Hazards Ahead for CBS News Despite Paramount’s $16 Million Settlement with Trump

Paramount Global and CBS News employees may be hoping to finally move on from the months-long drama surrounding President Trump’s $20 billion lawsuit but a veteran media reporter, Matthew Belloni, predicts the Trump administration may still go for more concessions.Mr. Trump sued CBS News over the editing of Vice President Harris’ October 2024 “60 Minutes” interview, which removed what critics called “word salad” from the beginning of her answer about Israel, making her sound more coherent.As the litigation and discussions about a settlement dragged on, Paramount’s crucial merger with Skydance Media was held up by the Federal Communications Commission. Paramount’s board believed that the key to securing the government’s approval was to settle the lawsuit, according to multiple reports. Last week, Paramount agreed to settle for $16 million but refused to issue an apology. While CBS News staffers complained about the deal to media outlets, there seemed to be a cautious optimism that the news division could get back to work as normal. But Mr. Belloni, predicted on his podcast “The Town,” that the Trump administration might seek to extract even more concessions.Although many liberal journalists believed that settling Mr. Trump’s lawsuit would pave the way for the FCC to approve the Skydance deal, nearly a week later that has not happened. And the Trump-appointed chairman of the agency, Brendan Carr, has not spoken out about the settlement. Mr. Belloni said the continuing review of the Skydance deal means the Trump administration “still has leverage” to extract concessions from Paramount and CBS News. Mr. Belloni’s guest, Bloomberg reporter Lucas Shaw, predicted that the FCC would require Paramount to agree to roll back its diversity, equity, and inclusion policies to win approval.Paramount announced in February that it would scrap some of its diversity policies, such as “aspirational numerical goals related to the race, ethnicity, sex, or gender of hires.” The FCC has already told Paramount that in order to secure approval of its merger, it would have to commit to end “certain” diversity policies, the Wall Street Journal reported in April. Mr. Belloni said, “We were talking about how the no-apology thing is actually good for CBS News because I don’t think we’re going to see mass exits or resignations. But it’s not over. And what if part of the settlement is CBS News or ‘60 Minutes’ has to add, you know, their version of Scott Jennings — the CNN guy — to be a socially conservative commentator?” Another potential requirement for the deal to be approved, Mr. Shaw predicted, would be an agreement to include diverse viewpoints or accept some “internal watchdog” to monitor its content. Both Mr. Belloni and Mr. Shaw said they believe Paramount secured the best deal possible by settling for significantly less than the $50 million Mr. Trump’s lawyers reportedly sought without having to apologize for the “60 Minutes” interview.However, the prospect that Paramount will try to curb what conservatives allege is a liberal, anti-Trump bias has not been limited to conversations among outside commentators.The left-wing media reporter, Oliver Darcy, reported in his Status newsletter that the chief executive of Skydance, David Ellison, recently met with pro-Israel journalist and founder of the Free Press, Bari Weiss. Mr. Darcy reported that Mr. Ellison discussed the possibility of a role for Ms. Weiss at CBS News, such as a contributor or correspondent position, but not a management position. Ellison is the scion of Oracle co-founder and Trump supporter Larry Ellison.Mr. Darcy reported that Ms. Weiss, who resigned from the New York Times in 2020 citing its “illiberal environment” and “bullying from colleagues,” is a “major star in right-wing media.” However, in mainstream outlets, he said, Ms. Weiss is viewed “unfavorably.”After the settlement was announced, Mr. Darcy reported that the stars of “60 Minutes” had an emotional meeting with the president of CBS News, Tom Cibrowski. One staffer reportedly asked, “Is this it? Or [does Skydance] say we are going to bring a new person in and start tinkering around with this show?”“The institution could unravel,” the staffer warned. Besides the prospect of potentially bringing conservative or more centrist voices to the network, there is also an “anticipation” that Paramount will run public service announcements “in the future,” Fox News reported last week. Fox News notes that the reported “allocation” would bring the value of the settlement closer to $30 million. The Washington Free Beacon, quoting its own unnamed sources, confirmed the existence of the side agreement and the $30 million figure. It is believed that “in the future” means after the Skydance deal closes. In a statement to the Sun, Paramount said, “Contrary to some news reports or media speculation, Paramount’s settlement with President Trump does not include PSAs or anything related to PSAs. Paramount has no knowledge of any promises or commitments made to President Trump other than those set forth in the settlement proposed by the mediator and accepted by the parties. The material terms of the settlement agreement in principle are those disclosed by us yesterday.”However, it is possible there was some side deal with the Ellisons about the public service announcements. Skydance had no formal role in the settlement negotiations, and it would be illegal for it to make a formal agreement before the deal closes.Skydance did not respond to the Sun’s request for comment by the time of publication. Mr. Belloni speculated that the Ellisons have met with Mr. Trump in recent months and may have offered informal concessions once the Skydance deal closes. However, he also suggested that the “anticipation” for the PSAs might come from a belief that the FCC— which is also conducting a news distortion investigation of the Harris interview — would require Paramount to commit to air them in order to win approval of its merger. The Trump administration has used its regulatory and legal leverage to extract concessions from other institutions, though not ones with the same robust protections afforded by the First Amendment. Last week, the University of Pennsylvania agreed to resolve a federal civil rights case by banning biological males from competing on female sports teams, awarding titles to female athletes who lost out to a transgender swimmer, Lia Thomas, and sending a personalized apology letter to those swimmers. By seeking the concessions as part of the FCC’s review process, it would likely avoid the potential legal risks of negotiating secret deals with Ellison or Skydance.Paramount and CBS News may also face legal problems from sources other than the Trump administration. Several Democratic senators have called the settlement a bribe and demanded answers. Senator Wyden said he will call for federal charges and urged state prosecutors to take Paramount to court. The Freedom of the Press Foundation has also said it intends to sue over the settlement.

Hazards Ahead for CBS News Despite Paramount’s $16 Million Settlement with Trump

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