Hello again, everyone. Remember back in the day when the Columbia Broadcasting System, better known to you and me as CBS, was considered the Tiffany of networks? Yeah, good times. Well, the past couple of weeks have demonstrated how far that corporation, as well as most of "legacy media," has fallen.
The stars of CBS in happier times...
As many of you are well aware by now, CBS pulled the plug on a 32-year-old franchise recently when they decided to cancel the wildly popular "Late Show" with Stephen Colbert. All of this stemming from President Trump being majorly butt hurt over a technique done many times by networks over the years, an edit to an interview. This one just happened to be one of Kamala Harris, the former VP who Trump "beat" in November's presidential election. Trump sued claiming CBS was trying to influence the election, and CBS and Paramount, hoping to acquire Skydance, capitulated. As a result, or "financial decision," Colbert and the Late Show was canned.
Fast forward to the very next week. Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of "South Park," signed a $1.5 billion deal to have 50 episodes over five years on their streaming service (Paramount+), and immediately mocked the Paramount's settlement with Trump in the most "South Park" way possible.
Now I don't watch Colbert (I did watch Letterman), nor have I seen South Park in years (since their movie came out years ago), but I've seen bits and pieces of both shows over the years. Colbert is pretty much an answer to the talk radio format (mostly conservative), and very left-leaning politically. I guess Gutfieldless on Fox "News" Channel would be considered their polar opposite. The bits I saw from South Park's premiere last week were something I can't describe without being graphically vulgar (which begs the question, how can South Park keep getting away with this?). Trump gets absolutely skewered in this episode, which was all satirical (which answers my previously parenthesized question).
But in my opinion, the loss of Colbert sets a disturbing precedent. If he can go, who's to say that other late-night talk shows aren't safe from the corporate axe, and could this mean the death of late-night television as we've known it for generations? I mean, we've been in a 24/7 news cycle for about a decade now, and morning shows are starting at 4am. Back when I was a kid, some TV stations didn't air programming until 6am. But the 1980s and 90s were a different time. All I can say is instead of hearing "this is...CBS" which I would hear as a kid between network programs, it will be only a matter of time before we're all saying to ourselves, this is BS.
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