Paramount Global executives have reportedly held internal talks to settle a lawsuit brought by President-elect Donald Trump over his interview with Vice President Kamala Harris on CBS News.
CBS parent company Paramount hopes to finalize its planned merger with Skydance Media in the coming months, but President Trump is accused of editing a “60 Minutes'' sit-down with Harris just before the election to his advantage. is being sued by.
In recent months, it has become clear that President Trump's dissatisfaction with CBS News has become a major stumbling block, and he may need to make concessions to win approval. The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
The newspaper previously reported that unless certain “fairness” conditions required by President Trump's FCC are met, the deal could remain in regulatory custody for the time being under President Trump-appointed FCC Chairman Brendan Kerr. It was reported that he was highly sexually active.
The FCC has authority over the deal because it involves the transfer of television broadcast licenses held by local stations owned by CBS.
The newspaper reported that there is no evidence that Paramount has approached Mr. Trump's team about a settlement, but that company executives are exploring options to reduce friction with the incoming administration in order to facilitate the merger.
Representatives for Mr. Trump would not comment on whether Paramount had contacted the president-elect's team.
A source told the Post that the talks were described as “informal,” meaning no presentations or formal plans were made.
Representatives for Paramount and Skydance had no comment.
At issue is President Trump's $10 billion lawsuit against CBS, which edited out portions of a “60 Minutes” interview with Harris to provide “word salad” answers about the Israel-Hamas war. They allege that they interfered in the election by deleting the .
President Trump claimed that CBS aired one version of the interview on “60 Minutes” and another version on the show “Face the Nation,” each containing different answers, and the network requested that the records of the recorded interviews be made public.
CBS said it aired a more concise version of Harris' interview on “60 Minutes” for clarity. The company declined to release the full transcript of the interview.
Reports of settlement talks come after rival ABC News surrendered in a defamation lawsuit filed by President Trump.
Trump was found to be civilly liable for raping author E. Jean Carroll, the Disney-owned network and star anchor George, over comments by the “This Week” host who said on air that Trump was found civilly liable for raping author E. Jean Carroll.・Sued Mr. Stephanopoulos.
A federal jury found Trump responsible for sexual abuse.
Disney settled a defamation lawsuit last month, agreeing to donate $15 million to Trump's presidential foundation or museum and pay Trump's lawyers $1 million in legal fees.
Recently, Mr. Kerr wrote a letter to Disney CEO Bob Iger criticizing the national news media and saying, “Americans can no longer trust the national news media to report completely, accurately, and fairly.'' “I haven't.”
His thoughts extend to CBS coverage as well.
As a result, Paramount and Skydance executives have increased oversight of CBS News' editorial operations, added new programming processes, and transcribed the Journal's “60 Minutes'' interview with Harris. We are considering a number of possible changes, including the possibility of making it public. Reported.
CBS News announced this week that it has appointed veteran CBS News producer Susan Zirinsky as editor-in-chief to temporarily oversee the station's editorial processes and journalistic standards amid allegations of bias.
The station is currently looking for a permanent employee and has contacted several cable news executives for the role, officials said.
Trump is likely to show favoritism if the merger gets the green light. Patrick McMullan, via Getty Images
The move follows several gaffes by the station, including a recent gaffe in a Jan. 12 “60 Minutes” segment about the Biden administration's response to the Gaza war. The segment raised concerns about bias in the news department.
Jewish groups and the Anti-Defamation League called the episode biased against Israel.
The magazine reported that executives internally raised questions about why a more balanced context had not been added to the piece.
Meanwhile, Skydance, run by Trump supporter David Ellison, son of billionaire Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, is itching to close the $8 billion Paramount deal. The deal took several months to reach an agreement with controlling shareholder Shari Redstone. He also has a good relationship with Mr. Trump.
Under the terms of the deal, Skydance and its investors will buy Redstone's stake in Paramount and merge with Skydance, which has produced films for the studio, including the latest “Mission: Impossible” sequel and “Top Gun: Maverick.” agreed to do so.
A source close to Skydance said David Ellison supported measures to promote fair journalism, the newspaper reported.
