"The lawsuit claims the August 28 order was retaliation for unions’ litigation and grievances opposing the agency’s dismantlement." Read this report by @matthewkeys.net on @thedesk.net

A petition to reinstate Jimmy Kimmel on ABC has received nearly 150,000 signatures as of Saturday afternoon. The website MoveOn has also started driving a truck around Burbank, where ABC is based, promoting their petition. sign.moveon.org/petitions/ki...

The new iPhone is an emblem of our miserable minimalist era | Dave Schilling

For some reason, Sinclair's Charlie Kirk memorial special is also discussing Billy Graham.

Fox News and NewsNation have solidified plans to air specials on Charlie Kirk this Sunday, timed to coincide with his public memorial (which both networks will be covering). CNN is scheduled to run normal programming, including "Real Time with Bill Maher."

The documentary streamed on YouTube instead; it will still air on Sinclair-owned broadcast stations affiliated with all networks over the weekend.

Earlier this week, Sinclair said it would replace "Jimmy Kimmel Live" with a documentary about Charlie Kirk during the Friday time slot that Kimmel occupies on its ABC affiliates. Friday evening, Sinclair pulled the documentary and aired "Celebrity Family Feud" instead.

The Office of California Governor Gavin Newsom has condemned a shooting at a local ABC affiliate in Sacramento. "Any act of violence toward journalists is an attack on our democracy itself and must be condemned in the strongest terms," Newsom's office said.

What Jimmy Kimmel controversy? Fox-owned Tubi has episodes of “The Man Show.” link.tubi.tv/3ivxpZ4WNWb

"Jimmy Kimmel Live" was suspended because Kimmel wanted to address the controversy during his monologue Wednesday evening, and Disney executives felt that would make the situation worse, not better. [Wall Street Journal]

NEW: Staff members at "Jimmy Kimmel Live" were told that they will be paid next week, per memo sent by ABC to employees.

#BREAKING: Police have responded to a bomb threat at the home of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., according to local media.

NEW: Police are looking for a white, heavy-set male who fired at least three shots at the KXTV ABC10 building in Sacramento. A law enforcement source says the suspected shooter left in a white, four-door Nissan vehicle and used a local freeway to escape.

This is my local station, and I have friends in that building. They tell me everyone is OK — there was someone in the lobby at the time of the shooting, but no one was injured. Police are still looking for the suspected shooter.

#BREAKING: Police are investigating a shooting at the ABC affiliate in Sacramento, California. The station is owned by TEGNA, which is in the process of merging with Nexstar, and has been a local site of protests over ABC's decision to suspend "Jimmy Kimmel Live."

A conservative law firm in Chicago has filed an FCC complaint against an ABC-owned TV station in Los Angeles because of the "Jimmy Kimmel Live" monologue that led to his show's suspension.

Scoop: Two unions have filed a federal lawsuit accusing President Donald Trump and Kari Lake, the acting CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, of union-busting at the Voice of America and other government-backed broadcasters.

#BREAKING: The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) are suing the Trump Administration for union-busting at the U.S. Agency for Global Media and Voice of America.

This is not surprising. Perry Sook, the founder and CEO of Nexstar, is one of the largest contributors to the NAB's Political Action Committee. Chris Ripley, the CEO of Sinclair, is also a major NAB PAC donor. Follow the money.

Senator Ted Cruz is the latest Republican to criticize FCC Chairman Brendan Carr for his veiled threats against ABC following Jimmy Kimmel's monologue on Monday. [The Wrap]

We tried to warn you about this in November — literally hours after the election was called. We told you the FCC was going to change. We told you Carr was going to shake things up in the broadcast TV space. We told you. Did you hear us?

Before Trump named Carr as his FCC chair, I wrote about how Trump and Carr were going to fulfill the Christmas wish lists of local broadcasters through regulation and deregulation. I wrote about it hours after the election was called. There were signs. thedesk.net/2024/11/trum...

This is what I posted on LinkedIn today. In part, if you're a Disney shareholder, you should be really pissed. They've alienated a core part of their audience — people are canceling Disney+ and Hulu, and no one from the MAGA side is responding to Kimmel's hiatus by signing up for Disney Plus.

