CBS News in Crisis as Its Hollywood Owners Prepare To Do ‘Whatever They Have To Do’ To Settle Trump’s ‘60 Minutes’ Lawsuit, Including Apology: Report

The chief executive of CBS News, Wendy McMahon, could soon be out of a job as the owners of CBS’ parent company, Paramount, and Skydance are so determined to win the government’s approval for the planned merger that they will do “whatever they have to do,” including offering an embarrassing apology for the selective editing of Vice President Harris’ October 2024 interview with “60 Minutes, according to a new report.The report came in the form of a recent episode of the influential podcast “The Town,” which reflects the thinking of Hollywood’s business community. It’s proprietor, the veteran Hollywood reporter Matthew Belloni, noted there is speculation in the power corridors of Los Angeles that President Trump’s $20 billion lawsuit and a “news distortion” investigation by the Federal Communications Commission could quash the long-gestating acquisition of Paramount Global by Skydance, which is owned by the Oracle scion David Ellison. The merger is important to the Hollywood community as Paramount is one of the last major studios standing and provides work for thousands of people in the entertainment community. . Mr. Belloni says that despite concerns, he believes the merger will go through because the matriarch of the family that controls Paramount, Shari Redstone, and Mr. Ellison, are determined to see the deal go through. “I think that it’s just so important for Shari and for Ellison to close this,” the journalist said as he noted David Ellison’s billionaire father, Larry, the fourth richest American, “is a big Trump supporter, he is backstopping this whole Paramount purchase, and Trump knows that…Shari Redstone has been a Trump supporter as well. These are his friends, right? So I think this is all noise. [Trump’s] going to get his victory, he may even get an apology from CBS, which will be insane if they apologize for this.”Mr. Belloni said that if CBS News is forced to apologize for its edits, that its executives will “go absolutely crazy,” and he would not be surprised if the embattled head of the news operation, Wendy McMahon, quits as a result.Wendy McMahon, CEO of CBS News. Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File“[Ms. Redstone and Mr. Ellison] will do whatever they have to do to get this deal closed,” he said. Mr. Belloni’s colleague at Puck, media reporter Dylan Byers, reported in February that Skydance executives have already decided to fire Ms. McMahon once the deal closes. Further throwing Ms. McMahon’s future at CBS into doubt, Puck now reports that in her side job managing CBS Media Ventures, which distributes various syndicated programs, she botched negotiations to maintain the distribution rights for the iconic game shows “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy!” Sony, which produces the show, is seeking to end the relationship with CBS, and the two companies are now in a legal dispute over the matter. Mr. Byers reports that Paramount executives believe Ms. McMahon has mishandled the situation in a way that will ultimately cost CBS a lot of money.Mr. Trump sued CBS Inc. over its editing of Ms. Harris’ October 2024 interview with “60 Minutes,” where what critics call a “word salad” answer about Israel was edited to make it more concise and coherent. The changes were only discovered after different versions of the answer were released on two of CBS News’ lesser platforms. Mr. Trump also lashed out at CBS News on Sunday after “60 Minutes,” which has broadcast a drumbeat of negative reports about the Trump Administration in recent months, aired two more segments critical of his administration. In a post on Truth Social, he said the Tiffany Network should lose its broadcast license. He also urged the chairman of the FCC, Brendan Carr, to “impose the maximum fines and punishment” on the network.(The handful of legacy broadcast networks, such as CBS, ABC and NBC, transmit their signals over the air on publicly owned airwaves and are therefore subject to government regulation over their content.)Mr. Belloni said Mr. Trump’s lawsuit is a “very winnable case” but there is “speculation is that Shari Redstone – who owns Paramount and very much wants to get her sale to Skydance approved by the FCC which is a Donald Trump toady slash appointee – will pay” to settle Mr. Trump’s lawsuit in a bid to make sure the deal goes through. He noted that Mr. Ellison was seated very close to Mr. Trump at a UFC event on Saturday night and “almost surely spoke” with the president during the event, though he noted there has not been confirmation that the two men spoke and Skydance has declined to comment.News that Mr. Ellison was seated near Mr. Trump during the UFC event and reportedly socialized with the president’s inner circle is also reportedly leading to a sense of fear in the CBS newsroom. One source at the network told liberal journalist Oliver Darcy, “Anyone who believed Ellison might be a breath of fresh air after Redstone and have the backbone to run a principled news organization is feeling pretty naive today.”Shari Redstone attends a NYC Special Screening Event of We Will Dance Again at Temple Emanu-El on September 18, 2024 at New York City. Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Paramount+Mr. Belloni predicted that the settlement could be between $10 million and $50 million. Representatives for Paramount and Skydance did not respond to the Sun’s request for comment by the time of publication. Even as settlement talks are underway at the Paramount level, lawyers for CBS Inc. have tried to dismiss Mr. Trump’s lawsuit, calling it an “affront to the First Amendment.” The network insists it committed no wrongdoing in the way it edited Ms. Harris’ interview, and has raised concerns about external forces trying to influence its editorial decisions. However, the Texas-based judge that is presiding over the case has declined to toss out the lawsuit. The case, with its Texas judge, may not be as winnable as coastal media types like Mr. Belloni might think.Ms. Redstone and the former NBCUniversal executive expected to oversee Paramount day-to-day if the Skydance deal is approved, Jeff Shell, believe that settling Mr. Trump’s lawsuit is the best way to win the FCC’s approval, according to Mr. Darcy.Mr. Trump first confirmed reports that he was in talks about a settlement back in February. “I could’ve lost the election because of that,” he told reporters, adding that the network should pay him “a lot” of money for the Harris interview. Last week, the New York Times reported that Trump and Paramount had agreed upon a mediator to try to settle the case.Mr. Belloni noted that other media and tech companies have agreed to pay large sums to settle his lawsuits. In December, Disney agreed to $16 million to settle a notable defamation lawsuit from Mr. Trump.The suit stemmed from ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos’ comment, on his “This Week” program, that Mr. Trump had been found liable for rape. At the time, Mr. Belloni said that he believed that case was “very winnable” for Disney because although Mr. Stephanopoulos “did falsely say Trump was found liable for rape,” it might be hard for the president’s team to prove the comment met the “actual malice” standard required in defamation cases. David Ellison, far right and leaning over, sits by President Trump at a UFC event in Florida this weekend. XMr. Belloni noted there was speculation that the settlement was agreed to in part to avoid a potentially embarrassing discovery process for ABC News, but also because executives at Disney hoped it would curry favor with the incoming president. Whether that strategy will be successful is yet to be determined, but similar strategies from other companies have so far not led to the desired outcome. Meta donated $1 million to the 47th president’s inaugural fund and paid $25 million to settle a lawsuit stemming from its 2017 decision to ban him from Facebook after the January 6 riot. Despite the donation and the settlement, the Federal Trade Commission’s trial seeking to break up Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp kicked off this week. While the FTC, like the FCC, is an independent agency, its chairman, Andrew Ferguson, suggested to the Verge that he would drop the case if Mr. Trump ordered him to – but he said he did not expect that to happen. The FTC is also slated to hold a trial to determine if Alphabet should be up broken over allegations that Google monopolized the search market.Mr. Carr of the FCC has signaled a desire to use his agency’s authority to rein in news outlets accused of a liberal bias. When some center right groups urged the FCC to drop its investigation of CBS due to concerns it could set a precedent that could be used to target conservative outlets, Mr. Carr responded, “With respect to their request that the FCC immediately dismiss the complaint against CBS, my answer is simple: no. The FCC’s review of the complaint against CBS remains active and ongoing.”While Ms. Redstone and Mr. Shell are reportedly intent on a settlement in Mr. Trump’s lawsuit, the Wall Street Journal reported that executives at Paramount are concerned that it could lead to legal troubles and be seen as a bribe meant to make sure the Skydance merger goes through, possibly open up executives to criminal prosecution.One way to fend off those allegations would be for CBS News to concede it made a mistake in its editing of the Harris interview, something that could lead to firings if executives in the news division decide to resist their bosses.The news chief, Ms. McMahon, and the executive producer of “60 Minutes,” Bill Owens have reportedly said an apology is a “red line” they will not cross, Mr. Darcy reported. Besides the opposition to a settlement, the leadership team at CBS News is reportedly facing pressure due to falling ratings after a botched revamp of the “CBS Evening News.” CBS News, many of whose producers have far left views and harbor anti-Israel sentiments, has also been embroiled in multiple antisemitism controversies which have angered Ms. Redstone, a strong supporter of Israel.

CBS News in Crisis as Its Hollywood Owners Prepare To Do ‘Whatever They Have To Do’ To Settle Trump’s ‘60 Minutes’ Lawsuit, Including Apology: Report

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