Latest news with #BernieSanders
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Colbert is latest casualty of late-night TV's fade-out
By Dawn Chmielewski and Lisa Richwine LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Late-night television had been fighting for its survival even before 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' was canceled this week. The announced end of one of the most popular broadcast late-night shows, days after host Stephen Colbert accused the network owner of bribing President Donald Trump to approve a merger, drew cries of political foul play from liberal politicians, artists and entertainers. "Stephen Colbert, an extraordinary talent and the most popular late-night host, slams the deal. Days later, he's fired. Do I think this is a coincidence? NO," Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent, wrote on X. CBS executives said in a statement that dropping the show was "purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night. It is not related in any way to the show's performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount." Whether or not politics were at play, the late-night format has been struggling for years, as viewers increasingly cut the cable TV cord and migrate to streaming. Younger viewers, in particular, are more apt to find amusement on YouTube or TikTok, leaving smaller, aging TV audiences and declining ad revenues. Americans used to religiously turn on Johnny Carson or Jay Leno before bed, but nowadays many fans prefer to watch quick clips on social media at their convenience. Advertising revenue for Colbert's show has dropped 40% since 2018 - the financial reality that CBS said prompted the decision to end 'The Late Show' in May 2026. One former TV network executive said the program was a casualty of the fading economics of broadcast television. Fifteen years ago, a popular late-night show like 'The Tonight Show' could earn $100 million a year, the executive said. Recently, though, 'The Late Show' has been losing $40 million a year, said a person briefed on the matter. The show's ad revenue plummeted to $70.2 million last year from $121.1 million in 2018, according to ad tracking firm Guideline. Ratings for Colbert's show peaked at 3.1 million viewers on average during the 2017-18 season, according to Nielsen data. For the season that ended in May, the show's audience averaged 1.9 million. 'SHOCKED BUT NOT SURPRISED' Comedians like Colbert followed their younger audiences online, with the network releasing clips to YouTube or TikTok. But digital advertising did not make up for the lost TV ad revenue, the source with knowledge of the matter said. The TV executive said reruns of a hit prime-time show like 'Tracker' would leave CBS with 'limited costs, and the ratings could even go up." "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" is just the latest casualty of the collapse of one of television's most durable formats. When 'The Late Late Show' host James Corden left in 2023, CBS opted not to hire a replacement. The network also canceled 'After Midnight' this year, after host Taylor Tomlinson chose to return to full-time stand-up comedy. But the end came at a politically sensitive time. Paramount Global, the parent company of CBS, is seeking approval from the Federal Communications Commission for an $8.4 billion merger with Skydance Media. This month Paramount agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by Trump over a "60 Minutes" interview with his 2024 Democratic challenger, Kamala Harris. Colbert called the payment 'a big fat bribe' two days before he was told his show was canceled. Many in the entertainment industry and Democratic politicians have called for probes into the decision, including the Writers Guild of America and Senator Edward Markey, who asked Paramount Chair Shari Redstone whether the Trump administration had pressured the company. Paramount has the right to fire Colbert, including for his political positions, Markey said, but 'if the Trump administration is using its regulatory authority to influence or otherwise pressure your company's editorial decisions, the public deserves to know.' A spokesperson for Redstone declined comment. "It's a completely new world that artists and writers and journalists are living in, and it's scary," said Tom Nunan, a veteran film and TV producer who is co-head of the producers program at UCLA's School of Theater, Film and Television. "When the news came in about Colbert, we were shocked but not surprised."
