The repercussions from the firing of Stephen Colbert and the ending of The Late Present are nonetheless being felt. Followers are shocked. Persons are threatening to cancel their Paramount+ subscription in protest. The Late Evening group is questioning what different sneakers could also be about to drop.
The truth that this occurred as Paramount is on the verge of being bought by Skydance has not been misplaced on folks. Expectations are that there shall be main shakeups at CBS, and now a supply reportedly near Skydance CEO David Ellison has revealed to The Monetary Occasions (through The Each day Mail) how the incoming staff would possibly actually really feel about Colbert and others as they start to take over CBS. He mentioned…
The information misplaced its approach – it turned excessive, elitist, and performative. Folks like Colbert and others act like they’re the IP [intellectual property], the worth, when it is the model and journalism that matter. We have to get again to fundamentals. That is what David and his staff consider.
It’s unclear simply who this unnamed supply is, past allegedly being anyone “shut” to David Ellison. As such, a press release suggesting Ellison’s motives needs to be taken with a grain of salt. FT additionally claims sources say Ellison was not concerned in any respect within the Colbert resolution.
Nonetheless, if that is an correct illustration of Ellison’s emotions about Colbert, it might in the end be a very good factor that Colbert gained’t be working underneath the brand new regime for very lengthy. The FCC formally permitted the merger final week, although it would seemingly be a number of extra months earlier than the deal is finalized.
It needs to be identified that Stephen Colbert isn’t a journalist. He solely performed one on The Colbert Report. He’s, the truth is, a comic, and there’s definitely an argument to be made that he is the IP on the subject of The Late Present. Who the host of a late-night speak present is will definitely be a serious figuring out issue for folks deciding whether or not or to not watch. Hosts often have the job for many years, so deciding who shall be a late-night host is a serious resolution that has precipitated its share of controversy through the years.
That mentioned, the information is definitely an enormous a part of any late-night present, because it typically informs the nightly monologue, which is strictly the place the controversy in Colbert’s firing comes from. Simply days earlier than the announcement that The Late Present was ending, Colbert addressed Paramount’s lawsuit settlement with President Trump, calling it a “bribe.” It’s been instructed by Colbert and others that the settlement was a part of an settlement to easy the way in which for the Skydance buy of Paramount.