‘Daily Show’ Civic Participation Project Dumped Over Fear of Trump istration Blowback
Daily Show civic participation project called Take A Seat.
Take A Seat would have encouraged citizens across the country to run for local office by connecting them with organizations that help them identify best fits and launch campaigns, according to Semafor. The Daily Show-branded project would have worked with both liberal and conservative organizations to encourage people to get actively involved in local government.
But right before the project was about to launch, Paramount significantly pulled back on Take a Seat, deciding that affiliation with any partisan group might incite blowback from Trump and his version of the FCC. The sensitivity is heightened because the government needs to give the thumbs up on Paramount’s sale — $28 billion (with a b) is hanging in the balance.
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According to Semafor, a website was ready to go for the project. It never officially launched, but copy on the site telegraphed its intent: “The Daily Show’s InDecision: Take A Seat is our effort to shine a light on local and state offices that you might not even know are out there, and encourage YOU to throw your hat in the ring. If you’re tired of complaining about who’s running things and want other people to complain about how YOU’RE running things, then now is your moment!”
Pretty cool, though neither The Daily Show nor Comedy Central had officially begun promoting the project. A quieter version of “Take A Seat,” with less politically problematic partners, may still launch later this month.
Monolithic media organizations, heavily scrutinized under the Biden istration, hoped a new government would be more open to profitable mergers and consolidations. Instead, according to Semafor’s Max Tani, “the Trump team has used its ability to slow or complicate mergers as leverage to get companies to do its bidding.”
The Paramount/Skydance deal is already in trouble because the current version of the FCC accused 60 Minutes of unfairly editing a Kamala Harris interview to create “news distortion.” CBS later released the interview in full, revealing very few actual edits.
To placate government officials, Paramount owner Shari Redstone has requested reviews of 60 Minutes stories about Trump, as well as curtailed DEI initiatives. The restrictions haven’t gone over well at CBS News, and likely won’t be popular at The Daily Show either.
Ironically, Paramount has been behind successful political activism efforts in the past. MTV’s Rock the Vote initiative helped more than 12 million young voters. A muted version of Take A Seat has little chance of making the same impact.
