Selling Out the Signal

Stephen Colbert has been hosting The Late Show on CBS for 11 seasons, taking over from the legendary David Letterman. Like many late-night hosts, Colbert didn’t flinch when it came to standing up to Donald Trump. Night after night, he held up a mirror to our political absurdity, helping Americans process the chaos with humor and sharp wit.

But truth, even in the form of a joke, threatens the powerful.

CBS, owned by Paramount, recently announced the cancellation of The Late Show. The official reason? Financial concerns. But that explanation doesn’t hold water. Colbert still draws one of the largest audiences in late-night television, outperforming many of his peers. So what’s really going on?

Here’s what we know: Paramount is in the middle of an $8 billion merger with Skydance Media, a deal that requires approval from the FCC. Just before Colbert’s show was canceled, Trump threatened to sue Paramount over a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris. Shortly after, Paramount paid Trump a $16 million settlement. There was no trial and no resistance. It was a shameless act of capitulation. Then Colbert called it out, boldly labeling it a “Big Fat Bribe.”

And within days, his show was canceled.

Coincidence? Hardly.

Consider this: Trump has already installed a lackey to lead the FCC, and Skydance Media is backed by Larry Ellison and his son, David, both billionaires and Trump allies. These billionaires understand the game. To get the merger approved, they must play by the Don’s rules. And that means silencing voices that challenge the Don of Pennsylvania Avenue.

It looks, smells, and walks like a mafia protection racket. Corporate executives pay off the strongman, and in return, they get their deals approved. It’s business, not democracy. And if satire becomes collateral damage in the process, so be it. The American public’s right to question power, laugh at absurdity, and hear dissenting voices is being traded away so the rich can get richer.

Unfortunately, Paramount is not alone. Across the country, billionaires and political cronies are working together to control what we see, hear, and believe. Since the Fairness Doctrine was abolished under the Reagan Administration, our airwaves have been sold to the highest bidder. The natural result is mind control through a medium that used to be publicly owned. Satire is thus pushed out of the public square. Truth has become too costly to broadcast. Storytellers must increasingly pass a loyalty test. We’ve lost our public media, and as a result, we’re losing our democracy.

So here’s the question we must now ask: What kind of nation will we become when both our news and our laughter are held hostage by billionaires eager to please a mafia don? How do we stay connected when our channels of satire, storytelling, and shared truths are weaponized to keep us silent? If we allow the airwaves to be sold to the highest bidder and truth to be buried under boardroom deals, we won’t just lose a late-night host. We’ll lose our collective voice. And ultimately, we’ll lose our freedom and liberty.

Although sparse, there is some good news. There’s still time to change course. If democracy is being auctioned off, then it’s up to “We the People” to sound the alarm, raise our voices, organize, and fight like hell to take it back. Democracy was never for sale, but unless we stop them, billionaires are going to sell it anyway.