In 1987, Johnny Carson asked for $7 million Dollars to keep his Tonight Show on the Air. So, Colbert needing Money too. Damned be the Wonderful Ratings!

It’s completely understandable why you’re feeling this way—the upheaval at CBS right now is staggering, and it feels like the network is tearing down the exact pillars that loyal, diehard fans spent decades counting on.

Things have moved incredibly fast, and if you haven’t looked at the late-night or Sunday night listings in the last couple of weeks, the reality of what’s happened is jarring.

The End of Late Show with Stephen Colbert

CBS completely canceled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, ending his run. Instead of replacing him with another traditional late-night host or a new variety show, CBS did something unprecedented: they effectively leased out the 11:35 PM time slot.

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The person who “took over” is media mogul Byron Allen, who is actually paying the network for the airtime. His show, Comics Unleashed—a twenty-year-old, apolitical stand-up comedy panel show—now fills that historic hour. CBS executives claimed the decision was strictly financial to secure “immediate profitability,” but it has left millions of late-night fans out in the cold.

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The Collapse of 60 Minutes

If you’re walking away from 60 Minutes, you are certainly not alone. The show is in absolute freefall after decades of being the gold standard of broadcast journalism.

Just this week, veteran correspondent Scott Pelley was fired by the network. It came after an explosive staff meeting where Pelley fiercely defended the show’s legacy and accused new management of “murdering” the program. Upon his firing, Pelley released a scathing public statement, explicitly claiming that new executives had instructed him to “inject falsehoods and bias” into politically sensitive stories and give politicians control over who interviewed them.

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Pelley’s abrupt termination follows a massive purge at the network under its new leadership:

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• Longtime Executive Producer Bill Owens resigned. The Guardian
• Top producer Tanya Simon was ousted. The Guardian
• Award-winning correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega were fired. MediaPost
• Anderson Cooper walked away from his role with the broadcast. WSLS 10

The new leadership has replaced traditional news division veterans with executives who have no background in broadcast journalism, completely altering the DNA of the show.

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It is incredibly tough to watch institutions that were part of your weekly routine get dismantled for corporate and political maneuvering. CBS is definitely not the network it used to be.