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We understand if you’ve been otherwise occupied, but: Jimmy Kimmel is back on the air in Portland. The Sept. 23 return of the late-night host was preempted by the Sinclair, which owns Portland ABC affiliate KATU-TV. As WW reported last week, a pending media deal would place three of four major network stations in this market under the control of companies that genuflected to President Donald Trump (“The Mute Button,” Sept. 24). On Sept. 26, however, Sinclair gave Kimmel’s return the green light. We’d like to see Donald Trump mess with Portland now! [Checks the news, sees Donald Trump messing with Portland very easily.] Well, nevertheless. Here’s what our readers had to say:
Wanda and Magnus, via email: “Thank you for ‘The Mute Button’ article; we watched the welcome back Kimmel monologue on YouTube and were surprised to hear him say he wasn’t being broadcasted in Portland, Ore. So glad to be able to read about that in the local paper to confirm we did hear correctly and appreciated more clarity from a source we trust.”
PortlandProud, via wweek.com: “This story has interesting framing and falls into the weary trope of pitting us against each other. The issue isn’t whether Portlanders will ‘like’ three of the four stations being owned by entities that are being obsequious to Trump. The issue is corporate control and consolidation of the airwaves and corporate America’s willingness to kowtow at the expense of our rights. As Kimmel said last night, Trump is also coming after journalists. Would be nice if our local alt media took a stronger stand in favor of free speech.”
Chuck Slothower, via Bluesky: “Read banned books. Watch a banned comedian’s monologue.”
Mike, via email: “As only a four-year resident of Portland, and not a big over-the-air TV watcher these days, I was unpleasantly surprised to see that [ABC] here is owned by Sinclair, and that they dodge airing Kimmel.
“I will be calling their advertisers on the news ‘special’ (that seemed not special at all) today, and threatening to boycott them (national Toyota, but I will find some local dealerships to harass, etc.).”
Brendan Welsh, via Facebook: “Anyone with half a brain ditched cable/broadcast years ago. If you want to watch Kimmel, check YouTube; most of it is on there for free.”
letsmakelifebetter, via Instagram: “Just because the viewing choices are more diverse, that doesn’t mean you should let the legacy systems be corrupted by partisan politics.”
Henry Rearden, via wweek.com: “Turns out the meme of LBJ writing a letter to producers of The Smothers Brothers Show was mostly true, although LBJ did write/send after he was out of office. As president and wildly unpopular for his escalation of the war in Vietnam, he was weekly fodder for their biting humor and satire. The meme checks out, according to Snopes, ‘It is part of the price of leadership of this great and free nation to be the target of clever satirists. You have given the gift of laughter to our people. May we never grow so somber or self-important that we fail to appreciate the humor in our lives.’
“The only differences being Trump is far from that gracious if an equally poor leader and Kimmel isn’t a clever satirist and isn’t even funny. But the sentiment remains. Kimmel never should have been taken off the air by ABC.”
Jerry, via wweek.com: “Haven’t seen much of J.K. Rowling, Paula Deen, Jerry Seinfeld, or Rosanne Barr on TV lately. Have you?”
having said that, in reply: “Seinfeld TV reruns are on CW TV 2x a night.”
Letters to the editor must include the author’s street address and phone number for verification. Letters must be 250 or fewer words. Submit to:
P.O. Box 10770
Portland, OR 97296
Email: amesh@wweek.com
