Speaker 1: Caloroga Shark Media.
Speaker 2: This is a bonus episode. I'm Johnny Mack with your
Speaker 2: daily comedy news. It's a little after three pm Eastern
Speaker 2: on Thursday, and the topic is Jimmy Kimmel, Massive, massive
Speaker 2: news story, even beyond the comedy aspect of it, even
Speaker 2: beyond the late night aspect. There's a lot here, So
Speaker 2: I'm going to take my time and go slow. Before
Speaker 2: I dive in, let me just tell you what to
Speaker 2: expect on the feed. Obviously.
Speaker 1: This.
Speaker 2: The next thing you're going to hear on the feed
Speaker 2: is a crossover episode with the Letterman podcast. I just
Speaker 2: finished recording an hour with Mike Chisholm where we talked
Speaker 2: about what is happening, so I'll do a rap on that,
Speaker 2: so that'll be coming out a few hours after this one.
Speaker 2: On Friday morning, you will get the already recorded normal
Speaker 2: Friday episode where I don't talk about this at all.
Speaker 2: I had pre taped that to accommodate my schedule. My
Speaker 2: schedule now thrown out the window. And then on Friday afternoon,
Speaker 2: I will do another Jimmy Kimmel bonus episode. So that's
Speaker 2: what's coming. Let's catch up where we are a little
Speaker 2: after three on Thursday to recap the story. ABC announced
Speaker 2: on Wednesday evening that was pulling Jimmy Kimmel's Late night
Speaker 2: show quote indefinitely, after conservatives had accused Jimmy Kimmel of
Speaker 2: inaccurately describing the politics of the man who's accused of
Speaker 2: killing Charlie Kirk. ABC aired Celebrity Family Feud last night.
Speaker 2: The network did not explain its decision at the time,
Speaker 2: but there was a sequence of events that I will
Speaker 2: break down for you, But I thought the first thing
Speaker 2: we should do is, let's listen to what Jimmy Kimmel
Speaker 2: actually said. Here's the clip.
Speaker 3: We hit some new lows over the weekend with the
Speaker 3: Magga Gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered
Speaker 3: Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and
Speaker 3: everything they can to score political points from. And in
Speaker 3: between the finger pointing, there was grieving. On Friday, the
Speaker 3: White House flew the flags at half staff, which got
Speaker 3: some criticism, but on a human level, you can see
Speaker 3: how hard the President is taking this.
Speaker 2: I've been dun't without a loftier friend.
Speaker 4: Charlie Kirk asked, sir personally, how are you holding up?
Speaker 4: For the last day and a half, sir, I think
Speaker 4: very good. And by the way, right there you see
Speaker 4: all the Trumps. They've just started construction of the new
Speaker 4: ballroom for the White House, which is something they've been
Speaker 4: trying to get, as you know, for about one hundred
Speaker 4: and fifty years, and it's going to be a beauty.
Speaker 3: Yes, he's at the fourth stage of grief construction, the demolition.
Speaker 4: Construction.
Speaker 3: This is not how an adult grief's the murder of
Speaker 3: somebody called a friend. This is how a four year
Speaker 3: old mourns a goldfish.
Speaker 2: A spokesperson for ABC said in a statement on Wednesday,
Speaker 2: Jimmy Kimmel will be preempted indefinitely. President Trump was in
Speaker 2: the United Kingdom of the past few days. He was
Speaker 2: asked by ITV's Robert Preston about this. Trump said, Kimmel
Speaker 2: quote said a horrible thing about a great gentleman known
Speaker 2: as Charlie Kirk, and Jimmy Kimmel is not a talented person.
