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CBS talk show host Stephen Colbert told his audience on Monday that his interview with the Senate candidate James Talarico had been pulled after the network’s lawyers informed him the interview could not be shown on air.
So what? Talarico is a Democrat. CBS has presented the decision as a necessary enforcement of broadcast rules, but many observers see it as the latest skirmish in a shadow war between presenters, US media owners, Donald Trump and the communications regulator. Last year the former actor David Ellison bought Paramount, the parent company of CBS. Since then
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Colbert has lost his show and Anderson Cooper has quit 60 Minutes;
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Bari Weiss, known for her ‘anti-woke’ views, has become editor of CBS News; and
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the Trump administration has been accused of a concerted pressure campaign that seeks to fundamentally redraw the US media landscape.
News flash: the campaign may succeed.
Protagonist #1. James Talarico is running to be a senator in Texas. Although Democrats have not won a statewide race for 30 years, the Dems flipped a solidly Republican local seat on 1 February and Talarico has a promising profile: young, progressive and Christian.
Protagonist #2. Stephen Colbert made his name as a spoof commentator on The Daily Show, then as host of The Colbert Report. In 2015 he succeeded David Letterman as host of The Late Show. CBS announced last summer that the franchise would be retired for financial reasons.
A timeline:
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7 July 2024: Skydance, owned by David Ellison, son of Trump friend and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, announces intent to merge with Paramount.
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31 October 2024: Trump sues Paramount, claiming a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris was deceptively edited.
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5 November 2024: Trump beats Harris in presidential race.
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2 July 2025: Trump reaches $16m settlement with Paramount.
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15 July 2025: Colbert calls payment a “big fat bribe”.
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18 July 2025: CBS announces Colbert’s show will end in May 2026, describing it as a “purely financial decision”.
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24 July 2025: Federal Communications Commission, run by Trump pick Brendan Carr, approves Paramount merger.
No way Colbert. CBS denies preventing Colbert from airing the interview with Talarico, saying that The Late Show was “provided legal guidance that the broadcast could trigger the FCC equal-time rule for two other candidates”. Colbert said the statement was “crap”.
Small print. The equal-time rule, introduced in 1927, requires broadcasters to give the same opportunity for airtime to all “legally qualified candidates who submit a request”. A “bona fide news exemption” in 1959 allowed news interviews to avoid this rule. The FCC extended this to late-night talk shows in 2006. Carr tweaked the rules last month, asking broadcasts to place a record in an online file so rival candidates could request airtime. Since then the FCC has launched an investigation into an ABC interview with Talarico.
Streisand effect. Colbert’s conversation with the Senate candidate was posted on YouTube, which is not subject to FCC rules. It was billed as an “online exclusive” and at the time of writing has more than 5m views. This is nearly double the average audience enjoyed by Colbert.
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The bigger picture. Since joining CBS News as editor-in-chief in October, Bari Weiss has tried to push the network to embrace more “heterodox” journalism. A 60 Minutes interview with Trump was heavily edited in November to remove claims such as
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“60 Minutes paid me a lotta money”;
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“I think you have a great new leader [in Weiss]”; and
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“I think one of the best things to happen is this show and new ownership”.
Network news. Longtime anchor Anderson Cooper announced that he was leaving CBS’s 60 Minutes on Monday. In December, Weiss ordered the show to hold a report on a Salvadoran prison, where the Trump administration had sent immigrants from Venezuela. Cooper said he wanted to spend more time with his family and focus on his CNN show.
That’s not all folks. This may not free him from the purview of Ellison. Paramount Skydance last week made its 10th improved offer for Warner Bros, the parent company of CNN, in a takeover battle with Netflix. Warner has asked for a “best and final offer” by Tuesday.
What’s more… If Paramount successfully outbids Netflix, the US media landscape will be reshaped even further. It will make Colbert’s cancellation feel like the thin edge of the wedge.
Photograph by CBS/YouTube