Just days after late night host Stephen Colbert publicly criticized his employers for their disgraceful $16 million payout to Trump, CBS abruptly canceled his show. [1]

CBS says cancelling the highest-rated late night show in the country is “purely a financial decision” [2] – but we can see what’s really going on.

And regardless of their actual motive, corporate news outlets like CBS are sending everyone who works for them – journalists, researchers, even late night comedians – a clear message: speak out against Trump or the company bosses, and you’re out.

Here are the details they want you to forget: CBS and its parent company Paramount recently handed Trump a massive, $16 million payout to settle a baseless lawsuit – one that legal experts called “ridiculous junk” and "frivolous" from the start [3] – seemingly because they need Trump’s approval for a multi-billion dollar merger deal.

Right now, CBS and Paramount are making it clear that they care more about building a media monopoly than protecting their own journalists and upholding the freedom of the press. It’s on all of us to speak out now and hold them accountable.

[1] https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/07/stephen-colbert-cancelled-cbs-trump-paramount/
[2] https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/5407636-cbs-ending-colbert-the-late-show/
[3] https://view.newsletters.cnn.com/messages/1738331816231c97237d18a36/raw