For the past couple months, the bills have come due for the media, which has caused an uncomfortable upheaval. The government is finally getting out of the media business and some legacy media is finally tired of losing money on bitter, snarky, unfunny entertainers (like Stephen Colbert). As the reality of ratings and spreadsheets intrudes on networks and fired reporters, some are confessing their biases and others are having surprise epiphanies that their organizations were indeed quite biased.

After more than a half century of taxpayers funding anti-American progressive propaganda masquerading as objective news, Congress finally defunded NPR (National Public Radio) and PBS (Public Broadcasting System). Democrats howled that the public, particularly poor people, will be deprived of important life-saving information, but hardly anyone listens or watches to (and certainly no one depends on) NPR or PBS as a primary source of information. Thus far, no one has died.

Ironically, both seem to have moderated some now that they must pay their own bills, but legacy media is coming around to reality much more slowly. Steadily disappearing, CNN and MSNBC are cutting staff and shedding viewers, but they are still clinging to the old, failed playbook of “no matter what, just hate Trump.” The big three networks are quietly toning down their usually silly rabid attacks on President Trump and insisting shows actually make money. Media charity for Democrats is running out fast.

The Democrat media complex was apoplectic when CBS cancelled "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert." They screamed that it was fascism and an assault on free speech, but in fact, CBS was subsidizing Colbert and propping up his free speech. Colbert was losing about $40 million annually for years, so what took the legacy so long to cut that loser?

Over on NBC, "Late Night with Seth Myers," host Seth Myers was lamenting that all these cuts made him nervous and that he might need therapy. Leftists have problems with accountability by always blaming others. Myers only needs to check his budget and ratings. If "Late Night" was not losing millions of dollars annually, he probably had no need to fret. Based on falling ratings, Jimmy Kimmel and "The View" should be nervous.

With jitters among the late-night hosts, Jimmy Fallon on "The Tonight Show" inoculated himself by booking the king of late night, Greg Gutfeld from Fox News. Critics warned of political fireworks and plain meanness, but Gutfeld was fun and warm. They didn’t even talk about politics. They just reminisced about hilarious memories of previous meetings. Both comedians actually just did their jobs and tried to make people laugh and feel good. Not everything has to be political.

Fallon reached across the aisle to tell some jokes, and it worked, but shock-jock Howard Stern took a drastically opposite tack. Known for being brash and over-the-top, Stern literally told his audience that he did not want any Trump supporters listening to his show, so he told them to change the channel. Conservative listeners and many others stopped listening. His employer, SIRIUS, is not laughing, so after decades of dominating talk radio, it appears Stern is on his way out. His foul mouth overloaded his lazy butt.

Americans are sick and tired of the incessant progressive sanctimony and scolding. Celebrities have lost their influence and popularity, and mainstream media has lost almost all credibility. Hardly anyone is listening to leftist entertainers and reporters anymore, so if they move to Ireland or start podcasts after being fired, no one cares.

Unemployed so-called journalists F. Chuck Todd and Terry Moran admitted that their networks were incredibly biased and hopelessly slanted toward helping Democrats and maligning Republicans, particularly Trump. Perhaps their confessions will help them regain followers and listeners, but such honesty vindicates the many average Americans who have known this all along but were scorned for ever mentioning the truth.

Alternate media is pushing the mainstream media out, but the legacy media is handily expediting their own demise by abandoning any pretense of fairness or integrity. They are paying for it with lost jobs and profits, but the Democrat Party stands to lose even more. The Democrat Media Complex (DMC) continues to try to carry water for Democrats, but Americans aren’t even paying attention to them.

Without a fawning mainstream media to bolster their bad policies, cover their corruption, and repeat their lies, Democrats will continue to watch their power erode. That’s why Democrats are losing their minds: they are losing their power and their protectors.

“A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will perish” (Proverbs 19:9).

Pete Riehm is a Navy Veteran, conservative activist, and columnist in south Alabama. Email him at peteriehm@bellsouth.net or read all his columns at http://www.renewamerica.com/.