Jack Tame: Honouring a free speech advocate by supressing the speech of his critics

For the years I lived in New York, I always had visiting Kiwis crashing on my couch. And more often than not, when they came to town and were listing off the things they wanted to do in the Big Apple, they’d make it a priority to try and get into the audience at one of late shows.   

I went to Letterman and Colbert. I actually bumped into Jimmy Fallon at his studio when I interviewed the leader of his band for this show.    

Back then, just a decade ago, late night hosts were more than mega-stars. Their shows were institutions. Even with social media, it felt like their programmes or versions of them were set to exist in some form for decades to come.   

How quickly things change.   

I really love the US, but Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension feels like another little moment in which we are watching a superpower destroy itself in real time.   

To be clear, I’m not a huge fan of Jimmy Kimmel. He’s fine I guess, but I wouldn’t seek him out. I thought his comments about Charlie Kirk’s assassination were pretty distasteful. But they were flippant, passing comments, that were clearly the opinion of a comedian. And to see the head of the Federal Communications Commission react by threatening broadcasters for airing Kimmel’s show was extraordinary.   

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” he said. Yeesh.  

First, there’s the hypocrisy. It’s only a few months since Vice-President JD Vance told the Munich Security Conference this:  

“I believe that dismissing people, dismissing their concerns or, worse yet, shutting down media… protects nothing. In fact, it is the most sure-fire way to destroy democracy.”

Interesting. Now his government agency is threatening to remove the broadcasting licenses of companies who broadcast views they don’t like. ‘Cos nothing honours the memory of a proud free speech advocate who was literally murdered while speaking, by actively suppressing, limiting, and punishing the speech of his critics.   

Perhaps even more remarkable is the way in which these media companies are routinely capitulating.   

On multiple occasions now, big corporates have wilted under pressure in order to try and curry favour with the President and protect their business interests. Paramount and CBS capitulated with his 60 Minutes complaint. Just two weeks later, they fired Stephen Colbert, the best comedian on late night and a frequent brutal critic of the President. And for now, at least, Kimmel is gone too. 

It’s interesting to compare the ways in which media companies have dealt with pressure from the White House and the ways other countries have dealt with the US tariffs. It’s pretty similar. Instead of organising a collective response, grouping together with a collective resistance to the pressure, the big acronyms, the likes of CBS and ABC are acting in what they think is their own self-interest. They cut a deal and try to move on. Whether they’re international leaders or media executives, everyone is stooping to kiss the ring.

But is there any evidence it works? If you give a bully your lunch money, does he leave you alone thereafter? Or does he come back for more? They think it’s in their self-interest to acquiesce, but one capitulation leads to another, and another... it snowballs, and before you know it, the President of the United States is deciding which comedians are allowed on TV. 

He now says some networks that are critical of him should have their licenses taken away. Like everything, it’s hard to know it it’s a serious idea. But the mere suggestion is so profoundly un-democratic, so profoundly un-American. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack Team podcast
from News Talks at be You.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Know, for the years that I lived in New York,
I always had visiting Kiwi's and visiting anyone. Really, when
you live in New York, there are lots of visitors.
I had anyone, anyone crashing on my couch come up
with a list of the things that they wanted to
do while they were in the city, and more often
than not when they came to town and you know, were
listing off all the various things, top of the Rock,

(00:35):
out to the Empire State, those sorts of things. One
of the things I wanted to do in the Big
Apple was to get into the audience at one of
the late night shows. So over the years that I
was there, I went to Lederman, I went to Colbert.
I actually bumped into Jimmy Fallon at his studio when
I interviewed the leader of his band for this very show,

(00:57):
you know, Questlove and the Roots How they are Jimmy
Fallon's band. Well, I went into his studio to interview
Questlove Quest Not actually had a piece of tomato on
me accidentally during that and two, which was a first anyway,
That's where I met Jimmy Fallon as well, bumped into
him there. So that was what just just over a
decade ago. And at that time, late night hosts were

(01:20):
more than just megastars, you know, those shows were institutions.
Even with social media. It sort of felt like their
programs or versions of those late night comedy programs were
set to exist in some form for decades to come.
But my, how quickly things change. A So, I like,
I love the US, I love America, but I'll tell

(01:41):
you what, Jimmy Kimmel's suspension just feels like another little
moment in which we're watching a superpower destroy itself in
real time. To be clear, I'm not like a massive
Jimmy Kimmel fan. I mean, he's fine, I guess. I
just you know, like I wouldn't seek him out if
I was living in America. I wouldn't know what time

(02:03):
his show aired. And I thought his common it's about
Charlie Kirk's assassination were pretty distasteful, but they were flippant
passing comments and they were clearly the opinion of a comedian.
And to then see the head of the Federal Communications Commission,
a government agency, react by threatening broadcasters for airing Jimmy

(02:24):
Kimmel's show was just extraordinary.

Speaker 1 (02:27):
What did he say?

Speaker 2 (02:28):
Quote we can do this the easy way or the
hard way. Unquote yesh. I mean, first, there's the hypocrisy, right.
It's only a few months since Vice President J. D
Vance told the Munich Security Conference this quote. I believe
that dismissing people, dismissing their concerns, or worse yet, shutting
down media protects nothing. In fact, it's the most surefire

(02:52):
way to destroy democracy. You don't say. Now his government
agency is threatening to remove the broadcasting licenses of companies
which broadcast views they don't like, because nothing honors the
memory of a proud free speech advocate who was literally
murdered while speaking by then suppressing, limiting, and punishing the

(03:14):
speech of his critics. Perhaps even more remarkable, though, is
the way in which these media companies are routinely rolling
over and capitulating, I mean, on multiple occasions now, big
corporates have wilted under pressure in order to try and
curry favor with the President and protect their business interests.

(03:36):
Powermount in CBS capitulated with his sixty minutes complaint and
then just two weeks later, they fired Stephen Colbert. Personally,
I think he was the best comedian on Late night
and of course a frequent brutal critic of the president.
And for now at least Jimmy Kimmel's gone too. It's
just interesting to compare the ways in which media companies

(03:59):
have dealt with pressure from the White House and the
ways in which other countries have dealt with pressure from
the US when it comes to trade tariffs, Because if
you think about it, it's actually pretty similar. So instead
of organizing a big collective response grouping together with collective
resistance to the pressure, the big acronyms in US media,

(04:21):
the likes of CBS and ABC are acting in what
they think is their own self interest in the short term, right,
So they cut a deal and they try to move on.
And whether they're international leaders or media executives, everyone is
stooping to kiss the ring. But I just don't think
there's any evidence it works. I mean, think about it.
If you give a bully your lunch money, does the

(04:44):
bully then leave you alone in the future or does
he come back for more. See, they think it's in
their self interest to acquiesce. But one capitulation inevitably leads
to another, and then another, and then another. It's snowballs, right,
and before you know it, the president of the United
States is deciding which comedians are allowed on TV. He

(05:07):
now says that some networks that are critical of him
should have their licenses taken away, And like everything, it's
hard to know if he's being hundred percent serious about it, right,
It's hard to know if it's a one hundred percent
serious idea. But the mere suggestion is so profoundly undemocratic,
It is so profoundly Unamerican.

Speaker 1 (05:31):
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