What media consolidation means for free speech

<p dir="ltr">Jimmy Kimmel’s brief departure from the airwaves triggered a wave of debate over free speech.  Partly triggering his suspension was the government threatening to leverage its power over pending media deals. That’s in part due to a piece of decades-old legislation. <p dir="ltr">Today on the show, we look at how the Telecommunications Act of 1996 set the stage for government meddling and corporate capitulation. <p dir="ltr"><strong>Related episodes: </strong><br /><a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/08/14/1193784258/breaking-up-big-business-is-hard-to-do" target="_blank">Breaking up big business is hard to do</a> <br /><a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/06/13/1104792247/mergers-acquisitions-and-elons-rude-proposal" target="_blank">Mergers, acquisitions and Elon’s “rude” proposal</a> <p dir="ltr"><em>For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at <a href="http://plus.npr.org/" target="_blank">plus.npr.org</a>. Fact-checking by <a href="https://www.npr.org/people/1268825622/sierra-juarez" target="_blank">Sierra Juarez</a>. Music by <a href="https://dropelectric.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">Drop Electric</a>. Find us: <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@planetmoney" target="_blank">TikTok</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/planetmoney/" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/planetmoney" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://www.npr.org/newsletter/money" target="_blank">Newsletter</a>. </em><br /><br />See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.<br /><br /><a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>