CBS Drops Copyright Fight Over Colbert's Viral Cable Access Appearance

As Stephen Colbert concluded his tenure hosting 'The Late Show,' a quiet legal retreat by CBS and Paramount offered a small but telling parable about power, culture, and the limits of ownership. The two companies had moved to suppress footage of Colbert's appearance on a cable access program in Monroe, Michigan — footage that had already taken on a life of its own online — only to withdraw those claims in the face of public disapproval. It is a recurring story of our moment: institutions reaching for control over something the crowd has already claimed as its own, and finding the reach too cos