Kimmel and Disney’s political expedience, Exxon bought its vote, and algorithmic autocracy

Story of the Week (DR):Disney Pulls Jimmy Kimmel’s Show After Kirk Remarks Republicans Leverage Charlie Kirk’s Death to Declare War on Free SpeechCharlie Kirk assassination reignites debate over Section 230 protections for social media companies"Section 230 needs to be repealed. If you're mad at social media companies that radicalize our nation, you should be mad," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press." "I have a bill that will allow you to sue these people. They're immune from lawsuits."Nexstar And Sinclair, Two Largest Station Groups, Wield Influence In ABC Decision To Pull Jimmy Kimmel In Light Of His Charlie Kirk CommentsA $6.2 billion deal looms over Jimmy Kimmel's suspensionNexstar, the largest station group in the country, is a leading champion in the broadcast industry for the FCC to relax media ownership limits and has a major merger before the Trump administration, its proposed $6.2B acquisition of Tegna, creating a mega-company with 265 stations in 44 states and the District of Columbia, representing 80% of U.S. TV households.Nexstar needs the agency to ease rules that currently limit the percentage a broadcaster can reach to 39% of the nation’s television households.Sinclair also is seeking deregulation, and in its statement, it praised Carr. “We appreciate FCC Chairman Carr’s remarks today and this incident highlights the critical need for the FCC to take immediate regulatory action to address control held over local broadcasters by the big national networks,” Sinclair said.Nexstar: founder/Chair/CEO Perry SookSinclair: the Smith family: currently nepobaby David Smith; board is 44% SmithWhat to know about Brendan Carr, the FCC chairman who went after Jimmy KimmelIn response to an opinion column in The Washington Post by Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive of Facebook, outlining his ideas for removing harmful content, Carr criticized Zuckerberg's call for government regulation as a violation of the First Amendment.He later praised Zuckerberg's "instincts" to show Trump's posts that amplified COVID-19 misinformation unaltered.Carr supported Trump's "Executive Order on Preventing Online Censorship" targeting Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.Trump filed a $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times and 4 of its journalistsTrump's NYT Lawsuit Dismissed by Republican-Appointed JudgeA federal judge on Friday dismissed Donald Trump's $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times. U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday: a lawsuit is not "a protected platform to rage against an adversary."Comcast CEO criticizes ex-MSNBC contributor's remarks about Charlie Kirk in memo to staffTrumpy Billionaires Close In on TikTok TakeoverAllies of President Donald Trump are poised to get their hands on TikTok’s U.S. operations.Entrepreneur Larry Ellison, worth approximately $350 billion, and Marc Andreessen, a venture capitalist with a $2 billion net worth, have been pals with the president for years.Ellison’s software giant Oracle, Andreessen’s venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, and private equity firm Silver Lake are among a group of U.S. businesses said to be nearing a deal to take over the American operations of the short-form video app, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.Nestlé Chairman to Step Down After Abrupt CEO FiringNestlé investors demand chair Paul Bulcke resign over CEO churn “I have full trust in Nestlé s new leadership and firmly believe this great company is well positioned for the future,” Bulcke said. “This is the right moment for me to step aside and accelerate the planned transition, allowing Pablo and Philipp to advance Nestlé’s strategy and guide the company with a fresh perspective.”Board member (2018-) Pablo Isa new chairThe company appointed Dick Boer as lead independent director and vice chairman of the board of directors as of Oct. 1, while Marie-Gabrielle Ineichen-Fleisch was appointed vice chair of the board.A new ally against excessive CEO Pay: Pope LeoPope Leo appears to be particularly baffled by the Tesla pay package that could turn Elon Musk into the world’s first trillionaire: “What does that mean and what’s that about? If that is the only thing that has value anymore, then we’re in big trouble.”Dave Ramsey Says 'We're Not All Equal. It Doesn't Work That Way' — The Rich Aren't Evil, It's Just Math and Jealousy Fueling the StigmaRashida Tlaib and Bernie Sanders introduce the Tax Excessive CEO Pay Act. Proponents of the bill argue that it will incentivize large corporations to narrow their internal pay disparities by either increasing wages for their lowest-paid employees or reducing executive compensation packages Key Provisions of the Act:Tax Trigger: The new tax would apply to companies with a CEO-to-median-worker pay ratio of 50-to-1 or greater.Graduated Tax Rates: The penalty begins with a 0.5 percentage point tax increase for companies with ...