This can be a TVNewser evaluation piece.
Final Thursday morning, Skydance Media’s takeover of Paramount International from the Redstone household was lastly full.
The brand new house owners, led by David Ellison, chairman and CEO of Paramount, a Skydance company, have a gargantuan process in revitalizing the media conglomerate’s shine because it not solely has to take care of its legacy rivals, together with Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Fox Corp., however newer ones from the streaming and tech house, akin to Netflix, Amazon’s Prime Video, and Apple.
One space inside the firm that may undoubtedly obtain loads of consideration is CBS Information, which grew to become a spotlight of the merger approval course of, and a number of other questions stay concerning the group.
In late 2024, the revered information group, house of Walter Cronkite, Dan Quite, CBS Sunday Morning, and 60 Minutes, got here beneath the crosshairs of the then-Donald Trump marketing campaign, which accused the community of “deceitful” enhancing throughout a 60 Minutes interview with former vp and then-Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
As soon as in workplace, the Trump administration continued with its scrutiny of the information outlet. And with the merger probably hanging within the steadiness, the scenario created stress for Shari Redstone, the previous non-executive chairwoman of Paramount International, who reportedly sought to make settling the case a prime precedence.
In July, a $16 million settlement was reached, with nearly all of the funds going in direction of Trump’s future presidential library. This settlement was just like how ABC Information settled a lawsuit with the president for $15 million in December 2024.
As a part of the settlement, CBS Information issued no assertion of apology or remorse for the 60 Minutes interview with Harris.
Nevertheless, the method of reaching that settlement got here with huge prices, with two key 60 Minutes executives, Wendy McMahon, president and CEO of CBS Information and Stations, and CBS Media Ventures, and Invoice Owens, the longtime government producer of 60 Minutes, departing.
The settlement, the departures of senior management, and the information that Skydance Media will set up an ombudsman to overview “complaints of bias or different issues” and guarantee “viewpoint range” at CBS Information as a part of the merger’s FCC approval course of, have created uncertainty round what the information group appears to be like like transferring ahead.
What occurs now
To date, the brand new Paramount CEO has publicly given help to CBS Information.
Ellison, alongside George Cheeks, who was named chair of TV Media of the mixed firm, reportedly toured the CBS Information headquarters final Thursday morning, with Puck’s Dylan Byers writing that the Paramount CEO informed staffers, “I imagine within the legacy of CBS Information and being within the belief enterprise and the reality enterprise.”
Previous to the go to, Ellison additionally shared a companywide letter acknowledging the conclusion of the merger course of. In it, he described CBS Information as “house to one of the crucial storied American broadcast journalism legacies in America, together with 60 Minutes, with an extended custom of impactful reporting led by seasoned journalists dedicated to accuracy, integrity, and public belief.”
Ellison additionally acknowledged the making an attempt occasions CBS Information confronted through the merger course of, saying it had been “a difficult interval and we’re deeply grateful on your resilience, professionalism, and unwavering dedication to the information enterprise.”
He went on to say the corporate is happy with the information group whereas wanting “ahead to persevering with to foster a newsroom tradition the place journalists are empowered, trusted, and geared up to do their greatest work.”
When requested about CBS Information’ future beneath Skydance, a rep for CBS Information referred TVNewser to Ellison’s letter.
Nonetheless, time will inform how the merger impacts the information group. Reviews counsel that former CBS Information head David Rhodes might return, and there’s a potential buy of Bari Weiss‘s The Free Press on the horizon, however neither has come to fruition as of now.
Moreover, other than the merger, CBS Information has been present process a number of adjustments not too long ago.
Its relaunched night information franchise, CBS Night Information, continues to be looking for its footing, because it stays the No. 3 newscast within the scores. In the meantime, because of cost-cutting measures, CBS Mornings, which is nonetheless in third place within the morning present battles, is transferring out of its Occasions Sq. studios again to the CBS Broadcast Middle, its unique house.
Plus, 60 Minutes is beneath the steering of a brand new chief, Tanya Simon, and the way the franchise and its expertise function transferring ahead continues to be unfolding.
In the end, a lot about how CBS Information will function beneath Skydance Media stays to be decided. But when Skydance desires the group to succeed, figuring it out must be … properly … paramount.
