The Tennessee Star learned Friday that Scripps Media, Inc., the corporate owner of NewsChannel 5 in Nashville, agreed to broadcast an advertisement for Tennessee retailer D.T. McCall & Sons that includes an impersonator of former President Donald Trump.
The decision comes after the Tennessee retailer told The Star earlier this week that both NewsChannel 5 and Cumulus Media, which owns SuperTalk 99.7 WTN, refused different ads featuring a Trump impression just days prior to Election Day.
Both the radio and television versions of the ads featured impressionist Shawn Farash delivering a Trump impression while extolling the virtues of D.T. McCall & Sons in contrast to “the lumber yards,” which the Trump impersonator warned in one ad, “are sick people.”
In the ad previously rejected by NewsChannel 5, Farash declared in his Trump impression, “I was this close to wasting $200 on hidden charges at the lumber yard, these are sick people, until I saw this beautiful ad from my friends at D.T. McCall’s. They’re great.”
After The Star wrote about the corporate bans on broadcasting the ads, Farash shared one to the social media platform X, where it attained nearly 1 million views.
Noting it was “censored” by NewsChannel 5, Farash wrote to X on Wednesday, “It would be a SHAME if this went VIRAL, and if anyone in TN gave DT McCall and sons their business. Let’s beat the media censorship with the power of X!”
Channel 5 out of NASHVILLE TN CENSORED this ad I was asked to shoot for a furniture and appliance company here in Tennessee.
It would be a SHAME if this went VIRAL, and if anyone in TN gave DT McCall and sons their business.
Let’s beat the media censorship with the power of X! pic.twitter.com/2WVNoAvpPD
— Shawn Farash (@Shawn_Farash) October 30, 2024
By Friday, Scripps Media and NewsChannel 5 had apparently decided the ad was fit for its airwaves, according to D.T. McCall & Sons, who revealed the update in a post to its new account on X.
“This just in! News Channel 5 has agreed to run our ad!,” the company wrote, “Thank you so much, and we hope we can continue to count on your support!”
Farash called the decision by the corporate-owned television station a victory for free speech in a subsequent post to X, where he reported seeing the ad broadcast in Nashville.
“This never would have happened had it not been for the awareness generated on X,” wrote Farash. “Seriously, you’re all the BEST. This is a MAJOR WIN for FREE SPEECH!”
Thanks to YOU, @dt_mccalls has this ad running on News Channel 5 here in TN.
This never would’ve happened had it not been for the awareness generated on X.
Seriously, you’re all the BEST. This is a MAJOR WIN for FREE SPEECH!
PLEASE SUPPORT DT MCCALL & SONS!
THANK YOU! https://t.co/KVVoUcr1Sc pic.twitter.com/fry6qcEGvk
— Shawn Farash (@Shawn_Farash) November 2, 2024
Watch the ad previously rejected by Cumulus Media:
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
