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> There's nothing new about this, though Threats from the head of the FCC bandied about on a far-right podcast? Hello?

by moogly 1y ago

tptacek 1y ago
I don't know that the FCC is what is scaring anyone so much as the FTC/DOJ; Nexstar, the largest local affiliate operator in the country, is working on a huge merger, and pulled Kimmel independently. I'm sure they're all getting galactic-scale complaints about this. I get why this is all activating and like I guess I agree, it's obviously bad, but it's also really stupid. These are programs written for middle-aged suburban professionals that air primarily to elderly customers who still watch linear television. Kimmel would have drastically more reach on an indie show online (who would you rather be, just in terms of reach, Kimmel or Hinchcliffe?). The fact is it's not Kimmel's air, it's corporate air. Late-night hosts getting fucked over for crossing the interests of their corporate owners is a very old story; one of the great sitcoms of all time is based entirely off the premise (in fact, two of the great sitcoms of all time are). Kimmel's got a good writing team. He's talented. He should have gotten off this dead time slot a long time ago.
- moogly 1y ago
  This isn't at all about Kimmel though. This is about giving the administration a free win and a continual slide into more censorship (voluntary or not) and authoritarianism. This will egg them on even more. Who cares about Kimmel. You think they will stop at television? They'll deplatform people on the alternate media next, YouTube, Twitch, Kick, etc. They've already started to look at Twitch this very week. Will you even notice when your train has arrived at the Gulag?
  - barney54 1y ago
    [flagged]
  - tptacek 1y ago
    "Will you even notice when your train has arrived at the Gulag?"? What does that even mean?
    - orbanization 1y ago
      I think it is a reference to your very noticeable habit of downplaying, "yes, but"-ting, "well, actually"-ing and generally minimizing the country's rapid descent into fascism. There are numerous examples of this, but even in just this thread, you draw a false analogy between Maher's cancellation (months after his remarks, following an advertiser boycott) and Kimmel's (immediately following a direct order from a government official).
    - moogly 1y ago
      I didn't think that was particularly abstruse, but sure, I thought your reply was missing the forest for the trees and you seemed oblivious or blasé at the rather obvious slippery slope ahead, if you can even call it that by now. You acknowledged it was bad (sorta, kinda), but the rest is IMO completely irrelevant. "Galactic-scale complaints" or not (we don't know), the head of the FCC appearing on Benny Johnson's podcast threatening to pull their broadcast licence (he probably could not) is unprecedented. And one can wonder how many of the aforementioned complaints his comments incited. Now they'll lose subscribers anyway.
      - tptacek 1y ago
        I just want to understand the writing. What's the supposed scenario where my "train" pulls up at the "gulag" and what is it I'm supposed to be noticing or not? Did you make this up or is this an idiom somewhere? I couldn't find it on Google.
        moogly 1y ago
        Gulag, the forced labor camps of the Soviet Union? It's a metaphor (I hope) of the plunge into authoritarianism and you seeming to downplay it, and if you're not paying attention now, you might find yourself there and wondering how the hell you got there.
- kelnos 1y ago
  > I don't know that the FCC is what is scaring anyone so much as the FTC/DOJ Sure, but shouldn't we continue to call out the fact that this administration is wielding power to censor? I do agree with you that late-night talk shows are a dying format, and maybe Kimmel would have been out (for whatever reasons, perhaps his own) in the next year or so, but to me, that's besides the point.
  - tptacek 1y ago
    I'm interested in what is happening here; I have other vectors for doing politics that aren't HN.
- foogazi 1y ago
  > Kimmel would have drastically more reach on an indie show online (who would you rather be, just in terms of reach, Kimmel or Hinchcliffe?) How is this relevant ? Are the Presidency and FCC now giving career advice? > The fact is it's not Kimmel's air, it's corporate air. not even corporate air - it’s government air obviously

> There's nothing new about this, though Threats from the head of the FCC bandied about on a far-right podcast? Hello?

by moogly 1y ago

> There's nothing new about this, though Threats from the head of the FCC bandied about on a far-right podcast? Hello?

I don't know that the FCC is what is scaring anyone so much as the FTC/DOJ; Nexstar, the largest local affiliate operator in the country, is working on a huge merger, and pulled Kimmel independently. I'm sure they're all getting galactic-scale complaints about this. I get why this is all activating and like I guess I agree, it's obviously bad, but it's also really stupid. These are programs written for middle-aged suburban professionals that air primarily to elderly customers who still watch linear television. Kimmel would have drastically more reach on an indie show online (who would you rather be, just in terms of reach, Kimmel or Hinchcliffe?). The fact is it's not Kimmel's air, it's corporate air. Late-night hosts getting fucked over for crossing the interests of their corporate owners is a very old story; one of the great sitcoms of all time is based entirely off the premise (in fact, two of the great sitcoms of all time are). Kimmel's got a good writing team. He's talented. He should have gotten off this dead time slot a long time ago.

moogly 1y ago
This isn't at all about Kimmel though. This is about giving the administration a free win and a continual slide into more censorship (voluntary or not) and authoritarianism. This will egg them on even more. Who cares about Kimmel. You think they will stop at television? They'll deplatform people on the alternate media next, YouTube, Twitch, Kick, etc. They've already started to look at Twitch this very week. Will you even notice when your train has arrived at the Gulag?
- barney54 1y ago
  [flagged]
- tptacek 1y ago
  "Will you even notice when your train has arrived at the Gulag?"? What does that even mean?
  - orbanization 1y ago
    I think it is a reference to your very noticeable habit of downplaying, "yes, but"-ting, "well, actually"-ing and generally minimizing the country's rapid descent into fascism. There are numerous examples of this, but even in just this thread, you draw a false analogy between Maher's cancellation (months after his remarks, following an advertiser boycott) and Kimmel's (immediately following a direct order from a government official).
  - moogly 1y ago
    I didn't think that was particularly abstruse, but sure, I thought your reply was missing the forest for the trees and you seemed oblivious or blasé at the rather obvious slippery slope ahead, if you can even call it that by now. You acknowledged it was bad (sorta, kinda), but the rest is IMO completely irrelevant. "Galactic-scale complaints" or not (we don't know), the head of the FCC appearing on Benny Johnson's podcast threatening to pull their broadcast licence (he probably could not) is unprecedented. And one can wonder how many of the aforementioned complaints his comments incited. Now they'll lose subscribers anyway.
    - tptacek 1y ago
      I just want to understand the writing. What's the supposed scenario where my "train" pulls up at the "gulag" and what is it I'm supposed to be noticing or not? Did you make this up or is this an idiom somewhere? I couldn't find it on Google.
      - moogly 1y ago
        Gulag, the forced labor camps of the Soviet Union? It's a metaphor (I hope) of the plunge into authoritarianism and you seeming to downplay it, and if you're not paying attention now, you might find yourself there and wondering how the hell you got there.
kelnos 1y ago
> I don't know that the FCC is what is scaring anyone so much as the FTC/DOJ Sure, but shouldn't we continue to call out the fact that this administration is wielding power to censor? I do agree with you that late-night talk shows are a dying format, and maybe Kimmel would have been out (for whatever reasons, perhaps his own) in the next year or so, but to me, that's besides the point.
- tptacek 1y ago
  I'm interested in what is happening here; I have other vectors for doing politics that aren't HN.
foogazi 1y ago
> Kimmel would have drastically more reach on an indie show online (who would you rather be, just in terms of reach, Kimmel or Hinchcliffe?) How is this relevant ? Are the Presidency and FCC now giving career advice? > The fact is it's not Kimmel's air, it's corporate air. not even corporate air - it’s government air obviously