Source: Washington Post
by Megan McArdle
“At some point, I probably registered that Colbert had taken over the network’s late-night franchise, but if I did, I quickly forgot it. I never watched the show, because I literally can’t recall the last time I watched network television, outside of presidential debates. In a survey last year by Statista, only 59 percent of Americans said they had watched ‘linear television’ (read: broadcast, cable or satellite shows) in the past 12 months …. that is why you should be concerned about what Colbert’s cancellation means for American democracy — not because it’s a sign of a corporation bending the knee to a would-be dictator, but because it’s a sign of the unbundling of the American public. Ensconced in our homes, watching our custom-tailored streaming feeds, we simply have fewer and fewer things in common.” (07/23/25)