The hysteria merchants are in high gear again as they respond to the news that Jimmy Kimmel’s ABC talk show has been “preempted indefinitely.”
Kimmel got the gate from ABC because of his reckless remarks about the death of Charlie Kirk. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called the decision “despicable” and undemocratic, asserting that Kimmel has “the right to free speech.”
Illinois governor and obvious presidential candidate JB Pritzker said that ABC’s decision was “an attack on free speech and cannot be allowed to stand.” Schumer, Pritzker and the many other supposed champions of free speech, of course, blame President Trump and Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr for Kimmel’s fate, both of whom have publicly railed against the late-night “comedian.”
But Kimmel’s show wasn’t suspended because of Trump, Carr or the Big Bad Wolf. It was suspended because ABC and parent company Disney are in the business of generating audiences and advertising revenue.
The corporate bigshots have decided that Kimmel can no longer deliver viewers and generate commercial dollars to their satisfaction. The nonsensical comment Kimmel made about Kirk was likely one straw too many even for Disney’s broad corporate shoulders.
Big media corporation executives have to keep their ears to the ground to assess what broad audiences are willing to tolerate. Kimmel’s ratings were in steep decline already, and ABC would have surely looked past the blunder if there was any sense that he could still generate an audience. Major television group owners Nexstar and Sinclair have a number of ABC affiliates; when they announced they would no longer carry Kimmel’s program, Disney decided it was more important to keep affiliate owners happy than a comedian on a downward spiral.
Schumer is correct that Kimmel has free speech rights, but Schumer is incorrect to assert that Kimmel necessarily has a right to speak on ABC. That Kimmel is being ousted by an employer for saying something dumb is certainly not undemocratic. Instead, it is the marketplace of ideas functioning as it always has, trying to prioritize worthwhile speech over irrational speech. Democracy allows all ideas to circulate, but doesn’t guarantee any particular venue from which to launch those ideas. Kimmel is still free to make unhinged comments about the death of Charlie Kirk, but he might have to do it standing on a street corner or taking a seat at the end of the bar.
If ABC were so afraid of Trump and Carr, it would have long ago cancelled “The View,” another production of ABC News. The gabbers on that show over the years have said things just as, or perhaps even more, bizarre than Kimmel, yet ABC keeps airing that program, presumably because it can generate an audience and revenue. ABC has also kept George Stephanopoulos in his news anchor chair, even though Trump would love to see him booted, suing ABC and collecting a settlement because of George’s comments.
The First Amendment, indeed, creates a rough and tumble rhetorical cauldron. It allows things to get settled in the broad marketplace. Trump and Carr also have free expression rights, and they intend to use their bully pulpits to scold, pressure and criticize media outlets as they see fit.
A free press is certainly strong enough to withstand heat from politicians, just as it has for a couple of centuries. Trump has disdain for an entire laundry list of media outlets, from The New York Times to CNN to NBC and CBS. Yet all of those outlets continue to publish and broadcast freely, roundly criticizing Trump as they see fit along the way.
Americans who fear that Trump or the FCC might somehow exert authoritarian influence over the media should relax and put more confidence in the free speech marketplace. They should also be reassured that the current Supreme Court, under Chief Justice John Roberts, has robustly supported free expression over the years.
Trump and the FCC basically have no levers to pull that would sanction ABC/Disney on content issues that Kimmel or anybody else at ABC might present. And if, by some long shot, the FCC did sanction ABC/Disney over content, it is a slam dunk that SCOTUS would side with the network. The justices know that the First Amendment allows for a wide range of crazy speech, even for guys like Kimmel, who want to mislead and disrupt.
Jeffrey McCall is a professor of communication at DePauw University.
