Welcome back to On The Point, I’m Greg C. Truax.
CBS has ended The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and predictably the outrage machine claims Donald Trump somehow “canceled” it.
The simpler explanation is the one media executives understand best: numbers.
Colbert became the face of progressive late-night television, turning comedy into nightly political activism. But audiences changed. Viewers moved to streaming, ratings declined, and advertising dollars followed.
Colbert isn’t alone. Late-night TV has been shrinking for years. But there’s another reason: Americans increasingly tune out progressive lectures disguised as entertainment. Johnny Carson entertained everybody. Today it’s business as usual to ridicule half the country.
In the end, the market—not politics—delivered the final verdict.
From the NewsTalk 1040 studios, I’m Greg C. Truax.
Greg C. Truax is president of GCTMediaGroup, a film production studio, online magazine publisher, radio commentator, and creator of written and broadcast opinion commentary.