Corporate Media

Settle or no Media Deal

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Article in UPI by Mark Moran, 6/19/25

Headline:  “Paramount stalls $35 million ’60 Minutes’ settlement, slowing merger”

“Paramount has pulled back on a $35 million settlement with President Donald Trump after he sued the media company over a segment on CBS’ News’ “60 Minutes.”

“The lawsuit alleges that the program edited an interview with Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris ahead of the 2024 election to change how she would appear to viewers.

“The stalled settlement is holding up a potential $8 billion takeover of Paramount by Skydance, a deal that the two companies negotiated over a year ago. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2025/06/19/paramount-stalles-35m-trump-settlement/7591750371277/

No Prescription for TV Ads

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Article in the Daily Caller by Robert McGreevy, 6/18/25

Headline:  “CNN Acknowledges RFK’s Drug Ad Ban Could ‘Cripple’ Broadcasting Giants “

“CNN admitted Wednesday policies to limit pharmaceutical TV advertising that are being considered by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could cripple the TV news business.

The policies, which include a plan to remove a loophole allowing pharmaceutical companies to write off advertising as a tax deduction, could ‘leave broadcasters in financial straits,’ CNN reported in a Wednesday article.

“While Kennedy Jr. has long advocated to end the practice of pharmaceutical direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising — a practice banned in almost every other nation globally — experts believe that pharmaceutical giants would challenge an outright ban on First Amendment grounds. . .”

https://dailycaller.com/2025/06/18/cnn-rfk-drug-ad-ban-cripple-broadcasting-giants-pharmaceuticals/

Media Execs Were Shocked!

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Article in Mediaite by Colby Hall, 6/9/25

Headline:  “The Fake Outrage at ABC’s Terry Moran Exposes How Dishonest Independent Media Can Be”

“Terry Moran made a mistake.

“Not a big, career-killing one —more like the kind of late-night lapse that happens when the filter slips and the truth comes out a little too unvarnished. In the bleary hours between Saturday night and Sunday morning, the ABC News senior correspondent let fly a tweet about Stephen Miller, calling him ‘richly endowed with the capacity for hatred,’ . . .” nourishment.”

“The blunt bit of analysis was deleted quickly. The damage was already done, his post having landed squarely in the middle of the culture war mosh pit, where such commentary is chum for partisan sharks desperate for engagement. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediaite.com/opinion/the-fake-outrage-at-abcs-terry-moran-exposes-how-dishonest-independent-media-can-be/

 

Reporters Expose Things

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Jon Alsop, 6/9/25

Headline: “Doin’ It Live”

Subhead:  “A timely televised play won’t save the republic.”

“Fuck it! We’ll do it live! These, of course, are the immortal words of Bill O’Reilly. But George Clooney had a similar thought recently—involving a different former CBS newsman—when he decided to mount a live televised production of Good Night, and Good Luck, a Broadway play that he cowrote, based on a movie that he cowrote, based on Edward R. Murrow’s famous takedown of the demagogue Joseph McCarthy in the fifties. . .”

“Of course, Clooney and CNN were also interested in televising the show because its subject matter is supremely relevant right now, as every journalist covering it dutifully pointed out. The historical echoes ‘are extraordinary,’ even ‘eerie,’ CNN’s Brian Stelter wrote, noting the play’s themes of ‘unrestrained political power, corporate timidity and journalistic integrity.’ Clooney told the Times that, “unfortunately, this play always is timely. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/doin-it-live-clooney-cnn-good-night-good-luck-tv-live-broadcast-murrow-friendly-mccarthy.php

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Article in The Hill by Dominick Mastrangelo, 5/22/25

Headline:  “Trump-related crisis deepens at CBS News“

“The departure of two top executives at CBS News in recent weeks has shaken journalists at the outlet and fueled speculation the network’s corporate parent will soon settle a high-profile lawsuit brought against the company by President Trump.

“The resignation this week of CBS President Wendy McMahon came just weeks after that of “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens.

“The back-to-back resignations served as the latest sign that a brooding crisis for one of the country’s largest and oldest broadcast news networks is reaching an inflection point. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://thehill.com/media/5312467-cbs-executives-resign-trump-lawsuit/

Media Bribery?

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Article in Status by Oliver Darcy, 5/20/25

Headline:  “Shari and the Senators”

Subhead:  “A new letter from three top Democratic senators warns Shari Redstone that settling Trump’s lawsuit could be more than a capitulation—it could be a crime.”

