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Colbert claims CBS spiked Talarico

4m

Stephen Colbert said CBS spiked his planned interview with Texas Democrat James Talarico, citing new FCC guidance and political pressure, while CBS denied it had prohibited the segment.

New York Times
Stephen Colbert Finds a Place to File CBS’s Surprise Statement

“I don’t even know what to do with this, ” Colbert said about the network’s news release on a scrapped interview with a Democratic politician, before putting the paper in a dog waste bag.

Reposts 0 4h
Dagens Nyheter
Karl Dalén: Is Donald Trump afraid of James Talarico?

WASHINGTON. The decision not to air an interview with Texas Democrat James Talarico on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" has stirred emotions in the United States. Democrats call it censorship. Republicans say it is a way to promote impartiality. Meanwhile, the interview has received millions of views online.

Karl Dalén: Is Donald Trump afraid of James Talarico?
Reposts 0 6h

by Ilya Somin

22%
ilyasomin.bsky.social
Streisand effect strikes again!
chrisgeidner.bsky.social Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 7h
In less than 24 hours, Colbert's interview with Talarico is at more than 3.8 million YouTube views.

The video is already one of the two most watched videos on the Late Show's YouTube page this year.
February 18, 2026 at 5:09 AM

by Timothy D. McBride

0%
mcbridetd.bsky.social
Stephen Colbert says CBS censored interview with Texas Democrat out of fear of FCC www.nbcnews.com/video/stephe...
Stephen Colbert says CBS didn't air interview with Texas Democrat out of fear of FCC
“Late Show” host Stephen Colbert said that CBS did not air the interview with Texas state Rep. James Talarico, citing recent guidance from the Federal Communications Commission. NBC News’ Garrett Haak...
www.nbcnews.com
February 18, 2026 at 4:38 AM

Reposted by Ilya Somin

7%
chrisgeidner.bsky.social
In less than 24 hours, Colbert's interview with Talarico is at more than 3.8 million YouTube views.

The video is already one of the two most watched videos on the Late Show's YouTube page this year.
YouTube Search CANN OCBS Rep. James Talarico On Confronting Christian Nationalism, And Strange Days In The Texas Legislature LATE colbert The Late Show with Stephen Colbert o Subscribe 459K 10.6M subscribers Share TAIN Save * Download 3,806,927 views Feb 17, 2026 #Colbert #Comedy #James Talarico Stephen Colbert hosts Texas State Rep. James Talarico for an online-exclusive interview that touches on the issues raised in Talarico's campaign for the Democratic nomination for Senate including the separation of church and state, the dangers of consolidated corporate-owned media, and the fabricated culture wars pushed by Republicans in states like Texas. If you're curious why this interview with James Talarico was an online-exclusive, click here to watch Stephen Colbert explain: • • Why CBS Didn't Broadcast Stephen Colbert's....
February 18, 2026 at 4:35 AM

Reposted by Daxton R. Stewart

4%
brianstelter.bsky.social
...But the scrutiny of ABC weighed on CBS execs. There was a sense, I'm told, that the regulatory environment is uncertain, and that caution is warranted... and that's why network lawyers called Colbert's show. On CNN tonight, I called it an example of "obeying in advance."
February 18, 2026 at 4:00 AM

by Olivier Mannoni

4%
oliviermannoni.bsky.social
www.lemonde.fr/internationa...
« L’interview que Donald Trump ne veut pas que vous voyiez » : un entretien avec le démocrate James Talarico n’est pas diffusé sur CBS, Stephen Colbert met en cause la chaîne américaine
L’échange entre l’animateur et le candidat texan au Sénat a été diffusé sur la chaîne YouTube de l’émission. CBS a déclaré ne pas « avoir empêché » la diffusion de l’entretien, mais a souligné qu’il p...
www.lemonde.fr
February 18, 2026 at 3:59 AM

by Richard W. Painter

11%
rwpusa.bsky.social
CBS 60 minutes paid for me to travel to New York and spend a night there last August for an interview on presidential financial conflicts of interest and the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution. They never ran the intrerview.
February 18, 2026 at 1:41 AM

by Richard W. Painter

11%
rwpusa.bsky.social
Do we have a First Amendment or do we not?
www.nbcnews.com/business/med...
Stephen Colbert says CBS didn't air interview out of fear of FCC
Colbert kicked off Monday's episode of "The Late Show" by saying that the network's lawyers told him he could not have Texas state Rep. James Talarico on the broadcast.
www.nbcnews.com
February 18, 2026 at 1:38 AM

by Richard W. Painter

11%
The Independent
CBS hits back at Stephen Colbert after he claims top brass wouldn’t let him air interview with Texas candidate

