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A rightwing late-night show may have bombed – but the funding behind it is no laughing matter (www.theguardian.com)
submitted 1 month ago by pelespirit@sh.itjust.works to c/politics@sh.itjust.works
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A group of conservative donors spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to develop a rightwing version of late-night talkshows like the Tonight Show and the Late Show, leaked documents reveal, in a further indication of the right’s ongoing efforts to overhaul American culture.

News of the effort to pump conservative viewpoints into the mainstream comes as entertainment shows and the media at large are under severe threat in the US. In September, Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show was taken off the air, under pressure from the Trump administration, after Kimmel’s comments after the killing of Charlie Kirk, while Donald Trump has launched multiple lawsuits against TV networks and news organizations.

Four pilot episodes, each of which has been watched by the Guardian, were made of the rightwing chatshow. It was promoted by the Ziklag group, a secretive Christian nationalist organization, which aims to reshape culture to match its version of Christianity. In an email in 2022, Ziklag – which ProPublica reported spent $12m to elect Trump last year – urged its members to stump up money for the project, called the Talk Show With Eric Metaxas.

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[–] Taco2112@lemmy.world 26 points 1 month ago

Comedy, especially late night comedy, works the best when the hosts poke fun at the world around them, including themselves and those in power.

Right wing comedy shows never appeal to the main stream because the hosts can’t make fun of those in power. Those “tough guys” on the right are so thin skinned that they think even a passing joke will make them “appear weak”. So, right wing comedians toe the party line which usually leads to very poor comedy that typically involves punching down.

[–] PhilipTheBucket@piefed.social 15 points 1 month ago (1 children)

/r/therightcantlateshow

Comedy is just incompatible with how they like to do things.

I don't even think that "being right wing" is automatically a bad thing in the abstract when you separate it from the current US political climate (although good luck with that in the present day). All the crowd of generals in Hegseth's pep rally staring coldly back at him don't necessarily have to be bad people to me. But you also don't see them trying to do any stand-up comedy to better influence the kids these days. Everyone can just stay in their lane and it is okay, and that includes the right wing staying the fuck out of determining what the culture of the comedy shows needs to be right now or ever.

[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Right and Left Wings were originally supposed to be a check and balance. The Left was to be taking care of the people and providing social services as a government. The Right was supposed to be there to keep things from getting too expensive and so people don't spend money on unnecessary things, which would also keep the taxes lower. It was never supposed to be this abomination the greeds have created. It was about compromise and keeping a natural balance that would sometimes sway too far either way, but tend to want to go back to the center.

[–] SolacefromSilence@fedia.io 15 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Is that head canon?

[–] ZombiFrancis@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 month ago

It... kind of seems like a permutation of progressive and conservative caucuses within the context of a two-party system.

[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 month ago

Sounds like you're on team greed.

[–] hitmyspot@aussie.zone 2 points 1 month ago

Right and left wing are just opposing viewpoints on the political spectrum. The problem is that most big issues that are controversial and unsolved, for all, remain polarizing. So, abortion, gun rights, healthcare funding, taxation policy are all litmus tests for a candidate. If you're not toeing the party line on all, you're not a viable candidate for the base.

This has led to more and more polarisation and attempts to energies the base usually means lurching to that side. However, appeals to moderation when one side is lurching one way means a shift in the Overton window.

So what's right and left now is different by country and different by area but within the USA it's not by agreement. It's the voting system which only supports 2 parties. As they have grown with the population and with power, they become self protecting and much of their political policy is about protecting the position of the politicians rather than the people.

[–] resipsaloquitur@lemmy.world 9 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Bill Mahr finally got cancelled?

[–] QueenHawlSera@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 month ago

Bill Maher still thinks he's on the Left, bless his heart

[–] atzanteol@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 month ago

Oh yeah. Gutfeld is just hilarious. 🙄

Problem is, hate isn't funny. And funny ain't gonna keep the hate train rolling.

[–] reddig33@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

They will keep trying. Fox News wasn’t built in a day. Alies and his cohorts started work on it after Nixon got caught.

[–] QueenHawlSera@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 month ago

I thought it started when Nixon began running

[–] WhatGodIsMadeOf@feddit.org 2 points 1 month ago

All late night talk shows make me cringe.

[–] TacoButtPlug@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 month ago

A what?!