South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Why Stephen Colbert is the latest casualty of late-night TV's changing economics
Late-night television had been fighting for its survival even before The Late Show with Stephen Colbert was cancelled this week. The announced end of one of the most popular broadcast late-night shows, days after host Stephen Colbert accused the network owner of bribing President Donald Trump to approve a merger, drew cries of political foul play from liberal politicians, artists and entertainers. 'Stephen Colbert, an extraordinary talent and the most popular late-night host, slams the deal. Days later, he's fired. Do I think this is a coincidence? NO,' Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent, wrote on social media. CBS executives said in a statement that dropping the show was 'purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night. It is not related in any way to the show's performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.' Whether politics were at play, the late-night format has been struggling for years, as viewers increasingly cut the cable TV cord and migrated to streaming. Younger viewers, in particular, are more apt to find amusement on YouTube or TikTok, leaving smaller, ageing TV audiences and declining ad revenues. Americans used to religiously turn on Johnny Carson or Jay Leno before bed, but nowadays, many fans prefer to watch quick clips on social media at their convenience. Advertising revenue for Colbert's show has dropped 40 per cent since 2018 – the financial reality that CBS said prompted the decision to end The Late Show in May 2026.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
What Bernie Sanders told Zohran Mamdani about antisemitism and pushing back on Democratic leaders
Days after Eric Adams won the New York City mayoral primary four years ago, he was invited to Washington by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi to speak to the House Democratic caucus, touted by the chair of the House Democrats' campaign arm as a model for campaigns around the country, and welcomed at Joe Biden's White House. Zohran Mamdani's trip to Washington after his own primary victory lasted about four hours. There were no meetings with senior Democratic leaders. The 33-year-old assemblyman and democratic socialist had breakfast Wednesday with Democratic members of Congress before a private strategy session with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a key endorser before his stunning primary victory. But party leaders and many swing-district lawmakers kept their distance from Mamdani, worried about his policy ideas and Republican plans to make him a national foil. Sanders urged his now-protégé to be firm in calling for Democratic leaders to rally behind him but also to more carefully address what he's said about Israel. First was a breakfast meeting arranged by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who had also endorsed him before the June 24 primary. The conversation around the platters, according to multiple people in the room, involved roughly 40 House Democrats asking and taking notes about Mamdani's message of affordability. Mamdani joked at one point that in terms of getting support, he's gone 'from being the hunter to the hunted.' California Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, still munching on a spinach pastry, was all smiles as she headed to her car. She said her big takeaway was about 'not being distracted by the culture wars Republicans inevitably want to stoke.' Most New York Democrats skipped the meeting, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who has not endorsed Mamdani but plans to meet with him Friday in Brooklyn. Some members joked privately to CNN that their invitations must have gotten lost. Some blamed scheduling conflicts. A half-dozen political trackers — one carrying her fluffy brown dog as she held her phone up to take videos — hounded House Democrats on their way out about condoning the phrase 'globalize the intifada,' which Mamdani has moved to distance himself from even as he faces allegations that he hasn't sufficiently condemned antisemitism. But even as members like California Rep. Mark Takano walked out of seeing Mamdani by already embracing some of his far-left ideas, arguing, 'there's not a lot of difference between a government-run grocery store and some sort of co-op,' Rep. Tom Suozzi, who represents a swing district centered on suburban Long Island, was blunt in an interview with CNN. 'I'm a Democratic capitalist, I'm not a democratic socialist — and I think that Mamdani's philosophy of raising taxes … would make New York City less attractive than it is right now,' he said. Asked why she wasn't standing with Mamdani or offering him up to campaign around the country the way her predecessor did with Adams four years ago, the House Democrats' campaign chair, Washington Rep. Suzan DelBene, said in a statement that voters in swing districts want 'local leaders' talking about lowering costs and pushing back on Republicans. 'Voters in places like Arizona and Iowa aren't thinking about who the mayor of New York City may be,' DelBene said. What Sanders told Mamdani Perhaps Mamdani's biggest meeting of the day was on the Senate side of Capitol Hill – not with Chuck Schumer, the minority leader and senior senator from Brooklyn, or with Kirsten Gillibrand, the chair of the Senate Democrats' campaign arm and the state's junior senator. Neither has met with him. Both have pushed off talk about endorsing him. Sanders, a Brooklyn native, was eager to welcome Mamdani for their first meeting after several phone calls, including a congratulatory one after his primary win. The closest that they've come in person before was at Sanders' October 2019 rally in Queens marking his comeback after a heart attack, which Mamdani used as an early organizing opportunity for his first assembly campaign. A person familiar with their conversation, speaking on condition of anonymity, disclosed some of Sanders' advice to Mamdani. The eagerness of some wealthy opponents to his candidacy to attack his campaign via super PACs and independent expenditures, Sanders told him, was a topic worth keeping attention on. Call out the oligarchs, the senator said, but also be prepared not to unilaterally disarm via his own PAC. 