This Is What a Media Coup Looks Like
While you were sleeping, Colbert got canceled, public media got gutted, and Trump moved one step closer to controlling what Americans are allowed to hear. It’s not a conspiracy — it’s a strategy.
Last night, while much of the country scrolled past headlines or tuned out altogether, the American free press took multiple blows — and most people didn’t even notice.
Let’s start with the headline that did get attention:
Just three days after Stephen Colbert called out CBS’s parent company, Paramount, for secretly settling a $16 million lawsuit with Donald Trump, The Late Show — the most-watched late-night program in America — was abruptly canceled.
Senator Elizabeth Warren said the quiet part out loud: “CBS canceled Colbert’s show just THREE DAYS after Colbert called out CBS parent company Paramount for its $16M settlement with Trump — a deal that looks like bribery. America deserves to know if his show was canceled for political reasons.”
Colbert isn’t just a comedian. He’s one of the last high-profile voices in late-night willing to consistently, unapologetically hold Trump accountable. If silencing that voice is the cost of corporate appeasement to Trump? That’s not entertainment news. That’s political suppression.
But here’s the thing: Colbert’s cancellation wasn’t even the biggest media story last night.
Just after midnight, House Republicans passed a $9 billion rescissions package that guts public media and foreign assistance. Hidden inside? A devastating $1.1 billion cut to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting — the primary funding source for NPR and PBS.
According to The New York Times, this could force over 100 local TV and radio stations — many in rural communities — to go dark by fall.
Nearly 1 in 5 public radio stations could be gone, especially in the South, Midwest, and West.
That’s not cost-cutting. That’s censorship by defunding. And all of this is happening in the broader context of a long, strategic effort by the far right to control the media you consume — quietly, effectively, and right under your nose.
The Press Pool
Earlier this year, the Trump White House announced it would seize control of the press pool, taking over a tradition that’s existed for over a century. Until now, the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) — not the president — decided which reporters had direct access to cover the president on behalf of the broader press corps.
This is what autocrats do:
They hand-pick who gets to report. They silence dissent. They turn the press into a mouthpiece for power.
And they do it slowly — one show canceled, one station defunded, one press credential denied at a time — until one day, the truth just disappears.
Have You Heard of Sinclair?
For years, the conservative media machine has been executing a quiet, methodical takeover of local news — historically one of the most trusted sources of information across political lines.
Sinclair Broadcast Group now owns or operates local stations in 100+ markets, reaching more than 40% of American households. Many of these stations still carry the logos of trusted national brands — NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox — so most viewers have no idea their local news has changed hands.
But it has. And with that change came a shift:
Local political reporting was slashed.
National, right-wing commentary ramped up.
Anchors were required to read scripted, pro-Trump monologues warning against “fake news.”
This is the same Sinclair that forced its anchors to repeat word-for-word propaganda across dozens of stations in viral, dystopian clips. And it’s the same Sinclair quietly profiting from public trust in local news — all while pushing Trump’s agenda.
This Isn’t Just About Colbert. Or PBS. Or NPR.
It’s about whether we still have access to the truth.
Because if Trump — or any one person — gets to decide who reports on them,
If only pro-Trump outlets are granted access to the White House,
If public media is defunded and late-night critics are canceled,
How will the truth ever reach us?
We are at a tipping point.
If you care about democracy, you have to care about media — not just national outlets, but local stations, journalists, creators, and platforms trying to cut through the noise.
That means:
Diversifying the media you consume.
Questioning where your information comes from — and who benefits if you believe it.
Supporting independent journalism, financially when you can — including platforms like this one.
Because if we don’t actively protect the truth?
It won’t just fade away.
It will be taken.And we may not even realize it’s gone.