Yeah, but, also, Michael Eisner is kind of a turd. His final few years at Disney were some of the worst at the company; he left Disney a better company than it was before he joined, but also left it on rocky soil with no clear path toward future success. He was also the guy who backed Struum. LOL.

The "Read More" section at the bottom of the article perfectly illustrates why Trump is suing media outlets.

Former Rep. Liz Cheney to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr: "You took an oath to the Constitution, not to Donald Trump."

The Dutch go hard.

"We don't talk about Jeffrey, no, no..."

Opinion: The Trump administration is escalating its crackdown on dissent, using Charlie Kirk’s assassination and other flashpoints to justify a sweeping authoritarian project. (via @theconversation.com)

This is a great question. Disney won't be telling us. They've already said they'll stop disclosing subscriber counts in their earnings reports. That means we'll have to rely on third parties, like Antenna, to provide that data based on financial signals. I'll reach out to them today.

First, they take away the people who make you laugh. Then, they take away the people who help you think. All designed to make you afraid and comply.

"When a society is under threat, comedians are the ones who get sent away first. It's just a reminder to people that democracy is under threat." -Jon Stewart. [Video: PBS]

In a remarkable act of defiance and solidarity, "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" played the clip from the monologue that led to the suspension of "Jimmy Kimmel Live" by ABC. It aired on CBS stations and affiliates across the country. [Video: CBS]

This is how "The Daily Show" began its episode on Thursday... "It's the all-new, government-approved Daily Show! With your patriotically-obedient host, Jon Stewart!"

Jon Stewart explains how we all got here. "In America, we have a little something called the First Amendment..." [Video: "The Daily Show" / Comedy Central]

Everyone on "The Daily Show" tonight is wearing a red tie and a flag pin.

He's wearing a red tie.

Jon Stewart on President Trump: "He didn't have to look down once...as he name-checked his favorite authors off the top of his head!"

"We have another fun, hilarious — administration-compliant show," Jon Stewart says at the open of "The Daily Show." The audience groans. "What are you doing?! Shut up!"

NEW: FCC Chairman Brendan Carr is now targeting ABC's roundtable discussion program "The View." In an interview on Thursday, Carr questioned whether The View still qualifies as a "news program," which exempts it from the FCC's equal time rule.

Our coverage from the past 24 hours on the FCC vs. Jimmy Kimmel, now a dedicated section on our homepage. For the latest, go here: thedesk.net#fcc-kimmel

#BREAKING: The Center for American Rights, a conservative law firm, has filed an FCC complaint against ABC-owned television station KABC Los Angeles over Jimmy Kimmel's monologue.

NEW: A Nexstar spokesperson has denied to @thedesk.net that its decision to pre-empt "Jimmy Kimmel Live" on its ABC affiliates was intended to curry favor with the FCC. The agency is scrutinizing, and must approve, business-related transactions involving Nexstar.

No one was complaining about Jimmy Kimmel's monologue until Brendan Carr went on a podcast to criticize ABC. Then, the network and "Jimmy Kimmel Live" were inundated with threatening e-mails, and some online users doxxed the show's staffers, prompting the network to suspend the show. [WSJ]

The FCC cannot do that without inviting legal challenges. This is unconstitutional and an affront to the bedrock principles free speech, free press and free expression.

WELL GEE, I WONDER WHAT THE TOPIC WILL BE??!??!

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr wrote the chapter on the FCC in the "Project 2025" manual. The first seven words he wrote: "The FCC should promote freedom of speech" Broadcasters are mentioned just twice — neither mention was in the context of permissible content.

House lawmakers say they are working on a plan that would require FCC Chairman Brendan Carr to testify before the House Oversight Committee on his agency's actions and his recent comments concerning local broadcasters.

Nexstar and Sinclair, the broadcast groups that threatened to pre-empt Jimmy Kimmel's late night talk show, both have pending business deals that require FCC approval.

NEW: "Tonight Show" host Jimmy Fallon has abruptly canceled his appearance at Fast Company's Innovation Festival. He was expected to participate in a session called "Staying On Brand."