Media Consolidation

Media Consolidation a Problem?

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Article in The Guardian by Jeremy Barr, 10/6/26

Headline: “David Ellison denies he has ‘politicized’ Skydance despite close Trump links”

Subhead:  “Ellison admits ‘good relationship’ with administration in remarks to reporters about newly merged media company”

“David Ellison, the chief executive of the newly formed media conglomerate Skydance, denied that he has “politicized” the company despite the close connection he has forged with Donald Trump’s White House over the 20 months of his administration. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/oct/06/skydance-david-ellison-trump

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Article in The Washington Post by Scott Nover and Miriam Waldvogel, 10/6/26

Headline:  “Paramount closes $110B deal with Warner Bros. Discovery after months of wrangling”

Subhead: “The deal unites Paramount and Warner Bros. film and TV studios along with CNN and CBS, creating a new megacorporation in Hollywood, streaming and news.”

Read the article at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/10/06/paramount-closes-110b-deal-with-warner-bros-discovery-after-months-wrangling/?itid=hp_mv-top-stories_Biz/Nat_p008_f001

Near Monopoly Threat to Press?

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Article in Free Press by Staff, 10/1/26

Headline:  “Free Press: Judge’s Approval of the Paramount Mega-Merger Is a Call to Action Against Billionaire Control of the Media”

“On Wednesday, Federal Court Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín approved the proposed consent decree that Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery struck with 12 state attorneys general to settle their case against the companies’ $111 billion mega-merger.

“Last week, Free Press and other core partners in the coalition had filed an amicus brief calling for the federal court to reject the consent decree and prevent the merger from going forward, citing its failure to remedy harms to competition and to the very people that state attorneys general are supposed to represent. . .

Read the full article at:

https://www.freepress.net/news/free-press-judges-approval-paramount-mega-merger-call-action-against-billionaire-control-media

After Merger, Comes the Cutting

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Article in Reuters by Deborah Mary Sophia and Neil J Kanatt, 10/1/26

Headline:  “David Ellison’s appointment of Kreiz brings cost-cutter to Paramount-Warner Bros Discovery”

“. . .David Ellison’s choice of Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz as his co-captain at the new Paramount-Warner Bros Discovery signals what the media behemoth will care about most: running a lean, cost-efficient ​business that can pump more money out of its storied franchises. . .”

“That skillset positions Kreiz well to take on the task of knitting together two legacy media giants saddled with roughly $80 billion in debt while delivering the $6 billion in cost-savings promised from the industry-shaping merger. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/david-ellisons-appointment-of-kreiz-brings-cost-cutter-paramount-warner-bros-2026-10-01/

Paramount Grabs CNN

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Article in FAIR by Ari Paul, 9/24/26

Headline:  “CNN Cleared to Join CBS Under Trumpian Paramount Ownership”

“Paramount’s purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery, which faced legal action and concern that Paramount boss David Ellison may be consolidating too much media power, is now going forward. A dozen states brought litigation that tied the merger up in court, but they announced a settlement this week. According to California Attorney General Rob Bonta. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://fair.org/home/cnn-cleared-to-join-cbs-under-trumpian-paramount-ownership/

Something Not Smelling Right?

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Article in Daily Kos by Oliver Willis, 9/23/26

Headline: “A foul Musk lingers over the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger”

“The conservative owners of the Paramount media empire are reportedly considering approaching billionaire Elon Musk for an investment.

“If a deal is made, it would give the GOP donor influence over Paramount—as well as Warner Bros. Discovery, which Paramount is set to acquire.

“Musk is a longtime friend of billionaire Larry Ellison, who owns Paramount alongside his son, David Ellison. Larry was an investor in Musk’s bid to buy Twitter. Now called X, its algorithms have been changed by Musk to promote hateful, bigoted, and conspiratorial content. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/9/23/800102363/media/musk-lingers-over-paramount-warner-bros-merger/

CNN in quicksand After Paramount?

