CBS News staffers are reportedly furious over parent company Paramount Global’s intent to reach a settlement of a $10 billion lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump over a controversial “60 Minutes” interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Journalists at The Tiffany Network’s news division are up in arms as Paramount Chairwoman Shari Redstone green-lighted talks with the president’s representatives over a payout, the Status newsletter reported on Friday.
President Trump filed a lawsuit in October in which he accused the long-running investigative program “60 Minutes” of manipulating an interview with Harris in a way that was unfavorable to him.
Insiders told Status that both CBS News President Wendy McMahon and “60 Minutes” Executive Producer Bill Owens are strongly opposed to settling as staffers fumed that a payout could have negative ramifications for press freedom.
Legal experts also have dismissed the lawsuit as meritless.
“There is absolutely no reason, from a legal perspective, for CBS to settle — this is a ridiculous case,” First Amendment attorney Theodore Boutrous Jr. told Status.
Nevertheless, Redstone, the 70-year-old daughter of the late media mogul Sumner Redstone, is believed to be eager to put the legal saga behind her in order to boost the odds that Trump administration regulators will rubber-stamp a merger between her company and Skydance Media, according to The New York Times.
The Post has sought comment from CBS News and Paramount Global.
The heiress to the Redstone family media empire, who is the controlling shareholder of Paramount Global and its parent company National Amusements, also stands to profit handsomely from the merger.
As part of the deal, Redstone will receive approximately $350 million from the sale of her 20% stake in National Amusements.
Additionally, she is entitled to $180 million in severance and other benefits, which includes a $70 million severance package and a $110 million unfunded pension liability.
Brendan Carr, the newly installed chair of the Federal Communications Commission, has indicated that the agency will scrutinize the various petitions against the merger that have been filed by public interest law firms that have expressed concerns over media bias.
Redstone is reportedly believed to share concerns about bias at her subsidiary, CBS News. In October, the heiress complained to fellow Paramount executives that the news division had lurched too far to the left, particularly in its coverage of Israel.
She was particularly upset with a “Face the Nation” broadcast last spring in which the show was critical of Israel after seven aid workers were killed during a strike on Gaza, the Wall Street Journal reported last fall.
CBS News was thrust into the headlines when morning anchor Tony Dokoupil had a tense on-air exchange with author Ta-Nehisi Coates about his travels to Israel and the Palestinian territories.
CBS News executives including division head Wendy McMahon reprimanded Dokoupil — a move that divided newsroom staffers.
Skydance Media, the film studio behind blockbusters such as “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Mission: Impossible — Fallout,” is run by David Ellison, son of billionaire Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison.
Larry Ellison appeared alongside Trump last week at a news conference during which the president touted a $500 billion investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure.
The presence of Larry Ellison at the talks was widely viewed as a ploy to improve the chances of the Trump administration okaying the Paramount-Skydance deal.
In recent months, major corporations have opted to settle lawsuits with Trump rather than engage in prolonged legal battles.
This trend reflects the growing influence of Trump’s legal challenges in corporate decision-making, particularly within the media and technology sectors.
The Walt Disney Company reached a settlement over a defamation lawsuit related to comments made by ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos, who incorrectly stated that Trump had been found liable for rape in the E. Jean Carroll case, rather than sexual assault.
To resolve the matter, Disney reportedly agreed to donate $15 million toward Trump’s presidential library and cover $1 million in legal fees.
Similarly, Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, settled a lawsuit with Trump after banning his accounts in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot.
The agreement included a $25 million payment, with $22 million earmarked for Trump’s future library.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