'What I find outrageous, to tell you the truth, is that you have billionaires … openly saying, 'Well, yes, Mamdani won the primary, but we're going to spend as much as it takes to defeat him,'' Sanders told CNN's Anderson Cooper on Wednesday. As for the other Democrats who've been holding out, Sanders said in their private meeting, there should be no supplication, even to Jeffries and Schumer. They should be supporting him, Sanders said, since he's the Democratic nominee. According to the person familiar with his comments, Sanders noted he did the same when he lost the Democratic presidential primaries to Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden. Sanders, who is Jewish, urged Mamdani to be cautious about how he approaches talking about Israel. Both are critics of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel's handling of its war in Gaza. Ahead of the trip, Mamdani told business leaders in New York that he would discourage the use of the phrase 'globalize the intifada.' Mamdani, who has not used the phrase himself, has said he believes the phrase to be a rallying cry for Palestinian human rights and refused to condemn its use when asked during his primary campaign. According to the person familiar with their conversation, Sanders told Mamdani he had to do a better job explaining that his criticism is not antisemitic and to not let himself seem like he's minimizing the fear Jews in New York and elsewhere feel from the threat of hate against them. Afterward, they talked outside for photos showing them with big laughing smiles. Sanders posted them and Mamdani quickly reshared them. 'Bernie may be the great Senator from Vermont,' Mamdani wrote. 'But he's Brooklyn through and through.' Jeffries and Mamdani will soon meet in NYC A Jeffries spokesman declined comment on why the House Democratic leader hadn't extended the same kind of invitation to speak to the whole caucus that Adams received four years ago. The two still don't know each other much, and Jeffries has been holding off in saying much about him until they meet. Asked how the candidate felt about not getting an invitation, a spokesperson for Mamdani pointed to comments earlier this week saying that he's looking forward to their Friday meeting and that they had already connected about working together to tackle what he called the 'twin crises' in the city of fighting for affordability and standing up for immigrants' rights. Several House Democrats pointed out that it wasn't as if their embrace four years ago of Adams worked out so well. Adams is now seeking reelection as an independent after dropping out of the Democratic primary. He faced a corruption indictment that the Trump administration dropped in its first months. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, the Washington state congresswoman and former chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, had her own private meeting with Mamdani on Wednesday. They talked about help campaigning and some policy issues. What struck Jayapal, she said later, was how the younger staffers in her office and in the hallways responded to seeing him, how many came up to meet him or take a photo. 'Obviously everyone has to go through their own processes, but people have to recognize what an incredible campaign he ran and what an incredible campaigner he is,' she told CNN. 'And I hope everyone gets on board quickly.' Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, the only Republican member of Congress from New York City, was also happy Mamdani was in the capital. She argued Democrats going anywhere near him was a tell about their own fears. 'The radical left and the socialist wing of the Democratic Party is moving everybody to the left, and these folks who are supposedly centrists are afraid of their shadow so they're just going along for self-preservation,' she said. The headline of this story has been updated. It has also been updated to add details about Sanders' public comments on Mamdani. CNN's Manu Raju contributed to this report.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Democrat voters who sat out last election want candidates further to the left - like AOC and Bernie Sanders, new poll finds
Democratic voters who opted against casting a ballot in the 2024 election want more left-leaning candidates, a new poll indicates. Kamala Harris' defeat to Donald Trump in the 2024 election put the Democratic Party in a spiral trying to figure out what went wrong. While some have speculated that Harris was 'too far left,' costing her the election, new research by Lake Research Partners and Way to Win suggests otherwise. In a poll of 822 so-called 'Biden skippers,' those living in battleground states who voted for Biden in 2020 but sat out in 2024, Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders and New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez topped the list of public figures they viewed favorably. Both Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez have campaigned on healthcare for all, environmental protection, and progressive wealth taxes. Of those surveyed, 78 percent had a favorable view of Sanders, 67 percent had a favorable view of Ocasio-Cortez, followed by California Governor Gavin Newsom with 60 percent and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer with 50 percent. 'The conventional wisdom is really wrong on these voters,' Celinda Lake, pollster and founder of Lake Research Partners, told Rolling Stone. 'They're very clear about what they want and what they thought was missing in 2024: They want leaders who will fight for everyone… They're very health care-oriented…They want to crack down on Big Pharma… They're very populist. They have a clear economic agenda around affordability and making the wealthy pay what they owe in taxes.' She added: 'You can't get these voters by just being against things. You have to be for something… You have to be offering solutions… And you have to be standing up and fighting.' Perhaps the names that topped the list weren't surprising, seeing as Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez have been zigzagging across the country on a 'Fighting Oligarchy' tour. Tens of thousands have packed into arenas to hear the pair bash Trump's presidency and urge Americans to come together to combat the 'billionaire class,' as Sanders puts it. The poll unveiled other views held by voters who sat out the last election. 