Over 2,000 members of the Writers Guild of America, both East and West, signed an open letter responding to the “escalating attacks on independent media by the Trump Administration.” Signees included Spike Lee, John Waters, Ilana Glazer (Broad City), Celine Song (Past Lives), Adam McKay (Don’t Look Up), Lilly Wachowski (The Matrix), Alfonso Cuarón (Roma), and Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester by the Sea). The letter, published August 5, specifically decries Congressional Republicans defunding the Corporation for Public Broadcasting “in order to silence PBS and NPR” as well as the president’s interference in news media. “We face an unprecedented, authoritarian assault,” the letter states. “In the last few months alone, President Trump has filed baseless lawsuits against news organizations that have published stories he does not like and leveraged them into payoffs, most notably at Paramount, which settled a meritless lawsuit against 60 Minutes for $16 million.”

It goes on to say “The FCC openly conditioned its approval of the Skydance-Paramount merger on assurances that CBS would make ‘significant changes’ to the purported ideological viewpoint of its journalism and entertainment programming.” Despite the FCC deal, “Paramount still asks us to believe that the cancelation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert was not about politics or merger approval.”

“We call on our elected representatives and industry leaders to resist this overreach,” the letter continues. “We call on our audiences, on every single person ready to fight for a free and democratic future, to raise their voice.” Below, the full letter:

We are members of the Writers Guild of America who speak with one voice to decry the dangerous and escalating attacks on the First Amendment, independent media, and the free press.

We are a union of screenwriters, television writers, and journalists built and sustained on the bedrock belief that bold storytelling, fearless comedy, and unflinching reporting are indispensable to a free and democratic society. We have always understood that fidelity to those beliefs could lead to attacks from our bosses, from corporate interests, or even from politicians. Still, we have always understood our role in a healthy democracy.

Now we face an unprecedented, authoritarian assault. In the last few months alone, President Trump has filed baseless lawsuits against news organizations that have published stories he does not like and leveraged them into payoffs, most notably at Paramount, which settled a meritless lawsuit against 60 Minutes for $16 million. He has retaliated against publications reporting factually on the White House and threatened broadcasters’ licenses. He regularly calls for the cancelation of news and entertainment television shows that criticize him in late-night and, most recently, The View.

Alarmingly, the bulk of the federal government has now joined these attacks. Congressional Republicans collaborated to defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in order to silence PBS and NPR. The FCC openly conditioned its approval of the Skydance-Paramount merger on assurances that CBS would make “significant changes” to the purported ideological viewpoint of its journalism and entertainment programming. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has echoed Trump’s threats.

And yet Paramount still asks us to believe that the cancelation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert was not about politics or merger approval.

These are un-American attempts to restrict the kinds of stories and jokes that may be told, to silence criticism and dissent.

We don’t have a king, we have a president. And the president doesn’t get to pick what’s on television, in movie theaters, on stage, on our bookshelves, or in the news.

We call on our elected representatives and industry leaders to resist this overreach. We call on our audiences, on every single person ready to fight for a free and democratic future, to raise their voice.

This is certainly not the first time that free speech has come under assault in this country, but free speech remains our right because generation after generation of Americans have dedicated themselves to its protection. Now and always, when writers come under attack, our collective power as a union allows us to fight back. This period in American life will not last forever, and when it’s over the world will remember who had the courage to speak out.

Related

• Trump Won’t Shut Up About TV
• Stephen Colbert Begins the Slow Process of Going Out with a Bang
• The Future of Public Media Looks Rocky

 Signees include Ilana Glazer, Celine Song, and Adam McKay.