Media falling in line behind Trump threats aren't merely capitulating, they're using lawsuits as impetus to go full MAGA

[bigtree]

......these corporate media execs and CEOs aren't populists looking to give progressivism a chance. They're moneyed conservatives who are essentially the 'reason for being' of today's republican party.

Mark Zuckerberg of Meta and Jeff Bezos of Amazon gave $1 million each to Trump’s inaugural fund, as did Sundar Pichai of Google.

"...institutions have moved right in more subtle ways since Trump’s first term. The 2022 merger of Discovery with Warner Bros put CNN under the direction of David Zaslav, who ran the merged megacompany. (Warner Bros and Discovery have recently split up.) Under Zaslav’s leadership, CNN took a number of steps to shed its liberal reputation, including firing Lemon in 2023."
https://newrepublic.com/article/198787/media-universities-businesses-trump-pressure-institutions

...it's esssentially pay for play with the Trump regime:

Trump reached a $16 million settlement with ABC in December after he sued for defamation over remarks made on air by star anchor George Stephanopoulos.

In July, Paramount paid the same amount to settle Trump’s lawsuit over the editing of a Kamala Harris interview on 60 Minutes. The FCC signed off on Paramount’s merger with Skydance Media just weeks later.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/real-reason-abc-bowed-down-to-trump-on-kimmel-author/ar-AA1MRopl

...but, I have a hard time believing that these same CEOs of these media corporations EVER gave a shit about confronting Trump, most advantaging their viewership and ratings with the daily outrage mill that the WH is so eager to provide fodder for to keep the gaslighting going nonstop.

They're 'folding' right into the arms of the president and administration which feeds their bank accounts. They're more than willing to push progressive concerns and interests off of their broadcasts because so many Dem initiatives threaten their monopolized moneyed interests.

Look no further than Nexstar for a synopsis of the faint scheme to 'comply' with the administration they've supported into power.

Nexstar Media Group Inc. thrust itself deep into the political conversation by pulling Kimmel’s late-night show on ABC off its 33 affiliate stations in markets including Nashville, Tenn.; Salt Lake City; and Harrisburg, Pa., in response to what it called “offensive” comments Kimmel had made about the shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Soon after, ABC — which is owned by the Walt Disney Co. said it, too, had decided to pull Kimmel’s show off the air indefinitely across its entire network of affiliates, of which Nexstar is the largest.

Those moves came just hours after the Donald Trump–selected head of the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, demanded that local TV bosses “take action” against Kimmel after his comments on Monday’s broadcast had drawn criticism in conservative media and the administration. The FCC regulates broadcast networks and oversees licensing for local stations across the country.

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said. “These companies can find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-nexstar-became-the-tip-of-the-spear-in-a-free-speech-fight-over-jimmy-kimmel-c336fa95

...Nexstar isn't looking to provide an equal platform for political debate and discussion, they're in the game to make money, and expand their media empire into a monopoly.

The local TV giant Nexstar is eager to expand through consolidation or other deals, with Republican control of the presidency and likely both houses of Congress.

During the company’s quarterly earnings call, CEO Perry Sook said that he intends to move quickly to pursue dealmaking, and that the real competitors to local TV is big tech. In fact deregulation is the “number one priority” of both the company and the broadcast trade group the NAB.

“It’s evident that the antiquated ownership caps applied to broadcasters do not reflect the reality of today’s competitive media environment,” Sook said. “We believe that there is value to be created for our shareholders through further consolidation, while driving true and new benefits to the American people who want and deserve fact-based unbiased local news ”

“Our industry’s real competition comes from big tech companies who have unfettered access to every screen in America, from phones, desktops to the TV in the living room. Yet our ability to compete with those behemoths is stymied by regulations that were last updated in 2004,” Sook added. “This industry needs strong companies who can compete on a level playing field for both viewers and advertisers on every screen in America, not just some of them. And the time is now to seek this reform and Nexstar is once again prepared to lead.”

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/nexstar-moves-consolidate-trump-administration-1236055761/

...Democrats are calling them out:

Congressional Democrats, including U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, are tying ABC late night host Jimmy Kimmel’s indefinite suspension on Wednesday to the $6.2 billion Nexstar-Tegna acquisition, which must be approved by the Federal Communications Commission.

Nexstar operates 28 ABC affiliates and is seeking to acquire Tysons-based Tegna, a $6.2 billion deal that the FCC must approve for it to move forward.

Both Disney and Nexstar have FCC business ahead of them. Disney is seeking regulatory approval for ESPN’s acquisition of the NFL Network, along with Nexstar’s Tegna deal.

The transaction, if approved, will bring together two major players in U.S. television and the country’s local news landscape. Nexstar oversees more than 200 owned and partner stations in 116 markets nationwide today and also runs networks like The CW and NewsNation. Meanwhile, Tegna, which was formed in 2015 when Gannett Co. spun off its broadcasting and digital business, owns 64 television news stations across 51 markets.

https://virginiabusiness.com/nexstar-tegna-kimmel-suspension/

...Kirk was pretext, and Kimmel was the catalyst for a corporate media posture on level with Trump's asshole that these execs have been looking to normalize, but they risked the ire of Democrats who had some hand in deciding their corporation's future expansion plans.

Now that they have a republican rubberstamp regime in place, they're simply asserting their preferred role of promoting the republicans who work for them in Congress, and who pass the laws that allow them to do what they please, public interest be damned.