'Biden skippers' had an overall positive view of the Democratic party and almost half — 49 percent — said they check the news several times per day, the poll found. If they had voted in 2024, 56 percent said they would have voted for Harris while only 25 percent said they would have voted for Trump. Still, the survey found most made an active choice to sit out the last election. Asked why they skipped casting a ballot, the most common answer was that they didn't like either candidate. Of the issues that impacted their decisions to not vote, Harris' economic views ranked in the top two. They believed she didn't 'have a strong enough plan to get the cost of living down' and they thought she 'only focused on home buyers and the middle class, not addressing deeper issues like poverty and inequality,' the survey found. Still, 81 percent of 'Biden skippers' said they were motivated to vote in 2026. The top issues they care about are accessible and affordable healthcare, ensuring the wealthy pay what they owe in taxes, affordable housing, and curbing Big Pharma's price gouging for prescription drugs, the poll found. These voters are 'really ready for messaging to go on offense against what the Republicans are doing — whether it's cutting health care that hurts children, giving billionaires more tax giveaways, doing absolutely nothing to cut costs,' Jenifer Fernandez Ancona, a co-founder of Way to Win, told Rolling Stone. These desires map out a path forward for Democrats, as these voters seem to be 'uniquely winnable — and a key element to building back a more sustainable Democratic coalition, which is what we have to do,' Ancona said.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Democratic Voters Who Skipped 2024 Election Want Candidates Like Bernie, AOC
Since Donald Trump's crushing defeat of Kamala Harris in November, Democrats have agonized over their loss. Manifestos have been published, podcasts launched, summits held — all in the name of trying to figure out how to win back the voters Democrats lost last year. But new research suggests the prevailing wisdom that has guided those efforts — the idea that Democrats tacked too far to the left last year — might be, well, wrong. The polling, conducted by Democratic pollster Celinda Lake on behalf of the progressive donor network Way to Win, indicates that, contrary to Beltway groupthink, these voters would have preferred someone more progressive than Harris. According to Lake, the Americans who voted for Joe Biden in 2020 and sat out the 2024 election generally hold a favorable view of Democrats, they believe inequality is at the heart of the country's problems and health care should be available to everyone who needs it, and they want candidates committed to fighting for that vision. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the politicians most popular among the voters polled were the ones who have long campaigned on making health care accessible to all, and making billionaires pay their fair share: Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) were far and away the favorite candidates of voters polled. Seventy eight percent of those polled held favorable views of Sanders, and 64 percent had favorable views of AOC. Governors Gavin Newsom (Calif.) and Gretchen Whitmer (Mich.) also polled reasonably well among these voters, earning favorability ratings 60 and 50 percent, respectively. 'The conventional wisdom is really wrong on these voters,' Lake tells Rolling Stone. 'They're very clear about what they want and what they thought was missing in 2024: They want leaders who will fight for everyone… They're very health care-oriented…They want to crack down on Big Pharma… They're very populist. They have a clear economic agenda around affordability and making the wealthy pay what they owe in taxes.' Perhaps most critically, Lake adds: 'You can't get these voters by just being against things. You have to be for something… You have to be offering solutions… And you have to be standing up and fighting.' Previously publicized voter file data indicated that millions of voters who cast votes for Biden in 2020 failed to appear at the polls to back his vice president four years later. Lake Research Partners polled 822 registered voters in battleground states who matched that profile, and what they found was that those voters are more liberal, and more plugged into the news, than many of the loudest pundits and prognosticators have assumed. The most common answer given by these voters for why they didn't vote is because they 'didn't like either candidate' and felt like they were being forced to choose between 'the lesser of two evils.' When asked about specific policies, the most frequently cited reason these voters gave for not voting for Harris was because she failed to adequately address their economic concerns, like the cost of living and the scourge of income inequality. Asked about the policies that would motivate them to cast a vote for Democrats in the 2026 midterm elections, an overwhelming majority — 62 percent — of these voter said they would be 'very likely' to back a Democrat who made securing affordable health care for those who need it the centerpiece of their campaign. The same share of voters said they would vote for a candidate determined to make the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes. Jenifer Fernandez Ancona, a co-founder and chief strategy officer at Way to Win, says that the Biden drop-off voters, based on the polling, appear to be 'uniquely winnable — and a key element to building back a more sustainable Democratic coalition, which is what we have to do.' 'The whole entire Republican agenda under this new Trump regime is truly an opportunity for Democrats to go on offense,' she says. Ancona notes these voters' 'top issue is affordable health care,' so Democrats should have a 'golden opportunity' right now. Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill,' signed into law on July 4, will once again slash taxes for the ultra-wealthy, and do so while punishing the poor. Roughly 17 million Americans are expected to lose their health insurance as a result of the law, combined with Republicans' refusal to extend subsidies for marketplace coverage. These voters are 'really ready,' Ancona says, 'for messaging to go on offense against what the Republicans are doing — whether it's cutting health care that hurts children, giving billionaires more tax giveaways, doing absolutely nothing to cut costs.' 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