Executives at the embattled media company Paramount decided to delay and significantly alter a Daily Show-branded civic participation initiative, out of fear that the Trump administration could use it as a cudgel in blocking a pending acquisition deal.
The company’s social impact team has been working for months on the initiative, called “Take A Seat,” to encourage people across the country to run for local office. Take a Seat is intended to funnel prospective candidates towards organizations that would help them figure out which offices to seek and help them launch campaigns. The entertainment company had partnered with the veterans group New Politics Leadership Academy, the progressive group Run For Something, and the right-leaning group Women’s Public Leadership Network on the initiative, which was set to launch last week.
But at the last minute, Paramount significantly curtailed the idea, noting internally that the associations with partisan groups carried too much risk at a moment when Trump and his Federal Communications Commission, which has oversight over the company’s broadcast assets, have been criticizing coverage at another Paramount property, CBS News.
The company set up a website for the initiative, but then hit the brakes, and Take a Seat has not yet been promoted by Paramount or Comedy Central, the channel that broadcasts The Daily Show.
“Be the leader you’ve been complaining for!” the copy on the website, which hasn’t been shared publicly, reads. “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!”
Take A Seat hasn’t been scrapped entirely. Paramount declined to comment. But one person familiar with the plans told Semafor Paramount will launch the initiative later this month with a different nonpartisan partner, HeadCount, a nonprofit that will help prospective candidates see where there are open political positions in their area. While Semafor was told that input from Paramount’s government affairs division shaped the decision, a Paramount official with knowledge said the organization’s government team was not involved in the ultimate decision to end the partnerships. The entertainment company will no longer be working alongside organizations with explicit political affiliations.