No Spin News Special: Late Night

Summary

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Episode Overview

Podcast: Bill O’Reilly’s No Spin News and Analysis
Episode: No Spin News Special: Late Night
Date: August 27, 2025
Host: Bill O'Reilly
Guest: Bernard Goldberg

This special episode centers on the cancellation of Stephen Colbert's "The Late Show" following the sale of CBS to the more conservative Skydance Media. Bill O'Reilly and media analyst Bernard Goldberg discuss the broader implications for network television, media bias, and the late night genre. The conversation critiques the persistent left-lean of major networks and late-night hosts, explores why these trends are leading to financial failure, and considers what the future holds for traditional broadcast news and comedy programming.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Stephen Colbert’s Cancellation: Causes and Implications

• Colbert's Decline

  • O’Reilly opens by discussing Trump's celebration of Colbert’s exit and highlights how Colbert differs from other late night hosts:
    • “Colbert, he's of all of them, he's my least favorite because he was in it to harm people with whom he disagrees. That's what he was in it for. Stewart's in it for comedy, satire… Colbert is canceled and there's two reasons why. Number one, CBS is being sold... Number two, the Colbert show lost $40 million last year. Why? Because Colbert is not funny anymore.” [00:28]

• Financial and Corporate Reasons

  • O'Reilly notes CBS's $40 million loss on Colbert’s show and the network’s pending sale to Skydance as driving forces.
  • "Colbert is canceled... CBS is being sold to a more conservative corporation called Skydance. And number two, The Colbert Show lost $40 million last year.” [00:28]

2. The Broader Decline of Network Television

• Network Television’s Struggles

  • O’Reilly frames Colbert's departure as symptomatic of larger, existential problems for traditional television:
    • "I think this is a bigger story than Stephen Colbert... network television is finished. It is over. It is not coming back. And that includes the news agencies." [03:26]

• Bias and Audience Alienation

  • O’Reilly and Goldberg blame media bias for declining network influence, asserting mainstream media alienates half of the country:
    • “There isn’t one traditional conservative commentator to be seen on the entire network. Do you think that has something to do with its demise?” [04:23]
    • Goldberg: “Yeah, I do. Bias... was a warning shot.” [04:49]

• Profit vs. Ideology

  • The hosts argue that ideology now trumps profit in corporate media decisions:
    • “Ideology... it's hard to believe, but it's true. Ideology in the corporate media has overtaken profit motive. It's stunning.” [11:45]

3. Evolution of Late Night and Media Bias

• Guest Diversity and Censorship

  • O’Reilly and Goldberg directly criticize Colbert for excluding conservative voices:
    • “You could not get on his program unless you hated Trump.” [16:34]
    • “In 20, since 2022... Colbert has hosted 176 left leaning guests. Only one Republican. Guess who the Republican was? Liz Cheney, who hates Trump.” [17:26]

• Double Standards in Satire

  • O’Reilly points out differing standards for disrespect towards political figures:
    • “If Colbert had said ‘go f yourself’ to Barack Obama, he would have been off the air... But he can do that to Donald Trump. And they ran it. So that just tells you what CBS is.” [13:24]

• Late Night Show Political Lean

  • Analysis of overall guest imbalance on late night television:
    • “Late night 99% of political guests on late night comedy shows lean left. 99% in the first half of this year.” [17:26]

4. Corporate Shifts and the Future

• New Ownership Intentions

  • Goldberg discusses Skydance and the Ellison family’s reported plans for CBS:
    • "David Ellison... met with [FCC Chairman] Brandon Carr... ‘I want more variety of voices at CBS News.’” [07:04]
    • "There's a better chance that you, Bill O’Reilly, will be the next anchor of the CBS Evening News than will Scott Pelley... They want a variety of voices." [07:04]

• Potential Domino Effect

  • Predictions on further fallout at CBS and other liberal-leaning shows:
    • O'Reilly: “If I'm working for CBS, I'm looking for another job. Skydance is going to go in and wipe out everybody because it's corrupt. CBS News, no doubt about it. We all know that." [09:30]
    • “I made a prediction this morning. The View is going to realign. Now, I could be wrong. I'm not wrong too much. You know that... I predicted Colbert would be out before they made the announcement.” [14:39]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Alienating Audiences:

  • Goldberg: “It's as if these people don't understand that Republicans have TV sets too.” [09:06], [11:22]

