Hacker News.

Late-night host Stephen Colbert accused his network, CBS, of refusing to broadcast his interview with Texas Rep. James Talarico, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, during Monday night’s airing of “The Late Show” for fear of running afoul of the Trump administration.

Colbert said CBS canceled Talarico’s appearance on air in light of guidance issued Jan. 21 by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr, which directed daytime and late-night TV talk show hosts to offer equal airtime to all political candidates running for a given office. Talk shows have long been exempted from these “equal time” rules when conducting “bona fide news interviews,” allowing them to book political candidates without bringing on their opponents.

Talarico “was supposed to be here, but we were told in no uncertain terms by our network’s lawyers, who called us directly, that we could not have him on the broadcast,” Colbert said in a segment explaining the cancelation. “Then I was told in some uncertain terms that not only could I not have him on, I could not mention me not having him on. And because my network clearly doesn’t want us to talk about this, let’s talk about this.”

The interview was set to air on Monday night’s show the day before the start of early voting for Texas’ March 3 primaries. Talarico is vying for the Senate Democratic nomination against U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Dallas.

    • jballs@sh.itjust.works
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      4 days ago

      That guy was super well spoken and had a good message. I’m surprised I hadn’t heard of him before. Always nice to see the Streisand Effect in action!

      • mPony@kbin.earth
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        4 days ago

        He was definitely well spoken and definitely had a good message. It’s not at all surprising that we haven’t heard of him.

      • protist@mander.xyz
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        3 days ago

        I agree, though after listening to both of them a bunch, I’m supporting Talarico in this election. I hope to continue to see Crockett’s star rise though

          • exaybachae@startrek.website
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            8 hours ago

            The motivations for a person’s good actions are generally less important than that they act good, less you are looking for a way to manipulate them into acting poorly. Only then do the reasons behind their actions become more important than their actions themselves.

            God aside, he agrees with the words some ancient people spoke regarding how to be good people and thrive as a society, and no science has ever proven those words wrong… Science agrees, hand over fist.

            Research the sins and virtues and extrapolate their outcomes, or look to past examples. Then, when acting as an individual, choose the sin or virtue that best serves the whole community, including yourself.

          • Triasha@lemmy.world
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            3 days ago

            His religious argument for progressive values is what makes him a strong candidate for Texas.

          • kent_eh@lemmy.ca
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            3 days ago

            this fella is way too into god for me.

            Same, but the unfortunate reality is that’s what you need to be if you have a hope of getting elected in the southern US.