The Jimmy Kimmel Suspension and the Threat to Free Speech

The Dangers of Corporate Consolidation:

The recent suspension of Jimmy Kimmel has underscored a critical issue: the consolidation of media power and its dangerous implications for free speech. While Kimmel's reinstatement may seem like a resolution, the deeper problem—the growing consolidation of corporate media control—remains. This isn't just about one late-night host, but a wider concern that impacts the freedom of expression for all Americans.

Corporate media giants like Sinclair, Nexstar, and tech moguls such as Elon Musk, who now controls Twitter, are reshaping how information is filtered and distributed to millions of Americans. Powerful allies of the current President, Larry Ellison and Rupert Murdoch, are set to control the algorithm of TikTok. These entities have an outsized influence on public discourse. The suspension of Kimmel revealed the broadcasting conglomerates as political actors. They decided for millions of Americans his voice was off limits.  Nexstar, Sinclair, and Gray Media now control nearly 40% of local TV stations, and they are pushing to be allowed by the FCC to own even more.

This consolidation of corporate power extends beyond TV stations to other platforms such as cable networks, social media, search engines, newspapers, books, music, email, and even maps, where a handful of companies hold most of the control over access and distribution.

When a small group of companies controls what we see, hear, and know, they have the power to shape public opinion and silence dissent. This is not just a corporate antitrust issue, but of our fundamental freedoms and democracy. Corporate consolidation is necessary for authoritarianism to flourish.

The current moment should be a wake-up call. Our government, in the form of relaxed antitrust laws and deregulation, has allowed these monopolies to grow unchecked. While the American people, with boycotts and protests, were able to push back this time, we cannot do this alone. It’s time for lawmakers at all levels to take meaningful action to curb corporate consolidation, enforce antitrust laws, and protect our democracy from becoming an oligarchy.