CBS said Stephen Colbert’s show ‘was not prohibited’ from broadcasting his sit-down with James Talarico

CBS hits back at Stephen Colbert after he claims top brass wouldn’t let him air interview with Texas candidate
Reposts 3 10h

Reposted by Henry Jones

3%
tallyannae.bsky.social
Why CBS Didn't Broadcast Stephen Colbert's Interview With James Talarico
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oh7D...
Why CBS Didn't Broadcast Stephen Colbert's Interview With James Talarico
YouTube video by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
www.youtube.com
February 17, 2026 at 11:13 PM
Público
Stephen Colbert accuses CBS of blocking broadcast of interview with Democratic Senate candidate

The host of The Late Show accuses the U.S. administration of wanting 'silence anyone who says something negative about Trump'. CBS lawyers would have vetoed an interview with the Democratic candidate.

Reposts 0 13h
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
Interview with Democrat: Colbert accuses CBS of censorship

CBS rejects late-night host Stephen Colbert's censorship accusations. At the same time, it loses one of its most prominent faces, Anderson Cooper.

Interview with Democrat: Colbert accuses CBS of censorship
Reposts 0 13h

by John Mullahy Reposted by Michael Kevane

3%
johnmullahy.bsky.social
By keeping the interview off CBS it's a shame that no one was able to see it.

(The current youtube view count is 2,640,663.)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiTJ...
Rep. James Talarico On Confronting Christian Nationalism, And Strange Days In The Texas Legislature
YouTube video by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
www.youtube.com
February 17, 2026 at 10:24 PM

Reposted by Daxton R. Stewart

4%
bubbaprog.xyz
"you can't air x unless you also air y" is in fact prohibiting you from airing x when the FCC itself has this as the standard (this is from their ruling that Bill Maher was protected as bona fide)
7. Thus, in deciding whether a program qualifies as a "bona fide news interview" under Section 315(a)(2), a three-prong test evolved: (1) whether the program is regularly scheduled; (2) whether the broadcaster or an independent producer controls the program;’ and (3) whether the broadcaster's or independent producer's decisions on format, content and participants are based on newsworthiness rather than on an intention to advance or harm an individual's candidacy. 10. We believe that ABC has satisfied each prong of the test. First, "Politically Incorrect" has been regularly scheduled for almost two years, clearly meeting this requirement. Second, as to control, ABC has identified various reasonable mechanisms Buena Vista has implemented for exercising control throughout the production of "Politically Incorrect" and those structural safeguards appear reasonably designed to assure that good faith news judgment can be adequately protected. Third, ABC represents that Buena Vista's decisions about format, content and selection of participants are based on newsworthiness and not motivated by any partisan purpose. The presence of satire as an element of "Politically Incorrect" should not prevent the program from being considered bonafide in terms of good faith news judgment absent an indication that the satire is utilized to advance or harm any particular candidate for public office. The Supreme Court jn the Falwell decision noted the importance of satire in political speech, stating that, "Despite their sometimes caustic nature, from the early cartoon portraying George Washington as an ass down to the present day, graphic depictions and satirical cartoons have played a prominent role in public and political debate." 485 U.S. 46, 54. Satire in the form of a broadcast monologue about news of the day or during discussion of such issues does not appear less important in the realm of political debate than political cartoons.
February 17, 2026 at 10:21 PM

by Glenn Greenwald

6%

Reposted by James Goodwin

2%
karlbode.com
random reminder that CBS is not only lobbying the Trump DOJ for help scuttling the Netflix/Warner merger so Larry Ellison can also own CNN, the big four networks (CBS/Fox/ABC/NBC) have been lobbying the government for years to eliminate rules preventing them from merging as well
"As explained by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, “[u]nder [Section] 202(h) the Commission may retain a rule only if it reasonably determines that the rule is ‘necessary in the public interest.’”8 Given the robust competition faced by broadcast networks in the market for entertainment programming and national advertising, it is unreasonable to conclude that the Dual Network Rule remains necessary in today’s market. Indeed, it is not even clear that the rule serves any logical purpose in today’s market, where online video distributors (OVDs)—a group which includes some of the largest and most prolific content producers and distributors— and the large technology companies that dominate the national digital advertising market are not subject to any such restriction. Moreover, to the extent that any combination of the four networks would potentially occur, other checks in both the free market and the legal system would ensure that the public interest is not harmed in the absence of the Dual Network Rule. Thus, eliminating the Dual Network Rule is the only appropriate outcome consistent with Congress’s intent in Section 202(h) of the 1996 Act, and Network Commenters urge the Commission to do so as a part of this Quadrennial Review. "
February 17, 2026 at 9:41 PM

by Anders Aslund

19%

by Ian Bremmer

14%
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