资深媒体人David Letterman在一次活动中对Kimmel被暂停节目一事表达了担忧，他认为这是“管理的媒体”的体现，并批评了因恐惧或讨好政府而解雇员工的行为。Letterman指出，在威权环境下，言论自由容易受到侵蚀，并质疑总统的言论是否具有预谋性。FCC主席Carr威胁ABC采取行动，否则将面临后果，Letterman则用“暴徒”形容这种施压方式，并回忆自己过去未曾受到此类政治干预。文章最后引述Goldberg与Letterman的对话，后者对当前媒体的自由度表示疑问。

📺 **对“管理的媒体”现象的担忧**：David Letterman将Kimmel节目被暂停描述为“管理的媒体”的体现，他认为这种现象“不好玩，很荒谬”，并强烈批评了基于恐惧或迎合“威权刑事政府”而解雇个人的行为，认为这种做法不符合基本原则。

⚖️ **言论自由在威权环境下的脆弱性**：Letterman指出，在威权或独裁的政治环境中，言论自由的边界会不断被侵蚀，最终可能波及所有人。他认为总统的言论和后续事件（如Stephen Colbert被处理）之间的联系，暗示了事件可能存在预谋性。

🏛️ **媒体与政治压力的界限**：Letterman质疑FCC主席Carr使用“轻松或强硬的方式”威胁ABC的做法，并将其比作黑帮电影中的场景，强调自己过去在电视工作时从未受到过来自总统政府、FCC或其他政府机构的关于节目内容的压力，认为总统职位应超越脱口秀主持人。

❓ **媒体自由度的质疑**：文章引用了Goldberg对当前媒体自由度“我们仍然有自由媒体吗？”的疑问，以及Letterman的回应“我们有吗？”，这直接点出了文章对当前媒体环境可能受到政治干预的深刻担忧。

Variety:

“This is misery,” Letterman said when asked about Kimmel’ssuspension, speaking at The Atlantic Festival2025 Thursdayin New York. “I feel bad about this,” he continued. “We see wherethis is all going, correct? It’s managed media. And it’s no good.It’s silly. It’s ridiculous. And you can’t go around firingsomebody because you’re fearful or trying to suck up to anauthoritarian criminal administration in the Oval Office. That’sjust not how this works.”

“In the world of somebody who is an authoritarian, maybe adictatorship, sooner or later, everyone is going to be touched,”said Letterman.

Letterman also said, “The institution of the president of theUnited States ought to be bigger than a guy doing a talk show.”Kimmel’s removal from late-night TV, he said, “was predicted byour president right after Stephen Colbert got walked off, soyou’re telling me this isn’t premeditated at some level?” [...]

On Wednesday, ABC suspended Kimmel’s late-night show“indefinitely.” That came after FCC chairman Brendan Carr justhours earlier threatened ABC and its affiliates if they didn’t“take action” on Kimmel over what he perceived as objectionablecomments about Charlie Kirk’s killer. “We can do this the easy wayor the hard way,” Carr said on a conservative podcast. [...]

Regarding Carr’s comment that “we can do this the easy way or thehard way,” Letterman said, “Who is hiring these goons — MarioPuzo?”, referring to the author of The Godfather. Letterman saidwhen he was on TV, he never got pressure from a presidentialadministration, the FCC or any other government agency about hison-air commentary.

“Goons” is exactly the right word. Letterman’s commentary on this is, by far, the best I’ve seen, because it’s been the most clear-eyed. I quoted a lot above, but there’s more, so please read the whole piece. But this one extra snippet from the piece puts it on the right scale:

Goldberg posited that today, despite Trump’s attacks on thepress, “we still have a free media,” to which Lettermanresponded, “Do we?”