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Amos Barshad, 9/22/26

Headline:  “Done and Dusted”

Subhead:  “With the collapse of the California-led challenge to Paramount’s takeover of Warner Bros., the future of an independent CNN hangs in the balance.”

“William Tong is the attorney general of Connecticut, a member of a coalition of states that, up until this weekend, was suing to stop Paramount’s 111-billion-dollar merger with Warner Bros. Discovery. . . Deep into Sunday night, Tong told me, ‘I was fighting. I wasn’t willing to concede until late into the evening.’ That fight is now officially over: a consent decree has laid out Paramount’s legally obligated concessions, allowing the merger to go forward. A string of major entertainment and news entities—including CNN and CBS—will be under the control of one corporate behemoth controlled by the Ellison family. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/news/done-and-dusted-paramount-warner-bros-discovery-takeover-california-states-challenge-collapse-attorneys-general-independent-cnn-consent-decree.php

Paramount Smiling – Sketchy Deal?

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Article in Status by Oliver Darcy, 9/21/26

Headline:  “Ellison’s Bonta Blowout”

Subhead: “David Ellison worked the phones over the weekend to secure a settlement for his Warners takeover—but the deal’s supposed safeguard for CNN is already drawing skepticism from inside the network as staffers brace for what’s next.”

“On Monday afternoon, Paramount boss David Ellison and California Attorney General Rob Bonta formally announced that they had struck a deal to resolve the major antitrust lawsuit threatening the company’s $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. In announcing the settlement, ending a lawsuit brought by a dozen states and led by California, Ellison reiterated his belief that uniting the two companies through the mega-deal will ‘build’ a ‘stronger Hollywood.’

Read the full article at:

https://www.status.news/p/david-ellison-paramount-cnn-board-bonta-settlement

Ban All Media Except Paramount?

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Article in The Wrap by Kim Murphy, 9/19/26

Headline: “Elizabeth Warren Blasts Paramount Merger Settlement Talks: ‘Massive Mistake to Cave’”

Subhead: “The senator cites CNN’s ban from the White House in warning that the merger could create a ‘Trump-controlled media conglomerate'”

“Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) issued a warning Saturday that it would be a ‘massive mistake to cave’ on 12 states’ lawsuit against Paramount Skydance’s pending acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. Warren’s statement comes amid reports that California Attorney General Rob Bonta is in advanced talks on a potential settlement with the company, which would remove the only remaining regulatory hurdle impending the transaction. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thewrap.com/industry-news/public-policy-legal/elizabeth-warren-paramount-merger-settlement-massive-mistake/

Comcast Censoring Musk Film?

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Article in Common Dreams by Brad Reed

Headline: “Will Universal Studios, Owned by Comcast, Decide to Withhold Elon Musk Documentary?”

Subhead: “’Have I mentioned lately that oligarch-owned media consolidation is bad?’ said one critic.”

“Filmmaker Alex Gibney’s scathing four-hour documentary about SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has received rave reviews since its debut at the Venice Film Festival earlier this month, but it could soon be without an international distributor.

“According to a Wednesday report from The Hollywood Reporter, Comcast-owned Universal Pictures, which holds distribution rights to the film outside the North American market, is getting ‘cold feet’ about releasing it. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.commondreams.org/tag/elon-musk

AI and McClatchy

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Riddhi Setty, 9/17/26

Headline: “McClatchy’s Post-Layoff Future”

Subhead:   “AI is clearly part of the plan moving forward,” Ariane Lange, an investigative reporter at the Sacramento Bee, said. “It’s been part of the plan for quite some time.”

“Over the summer, journalists at McClatchy battled with management over the company’s plans to use artificial intelligence—and union members, organized in several regional guilds, largely seemed to be making headway. In July, newspapers in Washington State and Idaho ratified a union contract with significant AI provisions, including ones preventing the company from using AI to replace staff, using AI to impersonate journalists, or disciplining members for a chatbot’s mistakes. . .”

Then, last week, McClatchy laid off more than ninety unionized media workers across seventeen publications. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/analysis/mcclatchys-post-layoff-future-artificial-intelligence-ai-labor-union.php