Freedom of the Press Foundation Calls BS on Paramount-Trump Settlement After Merger Approval: ‘Shakedown Money'
The Freedom of the Press Foundation expressed discontent following the approval of the Paramount-Skydance merger, calling out Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr for 'meddling in broadcasters' content.'
The FPF has been vocal about the risk that Paramount's $16 million settlement over the '60 Minutes' interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris poses to press freedom, criticizing the media titan for cowering to President Donald Trump. In a statement to TheWrap Friday, a spokesperson for the foundation stated that they could hardly fathom that anyone could believe Paramount's seemingly selfless claims over its reasons for the settlement.
More from TheWrap
Astronomer Enlists Gwyneth Paltrow to Explain What the Company Does After Ex-Husband Chris Martin Sparked CEO Scandal | Video
'Tron: Ares' Brings New Nine Inch Nails Video and Light Cycle Chases to Comic Con
Larry Ellison to Hold 35.5% of Family's Voting Rights in New Paramount, National Amusements After Skydance Merger Closes
David Letterman Roasts CBS, David Ellison Over Colbert Cancellation: 'Go Buy Dairy Queen or Something' | Video
'I'm not aware of a single person who believed Paramount's claim that this settlement was about lawyer fees and liability risk,' Seth Stern, director of advocacy at Freedom of the Press Foundation, said in a statement. 'And if such people exist, Donald Trump has a real estate degree to sell them.'
The foundation previously called Paramount's settlement a 'spineless decision.' After 251 days, the FCC approved Paramount and Skydance Media's $8 billion merger by a vote of 2-1 along party lines Thursday. The approval came after Skydance agreed to bring on an ombudsman at CBS to review complaints of bias and to eliminate all DEI initiatives for Paramount at large.
'If there was ever any doubt, Brendan Carr just extinguished it by approving the merger just days after Trump announce he'd received Paramount's shakedown money,' the statement continued. 'What's worse, Carr can't justify his actions by pointing to Skydance's promise to appoint a bias ombudsman, because the FCC meddling in broadcasters' content is illegal too.'
The FCC does not have permission to censor or bar broadcasters from platforming content from any point of view. Engaging in censorship would infringe the media' First Amendment right to freedom of the press.
The press freedom advocacy group filed a shareholder information demand back in May and said in early July that it intended to explore further legal action to hold Paramount's board accountable for what it sees as a 'capitulation' to Trump that violates shareholders' interests and the First Amendment.
'Each time a company cowers and surrenders to Trump's demands it only emboldens him to do it again. It will be remembered as one of the most shameful capitulations by the press to a president in history,' Stern said in a statement to TheWrap July 2.
The Paramount-Skydance merger approval comes just one week after CBS canceled 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' after he called his network's $16 million settlement a 'big fat bribe.'
Under the new merger, Skydance is set to acquire controlling shareholder Shari Redstone's holding company National Amusements, which controls 77.4% of the Paramount Class A common stock outstanding and approximately 9.5% of the overall equity of the company, before merging with the Hollywood studio. The Redstone family will finally relinquish control of the media giant that they have owned since 1994 to the Ellison family and Gerry Cardinale's RedBird Capital Partners.
The post Freedom of the Press Foundation Calls BS on Paramount-Trump Settlement After Merger Approval: 'Shakedown Money' appeared first on TheWrap.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
2025 free agent rankings, questions from the mailbag & Heart and Hustle Awards
Subscribe to Baseball Bar-B-Cast Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube Jake's 2025 free agent rankings are in. Is Kyle Schwarber really ahead of Pete Alonso? Guest host, Bailey Freeman, aka Foolish Baseball, pinch hits for Jordan Shusterman and gives his thoughts on Jake's list. Where does he agree and disagree with the rankings mid-season? The Yankees lost again, and this time Aaron Judge was in the lineup. The guys give their thoughts on the situation in the Bronx and take a look, maybe regrettably so, at the Yankees mentions following their 2-0 loss to the Rangers on this week's "Sorry for Your Mentions." You provided the questions and now Jake and Bailey will provide the answers. They reach into the mailbag and answer some questions from the audience! Do MLB players get jury duty? What other non-baseball stadiums should host a game? How exactly should we be evaluating MLB managers? The guys discuss. The Heart and Hustle Award, possibly MLB's least talked about award, is given out by the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association to the player who demonstrates a passion for the game of baseball and best embodies the values, spirit and traditions of the game. Each team has a winner, and then an overall winner is selected from each of the 30 individual team winners. Bailey tries to guess each team's choice. Jordan will do the same on Friday. Who knows ball more? We will find out. Join us on this mid-week edition of Baseball Bar-B-Cast. (2:49) - Free Agent Rankings (21:28) - Yankees "Sorry for Your Mentions" (32:21) - Mailbag (55:33) - Heart and Hustle Awards🖥️
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Rancho Palos Verdes to ban new construction in landslide zone