• Summing Up the Leftward Drift:

  • O’Reilly: “All have taken their network franchises way to the left, not a little way to the left. Why would you hire a Stephen Colbert when 80 million people voted for Donald Trump and not one of those people are ever going to watch Stephen Colbert?” [08:32]

• On Colbert's On-Air Language:

  • O'Reilly: “If Colbert had said ‘go f yourself’ to Barack Obama, he would have been off the air. That show never would have run... But he can do that to Donald Trump. And they ran it. So that just tells you what CBS is.” [13:24]

• Satirical Riffs from Colbert (as played by O’Reilly):

  • Colbert: “At this point, Trump isn't even trying to hide his awfulness… This time, he is the disease.” [02:26]
  • Colbert: “Would an untalented man be able to compose the following satirical witticism? Go yourself.” [13:05]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:28 — O’Reilly opens the discussion on Colbert and the changing late night landscape
• 02:26 — Audio clip of Colbert’s “Trump is the disease” bit
• 03:26 — O’Reilly predicts demise of network television
• 04:49 — Goldberg reflects on CBS and media bias
• 07:04 — Goldberg on Skydance’s plans for CBS
• 09:06/11:22 — “Republicans have TV sets too” discussion
• 11:45 — Discussion of ideology overriding profit motive
• 12:39 — More audio from Colbert addressing his own cancellation
• 13:24 — O’Reilly on Colbert’s Trump insult and double standards
• 16:34 — Goldberg: Colbert censored his guest list to exclude Trump supporters
• 17:26 — O’Reilly with data on guest distribution on late night

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Summary

Bill O’Reilly and Bernard Goldberg use the cancellation of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" as a jumping-off point to examine the current state and future of network television. Their critique is two-fold: network TV and late night have both become financially unsustainable and ideologically exclusive, largely due to a leftward shift that alienates a huge swath of the audience. They predict that upcoming ownership changes will force out left-leaning hosts and bring ideological variety—or, at the very least, generate a reckoning for long-standing media bias.

The tone is classic O’Reilly: combative, skeptical of the mainstream media, and deeply concerned about ideological imbalance in news and entertainment. Goldberg supports these viewpoints with anecdotes from his own career and industry knowledge, painting a picture of a media landscape overdue for radical change.

Transcript

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[Bill O'Reilly]

See mintmobile.com your burger is served. And this is our finest Pepsi Zero Sugar. Its sweet profile perfectly balances the savory notes of your burger. That is one perfect combination. Burgers deserve Pepsi. Okay, Trump on his social media thing is celebrating the demise of Stephen Colbert. You guys know what I think of him. I wrote a column on it. It's on billorilly.com by the way. You don't do premium members to read the message of the column. Just go there and read it for everybody. You know, I was on late night 75 times in my career I think is a record. I mean, maybe Jackie Mason or Shecky Green beat me or Robin Williams was on a lot. And I know these guys. And Colbert, he's of all of them, he's my least favorite because he was in it to harm people with whom he disagrees. That's what he was in it for. Stewart's in it for comedy, satire. He's left, but I never saw him really want to hurt anybody. Letterman was rough. Rough. If you Google O'Reilly Letterman, you'll see some shootouts, Leno and, and Kimmel didn't used to be political, but he hates Trump and so he's crossed over. But anyway, Colbert is canceled and there's two reasons why. Number one, CBS is being sold to conservative, more conservative corporation called skydance. And number two, the Colbert show lost $40 million last year. Why? Because Colbert is not funny anymore. Roll the tape.

[Ryan Reynolds]

At this point, Trump isn't even trying to hide his awfulness. In the first Trump term, it took a disease to destroy the economy. This time, he is the disease. To be clear, Trump is pre announcing that he's going to break any law he wants to get whatever he wants. Now, I'm no revolutionary. I can't grow the beard. But that is a tyrannical declaration of power.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Okay, so why do we need that every night? Nobody wants to watch that. He's got 2 million and a few hundred thousand viewers, but that's nothing. He's losing 40 million a year and he makes 15 million. So he's out. Joining us now from North Carolina is a guy who knows and that works potentially particularly CBS very well. His name is Bernard Goldberg. We call him Bernie. But you know, it's, it's Bernard. And that's what you punch up when you want to go to his website for wisdom and perspective. That good? Did I, did I say it the way you wrote it? Okay, excellent. I'm a pro. I mean I, I can do that. All right. Now I think this is a bigger story than Stephen Colbert. And I predicted, as you know, that Colbert would go. And there are going to be some people on the View that are going to go. And Kimmel possible, but it is a bigger story in a sense that the network television is finished. It is over. It is not coming back. And that includes the news agencies. Do you agree?

