Disney-owned ABC announced on Wednesday evening that they are pausing the long-running show "Jimmy Kimmel live", after the host Jimmy Kimmel in his opening monologue commented on the suspected murderer of right-wing profile Charlie Kirk.
The news pleased President Donald Trump, who on social media called it "Good news for the USA".
Linnéa Kihlström believes that events like these have a direct impact on the American media landscape.
We have a president in the USA who is media-hostile and who time and time again attacks not only specific media houses but also individual journalists. Programs are shut down due to controversial statements or political satire, and from a freedom of speech perspective, it is deeply worrying, she says.
Kihlström believes that the decision regarding Kimmel will affect what the remaining American talk show hosts dare to say on air from now on.
It is both worrying and serious. Freedom of speech in a democracy should be extensive, and that individual people or politicians are upset by what is said in this type of program should not be able to affect their existence.
Therefore, it is more important than ever for them to continue. I hope that it can have the opposite effect in some places – that individual journalists and media houses think that it becomes even clearer to them how important their mission is in the USA today.
