CBS News’ Parent Company, Paramount, Negotiating End to DEI Policies as Condition for Merger, While Settlement Talks Are Underway With Trump Over ‘60 Minutes’ Suit

The Federal Communications Commission and Paramount Global, the parent company of CBS Inc., are reportedly in discussions about ending Paramount’s aggressive “diversity, equity, and inclusion,” or DEI, policies in order for Paramount to win government approval for its acquisition by Skydance Media. The process, which has been in limbo for several months, is finally seeing some movement, according to the Wall Street Journal, which reports that the FCC has laid out some conditions for the company. Separately, according to multiple reports, Paramount is in settlement conversations with President Trump over his $20 billion lawsuit filed against CBS News regarding its editing of the October 2024 interview with Vice President Harris. The FCC has indicated that the status of Mr. Trump’s lawsuit could factor into whether it allows the Skydance merger to go through. In Paramount’s direct negotiations with the FCC, one of the conditions on the table is that Paramount “continue to abstain” from DEI practices. In February, Paramount announced it would end its “aspirational numerical goals related to the race, ethnicity, sex or gender of hires.” In the peak of what liberals call the “racial reckoning” following the death of George Floyd in 2020, Paramount committed to DEI policies that were radical even for the time. These involved aggressive racial quotas for the staffing of writers’ rooms – the creative hub of a scripted television program – with meeting these quotas linked to executives’ performance reviews. Paramount also struck a multi-year deal with the NAACP to commission and produce “inclusive” programs by and about black people.CBS recently settled a racial discrimination suit brought by a white writer for the show ‘SEAL TEAM’ on CBS. CBSCBS Studios recently agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by a white male script writer over the writers’ room racial quotas. The white writer claimed he was discriminated against and denied a full-time job at the now-canceled “SEAL Team” show due to an “illegal policy of race and sex balancing.”The Trump-appointed chairman of the FCC, Brendan Carr, has said that “invidious” DEI initiatives could lead his agency to block mergers. He is also targeting DEI policies at Comcast and Disney, two of the other corporations that own major Hollywood studios.Aside from the DEI initiatives, Mr. Carr has also said that Mr. Trump’s lawsuit against CBS News over the “60 Minutes” Harris interview and an FCC news distortion investigation into CBS News, also over the Harris interview, could factor into the agency’s review of the Paramount deal. Mr. Trump claims that the Harris interview was maliciously edited to help her campaign and that it could have cost him the 2024 election. Shari Redstone (C) with two of her top Paramount executives, George Cheeks and Chris McCarthy.The non-executive chairwoman of Paramount, Shari Redstone, has reportedly been pushing to settle Mr. Trump’s lawsuit as she believes it could pave the way for the FCC to approve the Paramount-Skydance deal, according to multiple reports. Executives at Skydance also reportedly share that view.However, the Journal reports that executives at Paramount fear a settlement could expose them to potential criminal charges as it could be seen as a bribe. One way to avoid the appearance of a bribe would be for CBS News to issue an apology for the edits.In the news division, executives have balked at what they view as caving to Mr. Trump and an infringement on editorial control. The executive producer of “60 Minutes,” Bill Owens, announced his resignation earlier this week as he said it had become “clear that I would not be allowed to run [‘60 Minutes’] as I have always run it.”Mr. Owens has previously said an apology is a “red line” he would not cross, according to the liberal journalist Oliver Darcy. Departing Executive Producer Bill Owens of ’60 Minutes’ Frederick M. Brown/Getty ImagesThe president of CBS News and Stations, Wendy McMahon, is reportedly also opposed to a settlement. Puck’s Dylan Byers reports that executives at Skydance have already decided to fire her once the deal is consummated. However, veteran media reporter Matthew Belloni predicts Ms. McMahon may decide to quit – or be forced to resign – if CBS News is forced to apologize for its editing of the Harris interview. Mr. Owens’ departure, which has been seen as a forced ouster, came after he grew increasingly frustrated with Ms. Redstone – she had also become frustrated with his management of “60 Minutes.”Ms. Redstone, a staunch supporter of Israel, had vocalized her discontent with a segment “60 Minutes” aired in January focused on State Department rank-and-file opposition to the American role in the Israeli-Hamas war. The American Jewish Committee said the report was “shockingly one-sided, lacked factual accuracy, and relied heavily on misguided information.The New York Post reports that Ms. Redstone was “livid” after the segment and pushed Ms. McMahon to fire Mr. Owens.Leslie Stahl is under fire for her recent segment on Jewish hostages in Gaza. CBS More recently, “60 Minutes” aired a harshly criticized segment in which journalist Lesley Stahl asked a freed Jewish hostage, who said he had been tortured and starved by Hamas, if his captors intentionally deprived him of food or if they just did not have any food.Ms. Redstone also openly criticized the executives of CBS News after they reprimanded a morning show anchor, Tony Dokoupil, for his questioning of author Ta-Nehisi Coates about his new anti-Israel book. She also took Mr. Dokoupil out to lunch, and the executive who issued the reprimand left that position after just seven months on the job. After the anti-Israel stories aired on “60 Minutes,” the head of CBS Inc., George Cheeks, installed former CBS News president Susan Zirinsly in a broad role overseeing editorial standards. “60 Minutes,” which has long considered itself far above the rest of CBS News and answering to no one, bristled at this.Furthermore, Paramount executives have also asked “60 Minutes” for a list of stories about Mr. Trump amid his barrage of criticism of the show, Semafor reports. A spokesperson for Ms. Redstone told the outlet that the executives were not seeking the information so that they could kill the stories. “60 Minutes” has aired more and more virulently anti-Trump segments and is scheduled to air a piece on Sunday that negatively portrays cuts by the Trump Administration to the National Institutes of Health.CBS News has been denounced by President Trump for its editing of the ’60 Minutes’ Kamala Harris interview. CBS NewsAmid the settlement talks and the resignation of Mr. Owens, Ms. Redstone has faced intense criticism this week from liberal journalists outside CBS who are seeking to put social pressure on her. The CNN news personality Jake Tapper denounced Ms. Redstone, saying she is willing to “bow to presidential pressure” to sell the company as he noted she “stands to make a fortune” if the merger is approved. Meanwhile, media journalist Kara Swisher posted on the liberal X alternative, Bluesky, that there are “mountains of shame” on Ms. Redstone for her approach to making sure the merger is approved. Mr. Darcy also applied the word “shame” to Ms. Redstone in his newsletter.Representatives for Paramount and CBS News did not respond to the Sun’s request for comment by the time of publication.

CBS News’ Parent Company, Paramount, Negotiating End to DEI Policies as Condition for Merger, While Settlement Talks Are Underway With Trump Over ‘60 Minutes’ Suit

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