[Bernard Goldberg]

I do.

[Bill O'Reilly]

All right. So you wrote a book early on called Bias when you were a correspondent at CBS and Bernie and I worked for a brief time together at the.

[Bernard Goldberg (continued commentary)]

Network.

[Bill O'Reilly]

And you nailed it with Dan Rather and that crew that they were shading the news to the left and it really wasn't an honest play. That contagion spreads all throughout CBS now there isn't one traditional conservative commentator to be seen on the entire network. Do you think that has something to do with its demise?

[Bernard Goldberg]

Yeah, I do. Bias, which came out right after 911 was a wake up call. It was a warning shot.

[Bill O'Reilly]

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[Bernard Goldberg]

998-899 about liberal bias and the harm it causes. But instead of paying attention, what they did was they called me. Every name in the book, they called me, and I mean this literally, they called me a traitor. These are people who don't call real traitors traitor, but they called me a trader. I survived. I'm not at all sure they will. The new management, Skydance, is headed up by David Ellison, whose father Larry, who I interviewed while I was at cbs. Father Larry is good friends with Donald Trump. David Ellison met with Brandon Carr, this FCC chairman, the other day and said, I want more voices, more variety of voices at CBS News. Which leads me to say this, Bill. And I'm saying it not literally, but you'll get the idea. There's a better chance that you, Bill O'Reilly, will be the next anchor of the CBS Evening News than will Scott Pelley, who is a liberal who hates Donald Trump or at least doesn't like Donald Trump. They want a variety of voices and the one, the liberal ones they have now don't provide any variety.

[Bill O'Reilly]

All right, but there's no difference between cbs, NBC and abc, correct? It's the same.

[Bernard Goldberg]

Yeah, but I know, but I know CBS better.

[Bill O'Reilly]

I know, but I want your opinion on that. It's the same across the board, right?

[Bernard Goldberg]

That's right.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Okay, so you got Paramount, which is going to sell. You got Comcast, you got Disney, you got three major corporations here. They all have taken their network franchises way to the left, not a little way to the left. And I'm saying to myself, why, why would they, why would you hire a Stephen Colbert When 80 million people voted for Donald Trump and not one of those people are ever going to watch Stephen Colbert. Why would you hire him?

[Bernard Goldberg]

You know, Michael Jordan famously said he was asked to endorse a Democratic candidate for the U.S. senate. And he, he said, you know, Republicans buy sneakers, too. It's as if these people don't understand that Republicans have TV sets, too, that Republicans watch television, too.

[Bill O'Reilly]

That's the headline that this affects directly presidential politics in this country. No longer will there be a left wing stranglehold. So the situation blew up with this dope Stephen Colbert getting fired by cbs because CBS is selling itself, Paramount owns it, to Skydance, which is not a liberal corporation. So there are going to be a wipeout and Colbert is number one. But I that if I'm working for cbs, I'm looking for another job. Skydance is going to go in and wipe out everybody because it's corrupt. A corrupt operation. CBS News, no doubt about it, we all know that. And that lawsuit that they settled with Donald Trump. They were actively rooting for Kamala Harris. Cbs. And anybody who denies that is simply not telling you the truth. They were actively rooting for her. A whole network. You can't do that unless you say it up front. If they were to say, okay, we're rooting for Kamala Harris, our whole network is going to try to get her elected. All right, you still got First Amendment protections, but that's not what they do, as you know. Okay, so last night, Bernie Goldberg appeared on the no spin news. That was a really good back and forth about why Colbert and the other lefties are in so much financial trouble. Why would you hire a Stephen Colbert When 80 million people voted for Donald Trump and not one and not one of those people are ever going to watch Stephen Colbert. Why would you hire him?

[Bernard Goldberg]

You know, Michael Jordan famously said he was asked to endorse a Democratic candidate for the U.S. senate. And he said, you know, Republicans buy sneakers too. It's as if these people don't understand that Republicans have TV sets too. That Republicans watch television too.