Rancho Palos Verdes has moved forward with plans to permanently ban new construction across 715 acres of land that has been plagued by dramatic and destructive landslide movement over the last two years. City councilmembers on Tuesday night voted unanimously to prohibit almost all new development, including home additions, throughout the landslide zone, which encompasses approximately 400 homes and 130 vacant, privately owned lots across three neighborhoods. The change to the city's building code would, however, permit repairs, restoration efforts and even the replacement of existing homes, so long as the updates don't exceed the original, damaged home's square footage. It also provides for a way for land owners to apply for an exception. Tuesday's vote is the first step to make permanent a moratorium that had been in place since land movement dramatically accelerated almost two years ago. The change will only take place after a final approval later this month. But with overwhelming support from city leaders, it appears likely to go into effect by the end of September. Read more: Is it finally time to ban new homes in the Rancho Palos Verdes' landslide zone? Despite well-documented issues from the landslide since October 2023, the move faces opposition, especially from homeowners who live in areas that have recently stabilized. Criticism and concern have also come from landowners sitting on undeveloped lots, or from homeowners who were recently included in the designated landslide zone. That designation came after geologists confirmed that the recent movement had expanded past historic boundaries. Many other homeowners, however, said they were in support of the ban. City officials said the changes were about safety, and pointed to the last two years of unprecedented landslide movement. The movement has fractured homes, warped several roads and severed shut off electricity and gas service for hundreds. Though the area has long been known for recurring issues from a complex of ancient landslides that reemerged in the 1950s, the rate and scale of the movement since October 2023 has never before been recorded. 'We're very sensitive about the land and the folks that are now included in this [prohibition] zone," Mayor Pro Tem Paul Seo said at Tuesday's city council meeting. "... But what it comes down to is public safety and well-being for the people on that land.' The city had enacted a similar ban on development in the landslide zone decades ago, but it was repeatedly weakened by lawsuits and exceptions. City leaders on Tuesday said that some of the homes damaged in the recent movement were among a group that fought the initial construction ban, and won approval to build in the landslide zone through a lawsuit in the early 2000s. At least five recently applied for federal buyouts, city officials said. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
'Project Runway' alum alleges Andy Cohen was more of a 'predator' on set than Harvey Weinstein
Project Runway is back on the air again, which seems to have prompted one alum to air her grievances against the show and former executive producer Andy Cohen. Season 5 contestant Kenley Collins opened up in an explosive social media post, criticizing the reality TV design competition and comparing Cohen to convicted sexual predator Harvey Weinstein. 'Do you guys really think Harvey Weinstein was the worst one on set? Andy Cohen was,' Collins alleges in a series of videos she posted on her Instagram account. The Weinstein Company produced the early seasons of the show when it was airing on Bravo, and Cohen, who Collins alleges was a 'predator' on set, was also an executive producer from 2004 to 2008. 'Andy Cohen was disgusting, horrible, worst, predator with the gays, hopping around the set like, 'Hey Twinks!' Collins alleged. The Project Runway and All Stars alum claims that she witnessed the longtime Bravo host and producer of 'propositioning designers to have a threesome.' 'We called you 'The Gay Weinstein,' acting like a f*cking clown on set,' Collins said. The 37-year-old fashion designer also brought up allegations made by Real Housewives of Atlanta alum Nene Leakes and referenced the ongoing court cases that have claimed Cohen is guilty of establishing a hostile workplace. 'NBC can pay all the money in the world to cover your ass after Nene spoke the truth about you,' Kenley continued. 'You're a racist predator. You're finished.' Although she dropped her lawsuit in 2022, Leakes claimed that Cohen and other network executives from Bravo and NBC Universal violated federal employment and anti-discrimination laws by fostering "a corporate and workplace culture in which racially-insensitive and inappropriate behavior is tolerated — if not, encouraged,' People reported. But she isn't the only one who alleges that Cohen and other producers are bad actors. Former Real Housewives of New York City star Leah McSweeney has an ongoing lawsuit against Cohen, Bravo Media, NBC Universal Media, Warner Bros. Discovery, production company Shed Media US, and two producers who she alleges exploited her addiction while she was on the show. In March, the judge dismissed all of the charges except for three of McSweeney's disability-related claims, and an outside investigation into the claims that McSweeney and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum Brandi Glanville made against Cohen was 'found to be unsubstantiated.' In a follow-up post on Instagram, Collins thanked her fans for their support and alluded to the possibility that she would reveal more details in the future. 'It's been a scary yet freeing past few days. I'm not stopping. There is more to come,' she captioned the post. 'Thank you guys for the love and support. I did not expect that. I'm very touched. Stay tuned.' Cohen did not immediately respond to PRIDE's request for comment. This article originally appeared on Pride: 'Project Runway' alum alleges Andy Cohen was more of a 'predator' on set than Harvey Weinstein RELATED The shocking lawsuit against Bravo host Andy Cohen explained Andy Cohen spills tea about hookup with a 'WWHL' guest bartender he met on Craigslist Utica Queen is ready to slay the competition on 'Project Runway'
