The TV industry is experiencing significant challenges. It can rise like a phoenix from the ashes and restore trust with the American public if smart decisions are made. Not everyone running big outlets will do that though.
CNN’s revenue has dropped $400 million in the last three years. Ratings are low, staff has been cut, and a bunch of people have been moved to Atlanta. Even Kaitlan Collins has done double duty, anchoring her own show and serving as the network’s Chief White House Correspondent. That alone isn’t enough to save the network.
Then there’s Nexstar, which is trying to buy TEGNA, and playing a dangerous game of appeasing the government. How do they do this? By taking the programming on ABC—which you’ve paid for—and replacing it with something else. Politics aside, Nexstar is a distributor. They should not be blocking shows.
A distributor’s job is to deliver what you ordered. Think about it like this: you go to your local beer guy and order Sam Adams Summer Ale. When the delivery comes, you receive Pineapple White Claw instead. They are going to get a phone call from you because it’s not what you ordered.
You ordered ABC? You should get it in full, regardless of whether you agree or disagree with Jimmy Kimmel’s political stance. It is what you ordered — ABC with a side of poor judgment.
What’s the most ironic thing about FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr’s threats on ABC? For those who forgot their history, it is the fact that the network began because the federal government changed regulations to create more competition. The same agency that created you may now pull your license. That’s like when your mother would say to you as a kid, “I brought you into this world and I can take you out of it.” It makes no sense.
ABC (and this Kimmel problem) would not exist if NBC Blue had not been split from NBC Red in 1942. If those 1942 FCC regulators saw what this industry has become, not only would they be subdividing all of these large media groups, but the industry would also be better off.
Today, there is very little competition. The suits have bought everyone up, and are now blatantly controlling what you see. This is not what the media is supposed to do. Controlling what you see is not free speech.
Big corporations are no longer providing the service news organizations were meant to provide. The industry is supposed to serve the public, not try to make as much money as possible before bleeding itself dry because they’ve created echo chambers that aren’t profitable.
More importantly, big media has completely neutered local stations’ ability to cover the news that matters most to their area. Many local stations are so hyper-focused on national news because they don’t have the resources to cover local news anymore. What’s crazy is local news has more of a direct effect on everyday people than national news.
To paraphrase Gene Wilder’s Willy Wonka (because the others who portrayed the famed candy man were terrible): “It’s all there, black and white, clear as crystal! You stole Americans’ trust, and bumped into the political ceiling, which now has you hostage, so you get nothing! You lose! Good day, sir!”
The only way to come back from all of this is to break things up and stand on your own. Be small but think big. The way to rise from the ashes of this burning industry is to be neutral, keep it local, stay fully staffed, and — most importantly — keep big business and political gamesmanship out of your newsroom.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. Sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
Krystina Alarcon Carroll contributes features and columns for Barrett Media. She has experience in almost every facet of the industry including: digital and print news; live, streamed, and syndicated TV; documentary and film productions. Her prior employers have included NY1 and Fox News Digital and the Law & Crime Network. You can find Krystina on X (formerly twitter) @KrystinaAlaCarr.
