Welcome to Meet the Press Now. I'm Kristen Welker in Washington where the White House is cracking down on what it deems the radical left and moving to retaliate against some of its most outspoken critics in the wake of the tragic assassination of Charlie Kirk. The White House has publicly called for consequences and firings of anyone whose comments are seen as endorsing Kirk's death. And administration officials are cheering the indefinite suspension of ABC's Jimmy Kimmel in the wake of comments the late ni ...

Look, I'm a huge proponent of free speech. Please, I'm I'm on Jimmy Kimber's side of >> Could you have ever imagined something like this happening when you were on here. >> Yeah. Yeah.These kind of things happen all the time, but you know, you don't get cancelled saying popular things. You can cancel, you know, sometimes uh usually it's the truth that winds up getting cancelled. I think Jimmy will land on his feet.He's a talented guy. He's funny. And let's see what happens.I maybe he might be on in just a c ...

FCC Pressure and Media Capitulation - The FCC, under Brendan Carr, is perceived to be exerting pressure on Disney/ABC, potentially influencing content decisions [1][3] - NextStar's merger transaction is a key factor, as they may not want to jeopardize the deal by opposing the FCC [1] - The White House's stance on the issue is unclear, with potential contradictions in Brendan Carr's statements regarding political satire [2][3][4] - A $6 billion deal between NextStar and Tegna is awaiting FCC approval, mirroring a past situation where CBS settled with President Trump for over $16 million before a merger approval [7][8] Free Speech and Legal Considerations - The silencing of Jimmy Kimmel was done by his employer, not the FCC directly, making it an extra-legal issue focused on pressure [1] - Anna Gomez of the FCC stated it is not the FCC's job to judge what is and is not funny, or to determine content [1] - Legal action by Jimmy Kimmel against ABC would depend on his contract terms, specifically termination clauses [1] Media Business Vulnerability - Traditional television media is vulnerable due to declining viewership and advertising revenue [13][16] - News organizations that are part of larger conglomerates may be more susceptible to pressure due to their smaller contribution to the overall balance sheet [15][16] - The media industry is facing a "carrots and sticks" strategy from the White House, leveraging government power to influence media organizations [17] Ownership and Editorial Influence - Media owners are increasingly involved in coverage decisions, dictating terms and influencing editorial posture [18][19] - Examples include Skyance's re-fashioning of CBS News and ownership changes at the Washington Post and Los Angeles Times [20][21]

We are back with the breaking news. Democrats are launching an investigation after Jimmy Kimmel's show was pulled off the air following his comments about Charlie Kirk. The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee announced they'll look into the Trump administration, ABC and Sinclair, and what he calls ongoing efforts to censor opposition to the president of the United States.And joining us now, in fact, is the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, our friend, Congressman Robert Garcia of Ca ...

And we were just discussing with Jason Baitman the latest major shakeup in late night television. Disney owned ABC announcing it's pulling Jimmy Kimmel off the air. We get more details now from NBC News correspondent Liz Kitz.>> This morning Jimmy Kimmel off the air. The host seen leaving his studio last night after ABC announced it suspending his long-running late night show indefinitely. During his monologue Monday night, Kimmel made comments about the shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, accus ...

On the question of Charlie Kirk, can I just um express um how shocking that is I think to everybody who believes in free speech um and in democracy. Um and um it sent shock waves through um the world and I know that he was a pres straight away to the president because I understood how impactful it be on him and his family. Um and we all need to uh be absolutely clear about that. ...

PRES. TRUMP: IT WILL CERTAINLY HELP WHEN I DO NOT WANT THEM BACK PIECEMEAL. I WANT THEM BACK.ON FREE SPEECH, YOUR VICE PRESIDENT SAID THAT FREE SPEECH IS UNDER ATTACK IN THE U.K.. DO YOU AGREE WITH HIM. WE SAW THE DISMISSAL OF A VERY WELL-KNOWN TELEVISION SHOW HOST IN AMERICA LAST NIGHT.HIS FREE SPEECH MORE UNDER ATTACK IN BRITAIN OR AMERICA. PRES. TRUMP: JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE.-- JIMMY KIMMEL WAS FIRED BECAUSE HE HAD BAD RATINGS. HE IS NOT A TALENTED PERSON. THEY SHOULD HAVE FIRED HIM A LONG TIME AGO YOU CAN CA ...

Yeah, broadcasters are different than any other form of communication, including here. We're on cable right now. Fox News doesn't have an FCC license. CNN doesn't, but ABC, CBS, NBC, those broadcast stations do. And with that license comes a unique obligation to operate in the public interest. And over the years, the FCC walked away from enforcing that public interest obligation. I don't think we're better off as a country for it. But look, President Trump ran directly at these legacy broadcast outlets and ...

When Steven Kber announced that his late night show was being cancelled back in July, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, had a chilling reaction. Fallon has no talent. Kimmel has no talent.They're next. They're going to be going. I hear they're going to be going.I don't know, but I would imagine because they get wor, you know, Co Bear has better ratings than Kimmel or Fallon. You know that. They're next. I hear they're going to be going.Well, tonight an ABC spokesperson confirms that Jimmy Ki ...

Trump administration is clearly on defense now over these proven attacks on free speech and confessions, admissions of improper motive by senior officials. The New York Times reporting there are now these measures to silence opponents that the White House wants to pursue. That would be unamerican full stop, but probably unconstitutional.We will see exactly what they try to do, but that Trump is pursuing them by invoking Kirk's killing. Tonight, there are clues about a new order Trump may push that would try ...