As Skydance Takes Over Paramount, David Ellison Is Mum on ‘Side Deal’ With Trump — Or on Cleanup of CBS News

The chief executive of Skydance, David Ellison, is now in control of CBS and its parent company, Paramount, but he is not answering major questions related to the takeover and how he’s going to address liberal bias, past and present, at CBS News. On Thursday, Skydance’s more than $8 billion merger with Paramount closed, capping off a months-long saga and giving the scion of the world’s second-wealthiest person, Larry Ellison, the chance to make his mark on a storied broadcaster, CBS, once known as the Tiffany Network. The transaction is now complete, but there are lingering questions about Paramount’s $16 million settlement with President Trump of his $20 billion lawsuit against CBS over its editing of Vice President Harris’s October 2024 interview with “60 Minutes.” At issue is whether Skydance struck a side deal with Mr. Trump to — once the acquisition was consummated — donate more than $15 million worth of advertisements promoting conservative causes, thereby doubling the value of the settlement. Mr. Trump has said publicly that such an arrangement was made. But for weeks, Skydance refused to comment about the deal, and that did not change on Thursday when Mr. Ellison took questions from reporters at Paramount’s New York City office.CBS News has been denounced by President Trump for its editing of the ’60 Minutes’ interview with Vice President Harris. CBS News“We’re focused on the future,” Mr. Ellison told a columnist for the New York Post, Charles Gasparino, when asked about the alleged deal. When asked by Variety’s Todd Spangler about the same deal, Mr. Ellison said, “We are not going to politicize anything today. … I do not want to politicize our company in any way.”While he refused to comment on the side deal, the Skydance CEO said his company “complied with all laws, including anti-bribery laws,” and it was “not involved in the [Paramount] settlement [with Trump] in any way.”His comments were similar to a response Skydance gave in a letter last week to three powerful, left-wing Democratic senators — Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Ron Wyden — who asked about the merger and alleged side deal. Oracle heir David Ellison (seen leaning over, in black) is present at a UFC event in Florida with President Trump earlier this year. InstagramThere have been several theories floated about the deal; however, none have been confirmed so far. One theory is that the side deal was struck as a condition of the FCC approving the Skydance deal, though in a letter announcing that the agency approved the transaction, there was no mention of the ads.Another theory is that the FCC, which is still conducting a news distortion investigation into CBS News, will require the network to air them as a penalty for the Harris interview. News distortions can result in fines or other regulatory measures.The ads could be required as a remedy for failing to meet the FCC’s equal time rule. During the campaign, Mr. Trump declined to sit for an interview with “60 Minutes” due to conservatives’ longstanding complaints about a left-wing bias at the program. Meanwhile, Ms. Harris was interviewed, which later sparked allegations that the network deceptively edited a portion of her answer to a question about Israel to make her sound more coherent. The FCC requires that broadcasters provide political candidates “equal time” if a network gives their rival for the same office access to their platform, for an interview, for example. In the case of “60 Minutes,” Mr. Trump did not do the interview and was not given an alternative to fulfill the “equal time” requirement.The then-president of CBS News, David Rhodes, speaks onstage during the International Women’s Media Foundation’s 2018 Courage in Journalism Awards at Cipriani 42nd Street on October 25, 2018, at New York City. Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for International Women’s Media FoundationIn a separate case during the election, Mr. Trump’s campaign said that NBC violated the “equal time” rule by having Ms. Harris appear in the “cold open” of “Saturday Night Live.” To remedy the situation, the network agreed to give him free commercial time. Even though Mr. Trump had hosted “SNL” twice, when he was one of NBC’s biggest stars, his relationship with reliably liberal NBC nosedived once he ran for president, and free advertising was likely the best “equal time” opportunity. Regardless of whether a side deal was struck and in what form it takes, the White House is reportedly eager to ensure the ads air. Mr. Gasparino posted on X Thursday morning that the White House “wants Ellison to make good on promise to run pro MAGA public services ads as part of the recent settlement with Trump.”Another question Mr. Ellison declined to answer is whether he is in talks with the pro-Israel, anti-woke founder of the Free Press, Bari Weiss, to acquire the outlet and give her a role at CBS News, which has been dogged by allegations of anti-Israel and far-left bias. Bari Weiss appears on ‘Real Time With Bill Maher.’ Screenshot via YouTubeSkydance promised the FCC that it is committed to unbiased journalism. Bringing Ms. Weiss on in a non-managerial role would be an attempt to rein in the network’s coverage. However, observers familiar with how CBS News operates have expressed doubt that Ms. Weiss has the stamina or the guile needed to navigate the treacherous shoals of West 57th Street. “Bari Weiss will have an axe in her head in three minutes,” an unnamed CBS News insider told the New York Post last month.Mr. Ellison has also been busy naming his team of executives to run Paramount and its various properties. However, as a far-left media reporter, Oliver Darcy, pointed out on Wednesday night, Skydance has not announced who will be the new president of CBS News. There have been reports that Mr. Ellison is in talks with a former Fox News and former CBS News executive, David Rhodes, to return to the network to run it again. Mr. Rhodes is seen as a centrist who would presumably be installed with the mission of reining in bias at the network. Thus far, however, there has been no official movement on that front.The CEO of Skydance Media, David Ellison, the son of Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison. Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for CinemaConSkydance also committed in writing to hiring an ombudsman at CBS News to hear and evaluate complaints of bias at the network. That promise has unsettled CBS News’s left-wing producers and reporters, who have suggested that the ombudsman will act as an informant to the FCC.However, during the question-and-answer period on Thursday, the president of Paramount, Jeff Shell, told reporters that the position is merely “a transparency vehicle, not an oversight vehicle.” Mr. Shell said, “We’re not being overseen by the FCC or anybody else.”In an open letter on Thursday, Mr. Ellison praised CBS News, which he said is “home to one of the most storied American broadcast journalism legacies in America, including 60 Minutes, with a long tradition of impactful reporting led by seasoned journalists committed to accuracy, integrity, and public trust.”He acknowledged that the merger “stretched out over a considerable time period,” but pointed to the future as he said he looks forward to “continuing to foster a newsroom culture where journalists are empowered, trusted, and equipped to do their best work.”Tony Dokoupil of ‘CBS Mornings’ interviews Ta-Nehisi Coates. CBS NewsHowever, he also signaled that there could be some major changes coming, as he said that executives will be investing in some areas of the business and “scrutinizing spending to maximize margins” in others. CBS News is expected to face major budget cuts as Skydance is seeking to slash $500 million in costs at Paramount. But beyond the eight-figure salary of Gayle King, the “CBS Mornings” co-host, and slashing the production budget of “60 Minutes” for overseas stories, there’s not much fat to cut left at CBS News, which has already been cut to the bone.

As Skydance Takes Over Paramount, David Ellison Is Mum on ‘Side Deal’ With Trump — Or on Cleanup of CBS News

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