John,
Jimmy Kimmel Live! is back tonight.
But if you’re among the 25% of Americans served by ABC affiliates owned by Sinclair or Nexstar, you won’t see it.
Within hours of ABC announcing Kimmel’s return, both station groups declared they would continue censoring him — pulling his show off the air in markets reaching nearly one in four U.S. households.
In a moment, we’ll explain how the Kimmel blackout reveals Donald Trump’s strategy of using corporate pressure to stifle speech and silence critics.
Here’s what Kimmel’s continued blacklisting by Sinclair and Nexstar shows about how Trump is wielding government power to censor and silence:
The playbook for censorship in Trump’s America:
- Trump applies government pressure.
After Kimmel’s monologue, FCC Chair Brendan Carr publicly warned affiliates about their “public interest” obligations — while hinting that broadcast licenses could be at risk. Within days, Sinclair and Nexstar said they’d keep Kimmel off their ABC stations.
- Corporations fold to protect their business.
Nexstar is seeking FCC approval for a $6.2 billion takeover of TEGNA, a merger that needs Trump’s FCC sign-off.
Sinclair has been lobbying the FCC to loosen national ownership caps, which would allow it to acquire even more local stations. Both companies have powerful financial incentives to stay on the FCC’s good side.
- Journalism and critics lose their platforms.
Jimmy Kimmel joins a growing list of journalists and outlets — from CBS News and ABC News to the Washington Post, and high-profile figures like Stephen Colbert and Jim Acosta — whose reach has been diminished, curtailed, or eliminated when corporate interests intersect with Trump’s political demands.
- A chilling effect spreads.
Once station giants cave, others get the message: challenge Trump and you could lose your license, your merger, or your market share. Coverage softens. Critics go quiet. And the media landscape becomes MAGA-fied from the top down — with self-censorship and pre-compliance becoming the norm.
This is exactly why COURIER exists.
When Trump and corporate media collude to silence critics, the only defense is a press that can’t be bought, bullied, or bargained away.
COURIER doesn’t answer to shareholders, advertisers, or Trump. We answer only to you — and to our mission: building the largest grassroots-funded progressive media network in the country, reaching millions online and running newsrooms in battleground communities where democracy is on the line.
But we can’t do it without your help. Right now, we’re at $43,000 of our $60,000 September goal. That’s $17,000 short with just a week days to close the gap.
Legacy media may fold under Trump’s threats. But with your support, COURIER never will.
Thank you,
COURIER