Speaker 2: He had very bad ratings and they should have fired
Speaker 2: him a long time ago. So you know, you can
Speaker 2: call that free speech or not. He was fired for
Speaker 2: lack of talent. FCC commissioned Chairman Brendan Carr, who had
Speaker 2: made some comments on Wednesday that I addressed in the
Speaker 2: Last Night's Bonus episode. On Thursday, Commissioner Carr said that
Speaker 2: Jimmy Kimmel appeared to quote mislead the American public about
Speaker 2: facts regarding Charlie Kirk's killing. Carr was on CNBC's Squawk
Speaker 2: on the Street and said, quote, We're not done yet
Speaker 2: with the changes in the quote the media ecosystem. Carr said,
Speaker 2: the issue that arose here, where lots and lots of
Speaker 2: people were upset, was not a joke. It was not
Speaker 2: making fun. It was appearing to directly mislead the American
Speaker 2: public about a significant fact that probably one of the
Speaker 2: most significant political events we've had in a long time,
Speaker 2: for the most significant political assassination we've seen in a
Speaker 2: long time. The CNBC host asked a follow up, what
Speaker 2: does that mean when you say you're not done yet?
Speaker 2: I mean we only be pleased when none of these
Speaker 2: comedians have a show on broadcast television. Car replied, No,
Speaker 2: it's not any particular show or any particular person. It's
Speaker 2: just we're in the midst of a very disruptive moment
Speaker 2: right now, and I just frankly expect that we're going
Speaker 2: and continue to see changes in the media ecosystem. One
Speaker 2: of the largest operators of TV affiliates in the United
Speaker 2: States is Sinclair Broadcasting. They said in a press release
Speaker 2: that ABC's decision to suspend Jimmy Kimmel was not enough.
Speaker 2: The company said Sinclair will not lift the suspension of
Speaker 2: Jimmy Kimmel Live on our stations until former discussions are
Speaker 2: held with ABC regarding the network's commitment to professionalism and accountability.
Speaker 2: They listed demands for Jimmy Kimmel's return, including that Jimmy
Speaker 2: Kimmel should offer a direct apology to Kirk's family. Furthermore,
Speaker 2: we ask mister Kimmel to make a meaningful personal donation
Speaker 2: to the Kirk family and Turning Point USA. Regardless of
Speaker 2: ABC's plans for the future of the program, Sinclair intends
Speaker 2: not to return Jimmy Kimmelive to our air until we're
Speaker 2: conf that appropriate steps have been taken to upol the
Speaker 2: standards expected of a national broadcast platform. Sinclair said in
Speaker 2: Kimmel's timeslot on Friday, they would air a special remembrance
Speaker 2: of Charlie Kirk. Rolling Stone on social media wrote In
Speaker 2: the hours leading up to the decision to pull Jimmy Kimmel,
Speaker 2: two sources familiar with the matter say senior executives at
Speaker 2: its owner, Disney and Affiliates, convened emergency meetings to figure
Speaker 2: out how to minimize the damage. Multiple executives felt that
Speaker 2: Kimmel had not actually said anything over the line, but
Speaker 2: the threat of Trump administration retaliation loomed. Hitting the wires
Speaker 2: at two forty six pm on Thursday, some more comments
Speaker 2: for President Trump. He suggested that the federal government might
Speaker 2: revoke the licenses of broadcast television networks that are quote
Speaker 2: against me, there's a license. I'll give you an example.
Speaker 2: I've read someplace that the networks were ninety seven percent
Speaker 2: against me. Again, ninety seven percent negative, and yet I
Speaker 2: won and easily all seven swing states. They're ninety seven
Speaker 2: percent against They give me only bad press. They're getting
Speaker 2: a license. I would think maybe their licence and should
Speaker 2: be taken away. I think Brendan Carr is outstanding. He
Speaker 2: loves our country. He's a tough guy. So we'll have
Speaker 2: to see. So the next thing in the feed is
Speaker 2: that crossover episode with Mike Chisholm. His lead off question
Speaker 2: was asking me about the FCC, and I explained licensing
Speaker 2: all that. So rather than do that here, give me
Speaker 2: two hours maybe, and you'll hear that next on the feed,
Speaker 2: and I'll explain all that. CNN reported as news was
Speaker 2: breaking of Kimmel's show being suspended, guests booked on Wednesday's
Speaker 2: episode We're ready on their way to the theater, CNN reports,
Speaker 2: According to a source with knowledge of the events, Kimmel's
Speaker 2: staff members had been working as usual on Wednesday afternoon,
Speaker 2: holding calls with talent publicists regarding upcoming episodes. Just before
Speaker 2: the decision was announced. One celebrity publicist told CNN, We're
Speaker 2: all shell shocked. Another said, I can't believe this is
Speaker 2: real life. This story is moving so quickly. I haven't
Speaker 2: actually had a minute since it broke to sit down
Speaker 2: and do a full prep. I'm actually working off partial
Speaker 2: notes as we do this. Mark Marin shared the following
Speaker 2: on TikTok.
