-profile talent hours after the FCC chairman makes a barely veiled threat, then it’s no longer just a business decision,” the Free Press wrote in an editorial. “It’s government coercion. Is it now Trump administration policy to punish broadcasters for comedy that doesn’t conform to its politics?”