[Bill O'Reilly]

No, but ideology, it's hard to believe, but it's true ideology. And the corporate media has overtaken profit motive. It's stunning.

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[Bill O'Reilly]

Last night, Stephen Colbert, he's milking it, but he's toast. He's gone. I don't think he's gonna last till May, by the way. That's what they said last show. He'll be Gone way before that. Here's what he said.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Go with those numbers. I gotta say, it makes sense we'd be canceled. I get it, guys. And thanks again. Okay, thanks again to the network. In a completely unrelated story, on Friday, Donald Trump posted. I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings.

[Bernard Goldberg]

I did.

[Bill O'Reilly]

How? How?

[Ryan Reynolds]

How dare you, sir? Would an untalented man be able to compose the following satirical witticism? Go yourself.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Anyway, anyway, anyway. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. So if Colbert had said go f yourself to Barack Obama, he would have been off the air. That show never would have run because they tape it before. If he had done it to Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton, done, he never would have done it. But he can do that to Donald Trump. And they ran it. So that just tells you what CBS is. It's not Donald Trump, it's the office. Respect for the office. You don't do that. Anyway, Colbert is just digging the ditch deeper and deeper and deeper and deeper. Okay, so the reporting was that Colbert show loses 40 million. That's hyperbole. He doesn't lose that much, but he loses about 20, 25 million and they're paying him about 15. So he's out now for the future. I made a prediction this morning. The View is going to realign. Now, I could be wrong. I'm not wrong too much. You know that we document. My predictions mostly come true. I predicted Colbert would be out before they made the announcement. Let's go to the corrupt media. So, Stephen Colbert, you get a lot of publicity. And I've been doing a bunch of radio shows this week. We did Hannity, and that's on Billorilly.com, wWC. Sid Rosenberg, that's on Billorilly.Com, clay and Buck. I did this afternoon. And it always comes around to Colbert. And some of the conservative hosts are angry that Colbert is being deified, praised. And I'm going, it doesn't matter. He's done. He's through. He's not going to last till May. They say he'll be show beyond till May. It won't. But the Progressive Change campaign is now circulating a petition and they're actually having demonstrations in support of Stephen Colbert. So they had a demonstration in New York and nobody showed up. All right, Few dozen people showed up and they were paid, I'm sure, to show up. So not like there's a groundswell. And the progressive outfit says they got hundreds of thousands signatures. Okay, fine. But there is something more important here than Just booting Stephen Colbert off the air. Okay, and here it is. Roll of tape.

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[Bill O'Reilly]

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[Bernard Goldberg (continued commentary)]

But with Colbert, you see what sunk him was not just his vitriolic approach to Trump, but he censored his program. This has not been put out there by anybody. You could not get on his program unless you hated Trump. So I was on late nights, all of them 75 times. Wow. All right. I think it's me and Robin Williams with a, with a guy who.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Did you, did it start in the Carson era or Letterman?

[Bernard Goldberg (continued commentary)]

No letter. Wow. Letterman, Leno, Kimmel, all them. But I, and I did actually appear with Colbert way, way back one time. But Colt. But Colbert would never invite anybody who didn't hate Trump.

[Bill O'Reilly]

And that was the crux of the problem. Because when a corporation like Paramount, CBS uses its airtime to promote a political candidate, Kamala Harris, all right, or a political philosophy liberalism, and doesn't give any time to the other side, then you're running up against all kinds of first Amendment issues. So Colbert is the poster boy now for guys getting hammered because they're far Left. Right. In 20, since 2022. We're talking about two and a half years. Colbert has hosted 176 left leaning guests. Only one Republican. Guess who the Republican was? Liz Cheney, who hates Trump. Okay. That's the only reason she signed it this year alone. First half of the year, Colbert had 43 left lending political guests, zero conservatives. Way to go Stevie baby. Now all of them. Late night 99% of political guests on late night comedy shows lean left 99% in the first half of this year. Okay. January 6th, June 30th 160. 106 liberal Democrats. One conservative who was a conservative guy named Oren Cass, founder of a right wing think tank. He appeared on the Daily Show, Kimmel, Myers, Fallon, Colbert and the Daily Show.

[Ryan Reynolds]

To watch the full episodes of the no spin news, visit bill o'reilly.com and sign up to become a premium or concierge member. That's Billow riley dot com. Sign up and start watching today.