JTFMax: Free Speech

 “Don’t Mute America: Disney’s Free Speech Showdown”

Free speech in America is supposed to be louder than a brass band at a Fourth of July parade. Yet lately, it feels like someone keeps reaching for the mute button. The latest flare-up? More than 100 former ABC News journalists have banded together to remind Disney CEO Bob Iger that the First Amendment is not some negotiable line item—it’s the cornerstone of democracy.

The letter, delivered on Wednesday, came on the heels of ABC’s brief suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live! last week. The group applauded Iger for putting the host back on air, but urged him to go further. In their words, “The First Amendment is not negotiable.” Translation: don’t let political intimidation set the programming schedule.

Signatories include broadcast legends like Sam Donaldson, Judy Muller, Tom Bettag, and Kayce Freed Jennings, widow of the iconic Peter Jennings. These veterans know that a free press is more than a business—it’s a public trust. And they fear that ABC’s $16 million settlement with President Trump last December may have emboldened him to double down on attacks against journalists.

Lisa Stark and Ian Cameron, who helped organize the letter, acknowledged the financial squeeze Disney and other media companies face. Still, they insist this is the moment for Iger to stand tall. After all, if the world’s most powerful entertainment company can’t protect its reporters and comedians from political bullying, who will?

The tension reached prime-time last Tuesday when Jimmy Kimmel blasted Trump’s tactics, accusing him of using lawsuits and intimidation to silence the press. Trump, never one to miss a beat, fired back on Truth Social hours before airtime, accusing ABC of making “illegal campaign contributions.” Proof? None offered.

Meanwhile, ABC News has continued to cover the controversy with teeth, airing Jon Karl’s deep dive on Trump’s pursuit of “retribution” and highlighting a Pentagon policy proposal that would muzzle reporters from using even unclassified information without prior approval. Karl didn’t mince words: such rules sound more like they belong in authoritarian regimes than in the United States.

The bottom line? Free speech doesn’t just protect the comedians who lampoon presidents—it safeguards the journalists who hold them accountable. And when the pressure mounts, it’s not the time to fold; it’s the time to fight. Because once you let politicians dictate what the press can say, you might as well replace the Stars and Stripes with a “Silence, Please” sign.