Media mogul Paramount agrees to pay out a hefty sum of $16 million to former U.S. President Trump in a settlement for a contentious 60 Minutes lawsuit.
In a series of surprising developments, two of the standard-bearers of American broadcast journalism, ABC and Paramount (the corporate parent of CBS News), have agreed to settle lawsuits filed by former President Donald Trump. The settlements, totalling $31 million, have raised concerns about the compromise of editorial independence and the potential influence of political power on media conglomerates.
The suit against ABC revolved around the network's interview with George Stephanopoulos, during which he was accused of mischaracterising the Carroll case, a sexual assault allegation against Trump. Despite there being nothing out of the ordinary about how 60 Minutes edited the interview, Trump's suits against each network were deemed meritless due to the insignificance of Stephanopoulos's misstatement. ABC paid $15 million to Trump's foundation to end the lawsuit.
Christine Sautter, a business law scholar from Southern Methodist University, agreed that the suit is an uphill battle. Ann Lipton, a business law scholar at the University of Colorado, Boulder, described the suit as "something of a Hail Mary." If successful, the suit would force Paramount's directors to pay damages to the company itself.
The aim of ABC's settlement seemed to be about paving the way for a smoother relationship with the president during his second term. Similarly, Paramount's incentive for the settlement appears to be financial, as the media conglomerate is in the midst of an $8 billion merger with the film studio Skydance that is awaiting approval from the FCC.
Both settlements have been met with criticism. Clayton Weimers, the head of Reporters Without Borders, called the Paramount settlement "shameful". Jameel Jaffer, the director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, said, "Calling these 'settlements' doesn't quite capture what's happening. It's more like surrender-or even payoff." Jaffer compared the current situation to the McCarthy era, stating that Trump is doing the bullying where senators did during the McCarthy era.
The Freedom of the Press Foundation, a shareholder in Paramount, is considering filing a suit against Redstone and the rest of the company's board for allegedly violating their fiduciary duty. Last year, the chair of the FCC, Brendan Carr, told Fox News that "the news distortion complaint over the 60 Minutes transcript is something that is likely to arise in the context of the FCC review of that transaction."
Senators Ron Wyden, Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie Sanders sent a letter to Paramount CEO Shari Redstone, cautioning her about potential bribery in the context of the Paramount-Skydance merger. After the settlement between Paramount and Trump, Senator Wyden threatened to call for federal charges. Brenna Frey, a lawyer representing the Freedom of the Press Foundation, stated that the settlement was an insult to the journalists of CBS and 60 Minutes.
The Paramount settlement, however, did not receive a response from the media conglomerate. The organization that hired an attorney after the settlement agreement between Paramount and Donald Trump to potentially sue the board for alleged breaches of fiduciary duty has not been explicitly identified in the available search results.
These settlements represent a concerning trend in the media landscape, where political influence might be compromising the editorial independence of major broadcast networks. As the Delaware court system, which generally defers to corporate leaders, considers these cases, the future of journalistic integrity remains uncertain.
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