Speaker 1: It's happening. Jimmy Kimmel has been muzzled and taken off
Speaker 1: the air by his network ABC, who are buckling to
Speaker 1: and trying to appease the next our media conglomerate who
Speaker 1: have a lot of affiliates and they threaten to preempt
Speaker 1: him at the suggestion of the SEC chair. This is
Speaker 1: government censorship. This is the Trump administration coming after people
Speaker 1: who speak out against him. This is the end of it.
Speaker 1: If you have any concern or belief in real freedom
Speaker 1: or the Constitution and free speech, this is it. This
Speaker 1: is the deciding moment. This is what authoritarianism looks like
Speaker 1: right now in this country. It's happening. So if you're
Speaker 1: a free speech warrior or you really talk to talk
Speaker 1: about protecting free speech, this isn't about saying the R
Speaker 1: wor the T word or any of that. This is
Speaker 1: government censorship. This isn't Twitter. This isn't people getting canceled
Speaker 1: because of a cultural pylon. This is the United States
Speaker 1: government silencing voices that they disagree with. FCC Chair car
Speaker 1: put this out. This is his directive. This is the
Speaker 1: US government. Look, if they can come for Kimmel, they
Speaker 1: can come for anybody. This is happening. It's time to act,
Speaker 1: figure it out, find a way, come together, push back
Speaker 1: because if this goes, it's over. It's over.
Speaker 2: Barack Obama on Twitter wrote, after years of complaining about
Speaker 2: cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a
Speaker 2: new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against
Speaker 2: media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commenters
Speaker 2: it doesn't like on truth Social Donald Trump wrote, great
Speaker 2: news for America. The ratings Channell Jimmy Kimmel Show is
Speaker 2: canceled all caps canceled. Congratulations to ABC for finally having
Speaker 2: the courage to do what had to be done. Kimmel
Speaker 2: has zero talent, worse ratings than even Colbert, if that's possible.
Speaker 2: That leaves Jimmy and Seth two total losers on fake
Speaker 2: News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do at NBC
Speaker 2: President DJT not leave that there for now, and that
Speaker 2: is a bonus episode of Daily Comedy News. The next
Speaker 2: thing in the feed will be the crossover episode with
Speaker 2: Mike Chishom from The Letterman Podcast. Friday Morning's episode is normal.
Speaker 2: I would do another Kimmel bonus episode Friday afternoon, and
Speaker 2: they'll probably be bonus episodes throughout the weekend as this
Speaker 2: is a huge story. And I'll leave you with this.
Speaker 2: These are the words of Edward R. Murrow from October fifteenth,
Speaker 2: nineteen fifty eight. Murrow said, sometimes there's a clash between
Speaker 2: the public interest and the corporate interest. A telephone call
Speaker 2: or a letter from the proper quarter in Washington is
Speaker 2: treated rather more seriously than a communication from an irate
Speaker 2: but not politically potent viewer. It is tempting enough to
Speaker 2: give away a little air time for frequently irresponsible and
Speaker 2: unwarranted utterances in an effort to temper the wind of
Speaker 2: criticism upon occasion. Economics and editorial judgment are in conflict,
Speaker 2: and there is no law which says that dollars will
Speaker 2: be defeated by duty. What, then, is the answer. Do
Speaker 2: we merely stay in our comfortable ness, concluding that the
Speaker 2: obligation of these instruments has been discharged when we work
Speaker 2: at the job of informing the public for a minimum
Speaker 2: of time, or do we believe that the preservation of
Speaker 2: the republic is a seven day week job demanding more awareness,
Speaker 2: better skills, and more perseverance than we have yet contemplated