“On Tuesday morning, three senators dispatched a letter to Paramount Global boss Shari Redstone, the culmination of growing worry among Democrats on Capitol Hill that the media conglomerate could be on the brink of engaging in an unlawful quid pro quo with Donald Trump. In the letter—signed by Elizabeth Warren, Ron Wyden, and Bernie Sanders—the lawmakers warned that if Paramount settles Trump’s $20 billion lawsuit over a ’60 Minutes’ segment to win favor with the Trump administration, it could constitute criminal bribery—something that I’m told has also been cause for concern among the company’s three co-chief executives. . .”

Read the full story at:

https://www.status.news/p/senators-warn-paramount-trump-lawsuit

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Article in Poynter by Angela Fu, 5/20/25

Headline:  “For CBS News, Wendy McMahon’s resignation marks more than just a leadership change”

Subhead:  “CBS is caught in the crosshairs of a Trump lawsuit, an FCC probe and a looming merger. And its top news executive just stepped down.”

“McMahon, the president and CEO of CBS News and Stations as well as CBS Media Ventures, told staff in a memo that the past few months have been “challenging.”

“It’s become clear that the company and I do not agree on the path forward,” McMahon wrote. “It’s time for me to move on and for this organization to move forward with new leadership.”

“McMahon’s resignation comes as CBS faces a $20 billion lawsuit from Trump over its editing of a ’60 Minutes’ interview last October with then-Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2025/cbs-news-wendy-mcmahon-resign-why-trump-60-minutes-shari-redstone/

End Diversity, Get License

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Article in Ars Technica by John Brodkin, 5/20/25

Headline:  “FCC Chair Brendan Carr is letting ISPs merge—as long as they end DEI programs”

It’s shaping up to be a big year for telecom mergers, and it appears the Federal Communications Commission is eager to approve the deals—as long as companies involved drop any DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) policies criticized by FCC Chairman Brendan Carr. Verizon just got a big merger approved, and cable giant Charter is seeking permission to buy Cox.

The FCC on Friday announced approval of Verizon’s purchase of Frontier, one day after Verizon committed to end DEI policies in a filing with the commission. Carr previously sent letters to Verizon and other companies alleging that their diversity policies are “invidious forms of discrimination” that violate federal law and threatened to block mergers pursued by firms that enforce such policies. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/05/fcc-chair-brendan-carr-is-letting-isps-merge-as-long-as-they-end-dei-programs/

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Article in The Washington Post by Will Oremus and Andrea Jimenez, 5/20/25

Headline: “Carr’s FCC puts the political squeeze on media mergers”

“Now companies looking to close deals are also ditching diversity policies and, reportedly, responding to pressure to settle lawsuits with President Donald Trump.

“On Friday, Verizon won FCC approval to buy broadband internet provider Frontier for about $10 billion. The approval came the day after the company said in a letter to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr that it would end its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs “effective immediately,” as the Intercept first reported.

“The agency cited that shift as a factor in its approval .  .  .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/05/20/verizon-dei-carr-fcc-merger-cbs/

“60 Minutes” Fallout

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Article in Status by Oliver Darcy, 5/19/25

Headline:  “The Showdown Over ’60’ “

Subhead: “For months, CBS News boss Wendy McMahon faced mounting pressure over the network’s coverage of Donald Trump—and over the weekend, it hit a crescendo.”

“On Monday morning, Wendy McMahon walked into the CBS News offices on the west side of Manhattan and led the network’s daily editorial meeting as she always did. She congratulated “60 Minutes” on a standout season, acknowledged the unusual circumstances the newsmagazine had navigated, and went over programming plans. What she didn’t mention was that it would be one of her final days at the network. That came soon after, in a memo that stunned staffers across CBS News and sent a jolt through the broader media industry.

McMahon told staffers she was resigning from her role as president and chief executive of CBS News and Stations—a decision she’d quietly finalized over the weekend after a bruising, weeks-long battle with the company’s top brass. . .”

Read the fullarticle at:

https://www.status.news/p/cbs-news-60-minutes-wendy-mcmahon

Stopping Blackmail by Paying?

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Article in The Hill by Dominick Mastrangelo, 5/19/25

Headline:  “Trump threatens ABC News over Qatar jet coverage”

“President Trump is threatening ABC News over its coverage of a luxury jet he is set to receive from Qatar, a decision that is drawing criticism from both congressional leaders and national security experts.

“ ‘Why doesn’t Chairman Bob Iger do something about ABC Fake News,’ Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Saturday, name-checking the Disney CEO who presides over the broadcast news network.

“The president referenced a multimillion-dollar settlement the network paid him late last year over comments made by George Stephanopoulos in which the ‘This Week’ anchor falsely said Trump had been convicted of sexual assault. The company retracted and apologized for the remarks. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/5307218-trump-threatens-abc-news-qatar-jet-coverage/