
<p>As a conservative, I am a proponent of free speech as a constitutional right and a concept. ; In fact, I have often described myself as a free speech extremist (non-violent, of course). ; I also believe in free-market capitalism – and I am especially supportive of limited government. ; All three of those issues are in the political blender as the nation addresses the issues of free speech, cancel culture and Jimmy Kimmel.</p>



<p>I am not a fan of Jimmy Kimmel. ; If I owned ABC, I would have fired him – and kept him fired. ; It would be primarily a business decision. ; First there is the issue of ratings – especially compared to the competition. ;  ;And he is losing money for the network.</p>



<p><strong>Ratings=Dollars</strong></p>



<p>Kimmel is anemic, to say the least &#8212; but not the worst. ; That dubious honor goes to CBS’s Jimmy Fallon. ; Prior to his offensive comment about Charlie Kirk’s killer, Kimmel was drawing in approximately 1.77 million viewers a night (220,000 of the all-important 18 to 49 demographic). ; He is in third place to NBC’s Stephen Colbert, with 2.42 million viewers, but ahead of Colbert in the key demographic. ; Colbert pulls in 219,000 (okay, essentially a tie). ; Fallon languishes in fourth place with 1.19 million viewers (157,000 in the key demographic).</p>



<p>(Oh yeah! The king of nighttime comedy is, and has been, FOX’s Greg Gutfeld with an average of 3.29 million viewers of 238,000 in the key demographic. Even though he leans right, I am not a fan. His humor is too sophomoric frat-house, vulgar and repetitious. Too many body waste jokes. He admits that he only reads the jokes for the first time on air – jokes written by seemingly immature writers. But I digress.)</p>



<p>What would concern me as an owner is the fact that Johnny Carson was pulling in 17 million viewers a night at his peak – in the same time slot and with a smaller population. ; (Yes, I do understand that today’s audiences have a lot more options and competition, but that is not the whole story behind the decline of the late night jokesters. ; The shift to one-sided political content is a significant factor.)</p>



<p>Late night comedy is a dying art-form. ; Their material is stale and increasingly unpopular with the market. ; Both Sinclair Broadcast Group and Nexstar Media Group&#8211;which own 20 percent of the ABC local affiliates – initially resisted reinstating Kimmel based on a lack of viewer enthusiasm. ; Whether it is just the general material or the far left-wing bent does not matter. ; They apparently saw better and more profitable uses of the time slot.</p>



<p>The broadcast so-called comedians – ABC, CBS and NBC &#8212; seem to have become more expensive than the market can bear. ; The only profitable show in that category is on cable, “Gutfeld”. ; The other guys are losing money for their companies – by the millions.</p>



<p><strong>Free Speech and Owner Rights</strong></p>



<p>There can be no question that Kimmel has a constitutional right to say whatever he likes. ; That is basic. ; But <strong>where </strong>he says it does matter. ; Businesses have a right to limit speech of employees while on duty – and even off duty in some cases. ; If some activist waiter in a restaurant starts giving a loud political harangue &#8212; or any other kind – the owner has a right to force the culprit’s removal and even fire him or her. ; Same for a customer. ; The right of the owner exceeds a person’s First Amendment right. ; We are also not allowed to use speech to incite riots, create a nuisance or to slander. ; That wonderful First Amendment does have its limits.</p>



<p>Kimmel’s transgression was saying something that was offensive <strong>and</strong> untrue. ; He had proffered a mendacious political narrative – intimating that Kirk’s killer was MAGA despite all evidence and testimony to the contrary. ; It was not part of a joke, but an affirmative biased political statement of the type that has been taking over late night comedy.</p>



<p>That alone, however, is not likely to have caused Kimmel’s show to be suspended. The criticism of his routine over years has been cumulative. Tie that to the loss of viewers and income, and a prudent business – with a fiduciary duty to stockholders – will see the need for a change.</p>



<p><strong>Government Intervention.</strong></p>



<p>The Kimmel situation is complicated by the appearance – if not the reality – of government intervention. ; Suspending Kimmel and reinstating him was a matter of business decisions. ; Neither the White House nor the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) fired him. ; That is a fact. ; But (ß another BIG butt), did the federal government apply undue pressure or influence? ; As in the case of NBC and Colbert, there is a major merger deal pending that needs the approval of the FCC. ; There is also a merger deal in the background of the Kimmel case.</p>



<p>I do not believe that the mergers were <strong>the</strong> reason for firing Colbert and suspending Kimmel, but it is not unreasonable to say they were <strong>a</strong> factor. ; How much of a factor, we do not know. ; That opinion seems to depend on the political orientation of the person doing the opining.</p>



<p>But based on comments by Trump and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, there may have been untoward political pressure being brought to bear. ; Trump’s oft-stated opinions and threats of legal actions were largely inappropriate. ; Carr’s “easy way or hard way” statement was maladroit and easily taken as an inappropriate threat of government interference. ;</p>



<p>Revoking a license is not easy and rarely done. ; In a pushback to the racist policies in the old solid Democrat southland in the 1960s, WLBT in Jackson, Mississippi had its license pulled for refusing to air coverage of the civil rights movement – not even allowing Blacks on the air.</p>



<p>It is more common for operators to voluntarily surrender their licenses – usually for economic reasons. ; In other words, sinking into insolvency. ; WQVC-CD (a Class A digital television station) in Greenville, South Carolina, surrendered its license in 2021. ; KZNO-TV in Twin Falls, Idaho, handed in its license in 2022. ; As did WNEX-AM in Macon, Georgia, in 2023. ; All for financial reasons.</p>



<p>While broadcast licenses are held as long as the recipients adhere to the ill-defined rules of fairness and the public interest, any transgressions should be far more serious and far less controversial than the current situation. ; I do not personally believe what Kimmel has said over time (as much as I disagree) is sufficiently serious to trigger FCC action – not even his highly-charged inaccurate description of the shooter. ; ; The only influence to bring to bear should be the market.</p>



<p>I would have taken him off the air for a week and had him apologize. ; I would have issued a statement rebuking and correcting what he said. ; No termination on the basis of what he said, but I would have terminated him based on the fact that he was a money loser for the station. ; If I were the boss, Kimmel would have been gone long before his lie about the shooter.</p>



<p>This should be a matter for the market – the viewers. ; The late night comedians have been losing market for years. ; Like any businesses losing customers, they will either change the trajectory or go out of business. ; That is how it works in a nation with free speech and free markets. ; While the broadcast networks have been losing revenue for years, none of them are on the precipice of financial collapse – at least not yet. ; But cuts will have to be made – and are being made &#8212; across the industry. ; MSNBC chopped $10 million off of the highly overpaid Rachel Maddow.</p>



<p>The decision should be made on ratings, financial losses without the government interference or pressure except in the most serious and extreme circumstances in which the actions are a significant assault on the Constitution.</p>



<p>So, there ‘tis.</p>

Jimmy Kimmel, Free Speech and Late Night Comedy
